Behind the east end of Notre-Dame, at the tip of the Île de la Cité, the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation commemorates the people deported from France to the Nazi camps during the Second World War. Designed by the architect Georges-Henri Pingusson, it was inaugurated by General de Gaulle on 12 April 1962. Its largely underground architecture evokes confinement and deprives the eye of any horizon. Permanent exhibition rooms, renovated from 2016 onwards, complete the visit.
Highlights
The tip of the Île de la Cité
Seen from the quays, the memorial occupies the prow of the island, below the east end of Notre-Dame. Its triangular forecourt, enclosed by high white concrete walls, reveals the Seine only through an opening barred by a portcullis.
The Square de l’Île-de-France
You reach the memorial through this public garden at the end of the island. Below, the crypt holds the tomb of the unknown deportee; behind it, a long gallery lined with glowing glass facets evokes the tens of thousands of deportees who disappeared in the camps.
Seen from the towers of Notre-Dame
From above, you can make out the square and, at water level, the prow-shaped memorial. Inside, triangular niches hold fifteen urns containing soil and ashes from the concentration camps.
Infos pratiques
Tips
Admission is free. On weekdays, mornings are reserved for guided tours, which are free on booking with the memorial; self-guided visits start at 15:00. Free audio guides are available in French, English and German. This is a place of remembrance: keep silent in the crypt.
How to get there
RER C Saint-Michel–Notre-Dame. Metro Cité, line 4; Saint-Paul, line 1; Maubert-Mutualité, line 10. Address: square de l’Île-de-France, 7 quai de l’Archevêché, 75004 Paris.
Opening hours
Nearby
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