Place des Jacobins

This square has, pretty much always, been an important gathering place for the people of Lyon. In his famous novel Pantagruel, François Rabelais wrote about this place, formerly known as Place Confort, characterizing the residents as the “chatterboxs of Confort”. Now known as Place des Jacobins, this is where many of Lyon’s residents gather to enjoy the square’s strategic location, not far from Bellecour and at the heart of the Presqu’île’s shopping streets. The large fountain at its centre was designed by Gaspard André, a Lyon architect who also built the impressive Théâtre des Célestins. It represents four great Lyonnais artists, positioned under the four vaults of the temple of art: Philippe Delorme, architect, Gérard Audran, engraver, Guillaume Coustou, sculptor, and Hippolyte Flandrin, painter. Listed Historic Monument in 1992, the Jacobins fountain has over the years become the emblem of this square, now considered to be Lyon’s favorite square.