The 12th arrondissement of Paris (XII arrondissement) is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is the easternmost arrondissement of Paris, as well as the largest by area. In 2019, it had a population of 139,297.
The 12th arrondissement comprises the Gare de Lyon and Bois de Vincennes. It borders the inner suburbs of Charenton-le-Pont and Saint-Mandé in Val-de-Marne.
The Place de la Bastille (French pronunciation: [plas d(ə) la bastij]) is a square in Paris where the Bastille Prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of the prison remains.
The square straddles three arrondissements of Paris, namely the 4th, 11th and 12th. The square and its surrounding areas are normally called simply Bastille. The July Column (Colonne de Juillet) which commemorates the events of the July Revolution (1830) stands at the center of the square. Other notable features include the Bastille Opera, the Bastille subway station and a section of the Canal Saint Martin. Prior to 1984, the former Bastille railway station stood where the opera house now stands.
The Opéra Bastille (French: [ɔpeʁa bastij] , "Bastille Opera House") is a modern opera house in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. Inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand's Grands Travaux, it became the main facility of the Paris National Opera, France's principal opera company, alongside the older Palais Garnier; most opera performances are shown at the Bastille along with some ballet performances and symphony concerts, while Palais Garnier presents a mix of opera and ballet performances.
Designed by Uruguayan-Canadian architect Carlos Ott, it is situated facing Place de la Bastille. It can seat 2,723 people in total, with a main theatre, concert hall and studio theatre, making it the largest opera house in Europe.
The Place de la Nation (French pronunciation: [plas də la nɑsjɔ̃]; formerly the Place du Trône [- tʁon], subsequently the Place du Trône-Renversé [- ʁɑ̃vɛʁse] during the French Revolution) is a circle on the eastern side of Paris, between the Place de la Bastille and the Bois de Vincennes, on the border of the 11th and 12th arrondissements. Widely known for having the most active guillotines during the Revolution, the square acquired its current name on Bastille Day, 14 July 1880, under the Third Republic.
The square includes a large bronze sculpture by Aimé-Jules Dalou, the Triumph of the Republic, depicting the personification of France, Marianne, and is encircled by shops and a flower garden. It is served by the Paris Metro station Nation.
The campagne des banquets (banquet campaign) were political meetings during the July Monarchy in France which destabilized the King of the French Louis Philippe I. The campaign officially took place from 9 July 1847 to 25 December 1847, but in fact continued until the February 1848 Revolution during which the Second Republic was proclaimed. During this campaign, the Republican triptych Liberté, égalité, fraternité resurfaced, for example in Lille with Ledru-Rollin.
The banquets were private political meetings which were a way to circumvent the 1835 act prohibiting public assemblies. The first session was in Paris on 9 July 1847, and progressively spread to all of the French provinces. The prohibition of one of these meetings by François Guizot's cabinet, supposed to take place on 14 January 1848 in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, and then of another one set up for 22 February 1848, were the immediate cause of the riots which led to Louis-Philippe's abdication.
Bastille (French pronunciation: [bastij] ) is a station on Line 1, Line 5 and Line 8 of the Paris Métro. Located under the Place de la Bastille and near the former location of the Bastille, it is situated on the border of the 4th, 11th and 12th arrondissement.
Château de Vincennes (French pronunciation: [ʃɑto d(ə) vɛ̃sɛn]) is a station on line 1 of the Paris Métro, situated on the border between the communes of Vincennes and the Bois de Vincennes, which is part of the 12th arrondissement of Paris. It is named after the nearby Château de Vincennes.
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris Gare de Lyon (French pronunciation: [paʁi ɡaʁ də ljɔ̃]), is one of the seven large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and the RER D accounting for around 110 million and the RER A accounting for 38 million, making it the second-busiest station of France after the Gare du Nord and just ahead of Gare Saint-Lazare; and one of the busiest in Europe.
The station is located in the 12th arrondissement, on the right bank of the river Seine, in the east of Paris. Opened in 1849, it is the northern terminus of the Paris–Marseille railway. It is named after the city of Lyon, a stop for many long-distance trains departing here, most en route to the South of France. The station is served by high-speed TGV trains to Southern and Eastern France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Spain. The station also hosts regional trains and the RER and also the Gare de Lyon Métro station.
Porte de Vincennes (French pronunciation: [pɔʁt də vɛ̃sɛn]) is a station on Line 1 of the Paris Métro, situated on the Cours de Vincennes, at the border of the 12th and 20th arrondissements of Paris. It is named after the Porte de Vincennes, a gate at the former Thiers Wall, which was at the beginning of the road to Vincennes.