Fontaine des Innocents — Attraction in Paris

Such a beautiful work The fountain was commissioned as part of the decoration of the city to commemorate the solemn royal entry of King Henry II into Paris in 1549. Artists were commissioned to construct elaborate monuments, mostly temporary, along his route, from the Port Saint-Denis to the Palais de la Cité, passing by le Châtelet, the Pont Notre-Dame and the Cathedral. The fountain was placed on the site of an earlier fountain dating to the reign of Philip II of France, against the wall of the Saints Innocents Cemetery, at the corner of rue Saint Denis (where the King's procession passed) and rue aux Fers (today's rue Berger), with two facades on one street, one facade on the other. It was to serve as a fountain as well as a grand reviewing stand for local notables; it resembled the walls of a large residence, with water taps along the street at the street level, and a stairway to the loggia on the upper level, where officials stood on the balcony to greet the King. Its original name was the Fountain of the Nymphs.Once the procession had passed, the structure became a simple water fountain for the neighborhood, with taps, ornamented with lion heads, permanently trickling water. The upper floor of the fountain was eventually turned into a residence, with windows...

Passed by Les Fontaine des Innocents (Fountain of Innocence) in Le Marais recently. Similar to past winter visits, the fountain was turned off and idol.

This is a Renaissance style fountain monument originally erected in the mid 16th-century when a cemetery was situated at this location. It is nice monument but showing its age.

Sadly, during this visit, the basin included graffiti and trash, which was unfortunate. There was an interesting Xmas/winter market on the square around Fontaine des Innocents.

In the end, not a bad monument - worth having a look-see if you are visiting the area and enjoy monument viewing during...

Sadly there was no water in the fountain, so it lost a lot of the potential appeal. A nice little square with very limited traffic (although motorcycles seem to think they can cut across the pavements.) It has a few bars/bistros which really benefit from the limited traffic so they are quiet and you can people-watch without the constant noise of car horns which is my abiding...