Conciergerie

You are approaching the Conciergerie, a place defined by a dramatic shift from royal luxury to grim confinement. Before it became one of history's most feared prisons, this site served as the primary residence for the kings of France. By the fourteenth century, the royal family relocated to the Louvre, leaving the palace to be managed by a high-ranking official known as the concierge. This administrator eventually converted the palace lower levels into a holding area for prisoners, a transformation that gave the building its enduring name.