Île aux Cygnes (; ) is a small

artificial island An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...

on the river

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

in Paris, France, in the 15th arrondissement. It was created in 1827 to protect the bridge named the Pont de Grenelle. It should not be confused with an earlier Île des Cygnes that was attached to the

Champ de Mars Champ, CHAMP or The Champ may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Champ (cartoon character), an animated dog introduced in 1960 * The Champ, played on radio and created by Jake Edwards (radio personality), Jake Edwards * Champ ...

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, close to a

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

replica. The island is crossed by three bridges: the Pont de Grenelle, the Pont Rouelle and the Pont de Bir-Hakeim. It is served by the Passy and Bir-Hakeim Métro stations.

Statue of Liberty replica

A notable feature is a quarter-scale replica of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi's ''Liberty Enlightening the World'', commonly known as the Statue of Liberty on the Île aux Cygnes. The replica is 11.50 meters (37 feet 9 inches) tall and faces west in the direction of its larger rendition in New York City. Inaugurated by President Marie François Sadi Carnot 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 of the original (as stated on the plaque). The statue originally faced east, toward the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) 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 from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

, but it was turned west in 1937 for the

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

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 memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

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. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...

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

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

, before returning to Paris the following year. The statue was used as a plot point in the 1988 film '' Frantic'', the 2007 film '' National Treasure: Book of Secrets'' and the 2016 film Lost in Paris. Paris-liberte-eiffel.jpg, The replica

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