Fontaine des Innocents

In the lively Les Halles district, this Renaissance fountain is the oldest monumental fountain in Paris and a rare surviving work of its period in the city. Carved in the 16th century, its arcaded structure is adorned with graceful relief figures of nymphs by the sculptor Jean Goujon. Originally built against a church wall beside a vast medieval cemetery, it was later moved and reconstructed as a free-standing monument in the centre of a square. Its refined classical figures make it a landmark of French Renaissance sculpture.