Contemporary · Squares

Place Diana

Paris

Place Diana is a square on the right bank of the Seine, located between place de l’Alma upstream to the east and a parapet downstream to the west. At this point, the Georges-Pompidou road exits the Alma bridge tunnel and merges with avenue de New-York, which begins at the same location. The square is served by line 9 at Alma - Marceau station.

The site has a complex history linked to naming decisions and nearby commemorative features. A municipal decree once established place Maria-Callas on part of place de l’Alma, with an inauguration planned to mark the twentieth anniversary of Maria Callas’s death. The project was later affected by the strong public attention given to the Flamme de la Liberté, a replica of the Statue of Liberty torch erected in 1989, which became an informal memorial for Diana Spencer after her death in a road accident under the place Maria-Callas at the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. The inauguration was canceled, and the name Maria Callas was eventually assigned elsewhere. After an earlier naming proposal was abandoned, the project to name the place Diana was resumed and voted by the Conseil de Paris in early 2019 on expanded territory. The Place Diana sign is also photographed by tourists with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Map showing the location of Place Diana in Paris
Location of Place Diana in Paris

Nearby Objects

Location and Access

Place Diana is located on the right bank of the Seine, between place de l'Alma to the east and a parapet to the west. At the parapet, the Georges-Pompidou road exits the Alma bridge tunnel, and at place Diana it merges with avenue de New-York, which begins at that point. The site is served by line 9 at the Alma - Marceau station.

Naming of Place Diana

The area now known as Place Diana has a history shaped by repeated naming decisions and public memorial practices. Historique records that the Conseil de Paris first created a municipal decree establishing place Maria-Callas on part of place de l Alma, with the inauguration scheduled to mark the twentieth anniversary of Maria Callas's death. However, the inauguration was later canceled because of the strong public response around the Flamme de la Liberte, a replica of the Statue of Liberty torch that stands on the square and was erected in 1989. After Diana Spencer died in a road accident under the place at the Pont de l Alma tunnel, the flame gained renewed public interest as a spontaneous memorial. To avoid conflicting with international homage to Diana Spencer, the place officially bore Maria Callas's name without street plaques, and the name was later assigned in 2000 to allee Maria-Callas further west. The idea of naming the place after Diana was first abandoned because of opposition from British authorities, then resumed and voted by the Conseil de Paris in early 2019 on expanded territory. Historique also notes that the Place Diana sign is photographed by tourists with the Eiffel Tower in the background.