Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville – Esplanade de la Libération

The open square you are standing in has a name that explains its original purpose. Before it was the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, it was called the Place de Grève. The word grève describes the flat, sandy, or gravel-covered banks of a river. This area was once the primary harbor for the city, where barges unloaded goods brought into Paris by way of the Seine.