Place du Trocadéro Plaza

Address: Place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre, 75116 Paris, France

Hours: Public square - open daily

Admission: Free

Place du Trocadéro is a major plaza in Paris’s 16th arrondissement on the Chaillot hill, directly across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. The site includes the elevated esplanade, formal gardens and the Palais de Chaillot.

The open terraces and fountains at the Trocadéro provide expansive, unobstructed views of the Eiffel Tower and are among the city’s most photographed vantage points. The Palais de Chaillot’s two wings house museums and performance spaces and frame the plaza’s central esplanade.

The present Palais de Chaillot was built for the 1937 Exposition and replaced an earlier palace; the gardens and terraces were developed to create the open visual axis toward the Eiffel Tower. The site has hosted international exhibitions and cultural institutions since the 19th and 20th centuries.

Place du Trocadéro sits on the Right Bank of the Seine in western Paris, on the Chaillot promontory in the 16th arrondissement, immediately opposite the Champ de Mars and Eiffel Tower.

• Best view: Offers one of the clearest and widest viewpoints of the Eiffel Tower across the Seine from an elevated terrace on the Trocadéro hill.

What to See#

• Palais de Chaillot: A large 20th-century building in two curved wings that faces the Seine and contains several museums and theatres.
• Jardins du Trocadéro: An elevated esplanade and formal gardens with cascades and fountains that provide one of the most photographed views of the Eiffel Tower across the Seine.

Place du Trocadéro (Trocadéro) is reached via the Paris Métro - Trocadéro station on lines 6 and 9 opens onto the plaza. From there the Jardins du Trocadéro and viewing terraces are immediately accessible; the Eiffel Tower is a short 10-15 minute walk across the Seine/Champ de Mars from the plaza.

• Arrive at the Trocadéro esplanade at sunrise (or just before sunset) for iconic, unobstructed views and photos of the Eiffel Tower with far fewer tourists than midday.
• Use Trocadéro metro (Trocadéro station) and enter via the esplanade steps facing the Seine - the Palais de Chaillot terraces are the best formal vantage points for symmetry and fountain reflections.
• Walk the Jardins du Trocadéro down toward the fountains and along the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine - many visitors stay on the upper terrace and miss the layered composition and calmer spots nearer the water.
• If you want nighttime tower illuminations, plan to arrive after the hourly sparkle begins and expect heavier crowds; spread out along the esplanade to find a less-cluttered foreground for photos.