Paris · Île de la Cité · Palace and prison
The Conciergerie: Royal Palace, Revolutionary Prison
A medieval hall the size of a church, the cell where Marie Antoinette spent her last weeks, and the best-value combined ticket in Paris with Sainte-Chapelle next door.
By the AllTrips Editorial Team ·
The Conciergerie at a glance
Area: Île de la Cité, 2 boulevard du Palais, 1st arrondissement. Allow: 45–60 minutes, or about 90 with the Histopad tablet. Entry: paid (around €13 full price; combined ticket with Sainte-Chapelle available). Nearby: Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-Dame, Pont Neuf, the Latin Quarter.
Before Versailles, before the Louvre was a palace of kings, the Palais de la Cité on this island was the seat of French royal power. The Conciergerie is what survives of it at ground level — and its second life, as the prison of the Revolutionary Tribunal, is what most visitors come for.
What is there to see?
The showpiece is the Salle des Gens d'Armes, a vast four-aisled Gothic hall completed around 1302 for the palace household — one of the largest surviving medieval halls in Europe, and startling the moment you step into it. Beside it, the Salle des Gardes and the medieval kitchens with their four corner fireplaces show how a royal palace actually ran.
The upper rooms cover the Revolution: reconstructed prison corridors, the Salle de la Toilette where prisoners were prepared for the guillotine, a reconstruction of Marie Antoinette's cell, and the memorial chapel built on its site under the Restoration. Admission includes the Histopad, an augmented-reality tablet that rebuilds the vanished palace around you room by room — genuinely useful here, because so much of what you are standing in is gone.
Tickets and booking
The Conciergerie is a paid monument of the Centre des monuments nationaux. Full-price admission is around €13, free for under-18s and EU residents under 26, and the combined ticket with Sainte-Chapelle is cheaper than buying both separately. Queues are far shorter than at Sainte-Chapelle, so walk-up entry is usually possible — but if you want both monuments on the same day, book the combined ticket and the Sainte-Chapelle slot in advance.
Official website
Tickets at the official price, including the combined Conciergerie + Sainte-Chapelle ticket and free-entry conditions.
Book on the official siteTickets on Tiqets
Conciergerie entry and Île de la Cité combinations with mobile tickets — handy if you are booking several Paris monuments in one place.
See tickets on TiqetsSome links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
A short history
The Capetian kings rebuilt the island palace through the 13th and 14th centuries; Philip IV gave it the great hall and the riverside towers you still see. When the court moved out in the late 1300s, the buildings passed to the royal administration and a concierge — the keeper of the palace — from whom the name comes. Part of the complex became a prison almost immediately.
Its infamous years were 1793–1795, when the Revolutionary Tribunal sat in the palace and the Conciergerie held those awaiting judgment. Marie Antoinette was imprisoned here for 76 days before her execution in October 1793; Danton, Robespierre and thousands of others passed through the same corridors. The building stayed a working prison into the 20th century, and the Palais de Justice still occupies the rest of the complex today.
Planning your visit
The monument is open daily, roughly 9:30–18:00, with last admission about 45 minutes before closing; it is closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Entry is at 2 boulevard du Palais, through a security check. Check the official website before travel — hours shift with the season and around court-security closures.
The nearest métro is Cité (line 4). Most of the visit is on flat stone floors with some steps between levels; the interiors are cool year-round, which makes this a good choice on a hot or rainy afternoon. If you are doing both island monuments, take Sainte-Chapelle at your timed slot first, then walk two minutes to the Conciergerie.
The Conciergerie in photos
What is nearby?
Everything on the Île de la Cité is within minutes: Sainte-Chapelle shares the same complex, Notre-Dame is at the far end of the island, and across the river are Shakespeare and Company, Musée de Cluny and the Latin Quarter. See how it all fits together on our Paris attractions map.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a ticket for the Conciergerie?
Yes. The Conciergerie is a paid national monument managed by the Centre des monuments nationaux. Full-price admission is around €13, and entry is free for under-18s and for EU residents under 26. A combined ticket with Sainte-Chapelle next door costs less than two separate tickets.
Is the Conciergerie worth visiting?
It is if you are interested in the French Revolution or in medieval architecture. The Salle des Gens d'Armes is one of the largest surviving medieval halls in Europe, and the reconstructed prison rooms — including Marie Antoinette's cell — tell the Revolution's story in the place where it happened. Visitors who only want spectacle usually prefer Sainte-Chapelle.
How long do you need at the Conciergerie?
Most people spend 45–60 minutes, or closer to 90 minutes if they use the Histopad tablet, which reconstructs the medieval palace room by room and is included with admission.
Can you see Marie Antoinette's cell?
Yes. A memorial chapel stands on the site of the cell where she was held before her execution in 1793, and a reconstruction of the cell itself is part of the visit, alongside displays on the Revolutionary Tribunal.
Can you visit the Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle together?
Yes — they are part of the same former Palais de la Cité, a two-minute walk apart, and a combined ticket is sold for both. Book the Sainte-Chapelle timed slot first, then visit the Conciergerie at your own pace.
Which metro station is closest to the Conciergerie?
Cité (line 4) is the closest, a few minutes' walk. Châtelet (lines 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14) and Saint-Michel Notre-Dame (RER B and C) are also within easy reach.
Official sources
Reviewed September 2026. Prices and opening hours can change; check the official website before travel.