Île aux Cygnes (; en, Isle of the Swans) is a small

artificial island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those tha ...

on the river

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, in the

15th arrondissement 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious num ...

. It was created in 1827 to protect the bridge named the

pont de Grenelle The Pont de Grenelle-Cadets de Saumur, formerly known as ''Pont de Grenelle'' (English: ''Grenelle Bridge. "Cadets de Saumur''" is the name of the students of the Cavalry School) is a bridge that crosses the Seine River in Paris, France. It conne ...

. It should not be confused with an earlier Île des Cygnes that was attached to the

Champ de Mars The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the ...

in the late 18th century. The uninhabited island is 850 metres (2,789 ft) long and 11 metres (36 ft) at its widest point, making it the third-largest island in Paris. A tree-lined walkway, named L'Allée des Cygnes (Path of Swans), runs the length of the island. Since 2012, there has been a public workout space with bicycles and a climbing wall underneath the

Pont de Grenelle The Pont de Grenelle-Cadets de Saumur, formerly known as ''Pont de Grenelle'' (English: ''Grenelle Bridge. "Cadets de Saumur''" is the name of the students of the Cavalry School) is a bridge that crosses the Seine River in Paris, France. It conne ...

, close to a

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

replica. The island is crossed by three bridges: the Pont de Grenelle, the

Pont Rouelle The Pont Rouelle (English: Rouelle Bridge) is a railway bridge in Paris that crosses the river Seine. It connects the city's 15th and 16th arrondissements, and passes through the Île aux Cygnes. Constructed of steel, the bridge is 173 metres ...

and the

Pont de Bir-Hakeim The Pont de Bir-Hakeim (English: Bridge of Bir-Hakeim), formerly the Pont de Passy (Bridge of Passy), is a bridge that crosses the Seine in Paris. It connects the 15th and 16th arrondissement, passing through the Île aux Cygnes. The bridge, made ...

. It is served by the

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is home to many of the city's wealthiest residents. Passy was a commune on the outskirts of Paris. In 1658, hot springs were discovered around whic ...

and Bir-Hakeim Métro stations. Île aux Cygnes - OSM 2016

Statue of Liberty replica

A notable feature is a quarter-scale replica of ''Liberty Enlightening the World'', commonly known as the Statue of Liberty on the Île aux Cygnes, is 11.50 meters (37 feet 9 inches) tall and faces west in the direction of its larger sibling in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Inaugurated by President

Marie François Sadi Carnot Marie François Sadi Carnot (; 11 August 1837 – 25 June 1894) was a French statesman, who served as the President of France from 1887 until his assassination in 1894. Early life Marie François Sadi Carnot was the son of the statesman Hippol ...

on 4 July 1889, nearly three years after its US counterpart, it was donated to the city by the Parisian expatriate community in the US. A restoration project in 1986 marked the

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

of the original (as stated on the plaque). The statue originally faced east, toward the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

, but it was turned west in 1937 for the

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

hosted in Paris that year. At its base is a commemorative plaque, and the tablet in its left hand bears the inscription ''IV Juillet 1776 = XIV Juillet 1789'', recognizing the American

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

and the French

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

. In 1998 to celebrate the "Year of France in Japan", the 14-ton statue was transported to Japan and displayed on

Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially built in this area for defensive purposes in the 1850s. Reclaimed land offshore Shinagawa was dramatically expanded durin ...

, an artificial island in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...

, before returning to Paris the following year. The statue was used as a plot point in the 1988 film '' Frantic'' and the 2007 film '' National Treasure: Book of Secrets''. Paris-liberte-eiffel.jpg, The replica Statue of Liberty Liberty grenelle inscription.jpg, Plaque on statue

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ile Des Cygnes Landforms of Paris Tourist attractions in Paris Cygnes Statue of Liberty Cygnes Cygnes