General Information

Île aux Cygnes (Isle of the Swans) is a small island in the Seine, located in the 15th and 16th arrondissement. It is an artificially created island, formed in 1827 to protect the port of Grenelle. The island should not be confused with an earlier Île des Cygnes which was attached to the Champ de Mars in the late 18th century.

Additional Information

The island is 850 metres long and 11 metres at its widest point. A tree-lined walkway, named ‘l’Allée des Cygnes’, runs the length of the island. It is crossed by three bridges: the Pont de Grenelle, the Pont Rouelle and the Pont de Bir-Hakeim.

The Statue of Liberty Replica: Highlights

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. The statue, inaugurated on 4 July 1889, was given to the city by the American community of Paris, commemorating the centennial of the French Revolution.

The Statue of Liberty Replica: Explained

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, recognising 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.