Fontaine des Innocents

From Paris Hotels Reviews

Another remnant of the Renaissance can be seen on the other side of Les Halles in the shape of the perfectly proportioned Fontaine des Innocents (1549), adorned with reliefs of water nymphs. It looks slightly marooned amid the fast-food joints, tattoo parlours and shoe shops of the place Jean du Bellay; on warm days shoppers sit around its edge, drawn to the cool of its cascading waters. The fountain takes its name from the cemetery that used to occupy this site, the Cimetière des Innocents. Full to overflowing, the cemetery was closed down in 1786 and its contents transferred to the catacombs in Denfert-Rochereau.