Sites of Remembrance

Residence of Thomas Jefferson from 1785 to 1789, while serving as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of France. The mansion, built in 1768 by architect Chalgrin, served as both private residence and official legation. Jefferson lived there with his daughters, his secretary William Short, and his servants. Demolished in 1842.

La Fayette's last Parisian residence, where he lived from 1827 until his death on May 20, 1834. A commemorative plaque marks the site.

By American sculptor Paul Wayland Bartlett, funded by a subscription among American schoolchildren initiated by Robert J. Thompson of Chicago, to thank France for the Statue of Liberty. Unveiled on July 4, 1900 in the Louvre's Cour Napoléon (first in plaster, replaced in bronze in 1908), then moved to Cours La Reine in 1985.

Where La Fayette and his wife Adrienne de Noailles are buried. La Fayette was interred in soil he had brought back from America in 1824. On July 4, 1917, Colonel Stanton spoke the famous words "Lafayette, we are here!" An American flag flies permanently over his grave — the only one displayed in occupied Paris during WWII.

Gilded bronze statue of Thomas Paine (1737–1809), a major figure of the American Revolution and member of the French Convention. Created by Gutzon Borglum (sculptor of Mount Rushmore), commissioned in 1937, hidden during WWII and unveiled in 1948.

By American sculptors Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter, offered by a committee of American women and unveiled on July 3, 1900. Inscription: "Offered by the women of the United States of America in memory of the fraternal aid given by France to their fathers during the struggle for Independence."

Bronze group by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (creator of the Statue of Liberty), commissioned by publisher Joseph Pulitzer in 1887. Washington and La Fayette shake hands on either side of the French and American flags. Unveiled December 2, 1895. A replica stands in Lafayette Square, Manhattan.

Bronze statue by sculptor Fernand Hamar, erected in 1933 through a Franco-American subscription, honoring the commander of the French expeditionary corps during the War of Independence.

Bronze monument by sculptor Paul Landowski, donated to the City of Paris by American A. Kingsley Macomber in 1931, in memory of the hero of the Battle of the Chesapeake (1781).

Bronze statue by John J. Boyle, donated by Franco-American John H. Harjes in 1906. The square is named after the decisive Battle of Yorktown (1781). The bas-reliefs depict Franklin's reception at Versailles (1778) and the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783).

Residence of Benjamin Franklin from 1777 to 1785, provided by Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont. Franklin established the official American Legation and a printing press there. He received Turgot, Buffon, d'Alembert, Condorcet, Beaumarchais, and the young La Fayette. From Passy, he negotiated the Treaties of Amity, Commerce and Alliance signed on February 6, 1778. On November 21, 1783, he witnessed the first manned flight in history from the nearby Château de la Muette.

Residence of John Adams (future 2nd President) and his son John Quincy Adams (future 6th President) from August 1784 to May 1785. Adams had negotiated alongside Franklin and Jay the Treaty of Paris of 1783 that ended the War of Independence.

Birthplace of La Fayette on September 6, 1757. Purchased in 1916 by the French Heroes Lafayette Memorial Fund, it is now a listed historic monument open to the public.

Bell foundry established in 1796. In 1950, the U.S. government commissioned 54 replicas of the Liberty Bell for each state and territory. One of the remaining copies was donated to Annecy in 1951.

Royal manufactory established in 1764, which supplied arms to the American insurgents during the War of Independence, in collaboration with Beaumarchais and private shipowners.

Pierre Babaud de La Chaussade's metallurgical enterprise, specialized in anchor parts for the Navy. The forges helped arm the French ships engaged in the Battle of the Chesapeake (1781).

Unveiled on October 13, 2025, honoring combatants from the Bourbonnais region who fought in the War of Independence, including at least 77 volunteers from the Allier.

Where Benjamin Franklin landed on December 4, 1776, after crossing from Philadelphia. The quay now bears the name Quai Franklin.

France's foremost naval arsenal and departure point for expeditions to America. La Fayette landed here in February 1779; Rochambeau departed on May 2, 1780 with 5,500 men; Admiral de Grasse set sail on March 22, 1781. A monument to Rochambeau and de Grasse stands on Cours Dajot.

From where John Paul Jones departed on May 1, 1779 aboard the frigate USS Bonhomme Richard, provided by Louis XVI.

Estate of Armand Tuffin de la Rouërie, known as "Colonel Armand," who fought in the Continental Army and participated in the Battle of Yorktown. A friend of Washington, he was promoted to Brigadier General.

Rochambeau's birthplace (July 1, 1725). A statue by Fernand Hamar was unveiled in 1900; a replica was erected in Washington in 1902. The original, destroyed during WWII, was replaced in 1974 by a cast of the Washington statue.

Property of the Vimeur de Rochambeau family, where the general died on May 10, 1807.

Site of the former Hôtel Haute Pierre where the "Metz supper" took place on August 8, 1775, during which La Fayette decided to sail for America, encouraged by the Duke of Gloucester. A statue of La Fayette stands in the Jardin Boufflers.

Triumphal arch built between 1782 and 1784 in memory of the citizens of Nancy who died for American independence at the Battle of Yorktown. The oldest war memorial in France.

Former Jesuit College where Daniel Carroll, John Carroll and Charles Carroll from Maryland studied. Daniel and Charles signed the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence; John founded Georgetown University.

Where American nurses, arriving by the hundreds from 1914, were based.

On March 20, 1778, Franklin, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee were officially received by Louis XVI following the signing of the alliance treaty. The Treaty of Versailles of 1783 was also signed there, at the Hôtel des Affaires étrangères et de la Marine.

La Fayette's residence from 1802 until his death in 1834. Property of the Josée-et-René-de-Chambrun Foundation, which preserves the Marquis's private archives.

Estate of Admiral de Grasse, where he died on January 11, 1788. In 1786, Congress presented him with four cannons captured from the British at Yorktown.

Anglo-Chinese garden created between 1774 and 1789, visited by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson during their time in France.

Port from which La Fayette first sailed for America in 1777 aboard La Victoire. Thomas Jefferson visited the vineyards in May 1787. The Hôtel Fenwick (1 Cours Xavier Arnozan) housed the first U.S. consulate in the world (1790).

Monument commemorating La Fayette's departure from the port of Pauillac aboard La Victoire on March 25, 1777.

Memorial stele recalling La Fayette's departure in 1777 and the American commitment in 1917. The original monument (1938) was dynamited in 1942.

Arsenal founded by Louis XIV in 1666, where L'Hermione was built in 1779. La Fayette embarked there on March 20, 1780 for his second voyage to America. The frigate, rebuilt identically between 1997 and 2014, made a transatlantic crossing in 2015.

Stele commemorating La Fayette's embarkation aboard L'Hermione in March 1780.

Roman temple that inspired Thomas Jefferson for the construction of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. Jefferson visited Nîmes on March 19, 1787 during his journey through southern France.

Thomas Jefferson sailed on the canal in May 1787 and took extensive notes on its technical achievements, which inspired his ideas for developing waterways in the United States.

Now Collège Pierre-de-Fermat. Where Thomas Jefferson stayed on May 21–22, 1787 during his Canal du Midi journey.

The stronghold of Admiral de Grasse, born September 13, 1722 at the Château des Valettes du Bar. A statue by Cyril de La Patellière stands before the Château des Comtes de Grasse in Bar-sur-Loup, bearing Washington's quote: "You have been the arbiter of the war." The Naval Museum in Grasse traces the Admiral's story.

From where Admiral d'Estaing and the first reinforcements departed. See the National Naval Museum.

The obelisk dedicated to the four great works of King Louis XVI: serfdom abolished, freedom of trade, the navy restored, and America made independent.

Statue of the Bailli de Suffren (1729–1788) on the quay. Suffren, born at the Château de Saint-Cannat near Aix-en-Provence, commanded naval operations in the Indian Ocean during the American War of Independence.