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A Fair Site

You are on the largest and most surprising square of Bordeaux: 380 m wide by 400 m long. Place des Quinconces is said to be the largest square in Europe! At regular intervals the esplanade becomes the perfect setting for antique and book fairs, markets, not to mention the funfair and the circus.

Largest Square in Europe

This is a semi-circular area edged with identical buildings and lined with trees. The ends of the curve straighten into streets leading down to the river. Originally planted with trees on the north and south parts in offset, staggered rows of five (en quinconces in French), this is the kind of vast open space that you just don′t get in towns any more. You are on the largest and most surprising square of Bordeaux: 380 m wide by 400 m long. It is said to be the largest square in Europe!

Two rostral columns* delimit the vast expanse on the west side. In front of them is the river Garonne coursing to the ocean. Behind them is the immense deserted square. These 21 metre tall monumental sculptures in the shape of lighthouses evoke trade and navigation... the main vocations of Bordeaux.

The Girondins memorial at the opposite end, flanked by its famous water horse fountains, was unveiled in 1902.

The Quinconces esplanade is the ideal setting for antique and book fairs, markets, not to mention the funfair and the circus.

Château Trompette

If there is so much open space in the middle of the density of Bordeaux, it is because two centuries ago the imposing fortress, Château Trompette, once stood here. When the French triumphed over the English at the battle of Castillon (1453), it put an end to the hundred years war. The French king, Charles VII, then erected the citadel to impose his domination over the inhabitants of Bordeaux, deemed not very trustworthy. This did not please the population who considered it an interference with their freedom. But for all their rebellion against the royal edifice, it wasn′t until the shrewd Tourny came along that it was destroyed. Instead of overtly attacking the symbol of royal supremacy, he included it to his modern urban development plan, relegating the edifice to a past era. Louis XVI took the decision to raze it in 1784.

Demolition of the Château Trompette began in 1816. Then the square became an enormous rectangle. 5 roads converge on the semi-circle, from the Cours de Verdun, Place Tourny and the Allée de Tourny. The buildings all share the same design. Before it was baptised Place des Quinconces in 1848, it was called Place Louis XVI then Place Louis Philippe.

* column decorated with ship prows.