Bourse de commerce (Paris)

The Bourse de Commerce is a striking circular landmark that has spent centuries reinventing its purpose in the heart of Paris. Its history begins in the sixteenth century with a queen and an astronomer. Catherine de Medici commissioned a tall, fluted stone column right here to serve as an observatory for her personal astrologer, who used it to study the stars above the city. That column still stands today, embedded in the building's exterior as a direct link to the site's royal roots.