The Place de la Concorde lies at the foot of the Champs-Élysées avenue and borders the Tuileries gardens. Today, it stands out for the Luxor Obelisk (dating from 3,300 BC and erected in May 1998), the prestigious hotels that line it and its two monumental fountains (Fontaine des Mers and Fontaine des Fleuves). Created at the end of the 18th century, the Place de la Concorde was first known as one of the places of execution during the French Revolution. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette (among others) were guillotined here. It was between 1836 and 1846 that the architect Jacques-Ignace Hittorf shaped the square into what it is today.
