The Place de la Bataille‑de‑Stalingrad in northeast Paris feels both raw and historic. Once known as the Rond‑Point de la Villette, it was renamed in 1945 in memory of the Battle of Stalingrad, a turning point in World War II. In 1993, it officially received its current name.
The focal point is the Rotonde de la Villette, a neoclassical tollhouse designed by Claude‑Nicolas Ledoux between 1784 and 1788. It is one of the few surviving gates of Paris’s old excise wall. Once a toll station, later a military barracks, it is now a restaurant and cultural venue. A special detail is the linden tree planted by General de Gaulle in 1945, a living symbol of liberation.
In front of the Rotonde stands a modern fountain by Georges Jeanclos, offering a contemporary contrast to the 18th‑century architecture. Beneath the viaduct of Metro Line 2 lies a hidden terrace that served as an Olympic fan zone in 2024. Today it is a lively meeting spot with cafes, green spaces, and views of the Bassin de la Villette and Canal Saint‑Martin.
Sources. Story: ['Source Story: https://www.wegwijsnaarparijs.nl/bezienswaardigheden_parijs/bassin-la-villette/'] Photos: Source Photo: Fred Romero from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons | Par Scanné par Claude Shoshany — Collection personnelle, Domaine public, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3563437
