Palais de Justice, Paris, Historic courthouse in Île de la Cité, France.
The Palais de Justice is a monumental courthouse on Île de la Cité featuring stone facades and grand entrances that reflect 19th-century French architectural traditions. The structure houses numerous courtrooms, long hallways, and offices where judicial proceedings take place daily.
The Palais de Justice grew out of the medieval Palais de la Cité, the royal residence and seat of power from the 10th to the 14th century, which kept its courts after Charles V moved the royal household away. The Grand Chamber hosted the Parlement of Paris and, from 1793 to 1795, the Revolutionary Tribunal. A vast rebuilding designed by Jean-Nicolas Huyot and carried out by Joseph-Louis Duc and Étienne-Théodore Dommey began in 1847; arson during the Commune on 24 May 1871 destroyed nearly a quarter-century of work, and reconstruction under Duc, then Honoré Daumet, continued past 1883.
The name Palais de Justice replaced the older Palais de la Cité as the building became devoted to the law in the 19th century. The monumental gate on the Cour du Mai, forged in 1776 by locksmith Bigonnet, is now in poor condition. The Conciergerie, the former prison within the complex, has been open to the public since 1914.
You can enter the building without charge and observe certain court sessions, though photography is not permitted inside the courtrooms. It helps to check in advance which hearings are open to the public so you can plan a meaningful visit.
The Prefecture of Police of Paris stands next to the Palais de Justice, not on Rue de Lutèce, and the 36 Quai des Orfèvres address long associated with the Paris police is the neighbouring building on the Seine side. The south neo-Gothic facade still shows bullet impacts from the fighting of the Liberation of Paris in August 1944.
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