A little history of Paris observatory

Raised from 1668 to 1672 based on plans by Claude Perrault, our observatory is still in use!

The Royal Academy of Sciences had their first session here, in 1666. Few months later, they bought lands outside the city, in a place called Grand Regard ("Huge Place")...

Indeed, it was the perfect place to examine the starry sky! Oh, come over here, to see the façade overlooking the avenue de l’Observatoire: we have a statue of Urbain Le Verrier, (astronomer and mathematician), made by Chapu.