Nation: history and sights
Served by: metro lines 1, 2, 6 and 9, RER A.
Did you know?
Takes its name from a change made in 1880: this square, called 'Place du Trône' under the Ancien Régime, was renamed 'Nation' to celebrate the country's unity for the centenary of the Fête de la Fédération. It is now dominated by the statue 'The Triumph of the Republic'.
Anecdote
The central statue, unveiled in 1899, weighs more than 40 tonnes of bronze.
Around Nation
- Le Triomphe de la République, 10 m away — A vast bronze statue at the centre of the square, unveiled in 1899, depicting the Republic leading Labour and Justice.
- Bois de Vincennes, 2100 m away — Paris's largest green space, with a lake, zoo and racecourse, a former royal hunting ground turned green lung of eastern Paris.
- Cours de Vincennes, 450 m away — A wide, shop-lined avenue dotted with café terraces, linking Place de la Nation to the Bois de Vincennes.