Île aux Cygnes

Île aux Cygnes (French pronunciation: [il o siɲ]; English: Isle of the Swans) is a small island in the Seine in Paris, France, located in the 15th and 16th arrondissement. It is an artificially-created island, formed in 1827 to protect the port of Grenelle. It should not be confused with an earlier Île des Cygnes which was attached to the Champ de Mars in the late 18th century.

The narrow island is 850 metres (2,789 ft) long and 11 metres (36 ft) at its widest point. A tree-lined walkway, named "l'Allée des Cygnes", runs the length of the island.

The island is served by the Passy and Bir-Hakeim Métro stations. It is crossed by three bridges: the Pont de Grenelle, the Pont Rouelle and the Pont de Bir-Hakeim.

Statue of Liberty

A notable feature is a one-fourth scale replica of the Statue of Liberty, 22 metres high and facing west in the direction of its larger sibling in New York City. This monument, which was inaugurated by French President Marie François Sadi Carnot on 4 July 1889[1] (nearly three years after its counterpart), was given to the city of Paris by the American community of Paris, commemorating the centennial of the French Revolution. The statue initially faced east, toward the Eiffel Tower, but it was turned west in 1937 for the exposition universelle hosted by Paris that year. Its base carries a commemorative plaque, and the tablet in its left hand bears the inscription IV Juillet 1776 = XIV Juillet 1789, recognizing the American Independence Day and Bastille Day, respectively. An even smaller statue is located in the Jardin du Luxembourg, and a third copy can be seen in the Musée des Arts et Métiers.

References