Palais de Chaillot. Chaillot museums

Palais de Chaillot Paris facts

The Palais de Chaillot crowns the Chaillot hill facing the Eiffel Tower on the banks of the river in Paris. The spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower from Palais de Chaillot is rightly the most famous Paris view and a part of most Paris bus tours. Palais de Chaillot hosts two world class museums.

The walk from Palais de Chaillot to Eiffel Tower across the Trocadéro gardens and the Iéna Seine bridge is a scenic Paris walking tour. Details on Eiffel Tower walking tour.

Museums in Palais de Chaillot

Palais de Chaillot is worth a visit for its museums. The Maritime Museum has great ship models spanning three centuries. Paris Aquarium is located in Palais de Chaillot Gardens. Information and tickets.

Architecture lovers enjoy the Cité de l'Architecture, a museum devoted to France's monuments, allowing a journey through space and time. Web site. The Musée de l'Homme Anthropology Museum is quite interesting. Web site.

Palais de Chaillot visit

Palais de Chaillot cannot be visited. Visit instead the Maritime Museum, Musée de l'Homme and Cité de l'Architecture in Palais de Chaillot.

Paris metro: Trocadéro station on lines 6 and 9
Locate Palais de Chaillot on Paris map.

Palace near Palais de Chaillot

A former residence of Prince Roland Bonaparte listed as a French historical monument, Shangri-La Hotel is a hotel palace located 500m away from Place du Trocadéro across the Seine River and facing the Eiffel Tower.

It reflects both Asian hospitality and French art de vivre. It has 2 restaurants, one of them a Michelin star. An indoor pool and a spa are featured. Many rooms have Eiffel Tower views.

Palais de Chaillot hotel

Hotel Etoile Trocadéro in the 16th arondissement is within walking distance of Champs Elysées and Palais de Chaillot. It offers air-conditioned rooms with satellite TV and private bathroom. Each room features a minibar, a hairdryer and dry-cleaning service is available. A continental breakfast is provided every morning and can be served in the guest rooms. Guests arriving late can benefit from 24-hour reception and they can also leave their bags during the day. Daily newspapers are provided, along with Wi-Fi access.

History of Palais de Chaillot

Replacing the controversial Palais du Trocadéro built in 1878, the Palais de Chaillot was built in 1937 by architects Carlu, Boileau and Azema. It was one of the highlights of the 1937 Paris International Exhibition. Two years before World War Two broke out, this World Exhibition, the last in Paris until today, was the dramatic stage of a prestige showdown between the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Palais de Chaillot, the Musée d'Art Moderne near-by and the grande galerie of the Air and space museum are the main legacies of Paris 1937 international exhibition.

Palais de Chaillot and United Nations

The Palais de Chaillot hosted the third United Nations General Assembly, benefiting from a temporary extraterritorial exception. For this, a ceremony was organized on September 1, 1948, during which the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Maurice Schumann symbolically handed over the keys of the palace to the Secretary-General of the UN, Trygve Lie.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted there the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. In 1951, the Palais de Chaillot hosted the sixth General Assembly of the United Nations.