Place des Terreaux, Lyon, France
The Place des Terreaux is a square located in the center of Lyon, France, on the Presqu'île between the Rhône and the Saône, at the foot of the hill of La Croix-Rousse in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon. The square belongs to the zone classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Life unfolds in this beautiful and busy central square, home to a superb fountain sculpted by Statue of Liberty designer Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi.
In the past, Place des Terreaux was used as a site of executions; crowds would have gathered here to watch public beheadings. It was redesigned in 1994 by architect Christian Drevet and artist Daniel Buren, who installed 69 jet fountains into the ground.