From the marble queens of the Luxembourg Garden to the golden pioneers of the 2024 Olympic Games, discover the monuments across Paris honoring remarkable women who shaped the city’s history.
Every March, International Women’s Day offers a moment to look again at the world around us. In Paris, that invitation extends far beyond museums and history books — it reaches into the city’s gardens, squares, and quiet corners where statues stand watch over everyday life.
For centuries, the monumental landscape of Paris told a predictable story. Kings, generals, and statesmen dominated public monuments, while women were largely depicted as allegories — Liberty, Justice, or the Republic.
But Paris is slowly rewriting that narrative.
Across the city, statues and memorials are increasingly celebrating remarkable women who shaped French culture, politics, science, and the arts. From queens in marble to singers immortalized in bronze, these monuments reveal a different perspective on Parisian history.
A recent announcement illustrates this evolution. The city plans to add the names of 72 women scientists to the Eiffel Tower, correcting a remarkable historical oversight. When the tower was inaugurated in 1889, the first floor was engraved with the names of 72 male scientists, engineers, and innovators. Soon, women such as Marie Curie and pioneering obstetrician Angélique du Coudray will join them.
It is a symbolic gesture — but in Paris, symbolism matters.
At 56Paris, the subject resonates with us in a particularly personal way. From 2021 until the beginning of 2026, our real estate agency operated as an entirely women-led team, assisting international clients searching for homes in the French capital. Helping buyers discover the city also means sharing the stories that make Paris so fascinating.
So on the occasion of International Women’s Day, we took a closer look at some of the monuments that celebrate extraordinary women across Paris.
Their stories, like the city itself, are anything but ordinary.
Queens Beneath the Chestnut Trees: The Luxembourg Garden
A stroll through the Jardin du Luxembourg, located between Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Latin Quarter (read more about the neighborhood in our article on Saint-Germain-des-Prés), reveals one of Paris’s earliest tributes to influential women.
Along the garden’s grand terrace stands a series of twenty marble statues of queens and historical figures, installed between 1843 and 1848 during the reign of Louis-Philippe.
These statues form a remarkable open-air gallery of female power.
Among them is Blanche of Castile, the formidable mother of King Louis IX. Twice regent of France, she ruled the kingdom during her son’s minority and successfully navigated rebellions from powerful nobles.
Nearby stands Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV, who governed France during the future Sun King’s childhood while maintaining delicate alliances within the royal court.
Marguerite of Navarre, sister of King Francis I, was one of the most influential intellectual figures of the Renaissance. Her book The Heptameron explored human relationships with surprising modernity, while her court welcomed philosophers and reformers.
And towering behind them in historical influence is Marie de Medici, the queen who commissioned the Luxembourg Palace itself — a reminder that some of Paris’s most beautiful landmarks owe their existence to powerful women.
Watching over them all is Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. According to legend, in the 5th century she persuaded the people of Paris not to flee when Attila the Hun approached the city.
Today, these statues quietly observe the rhythm of Parisian life: children sailing toy boats across the basin, students revising for exams, and joggers weaving beneath the chestnut trees.
Statues in the Luxembourg Garden of Paris i) Anne of Austria ii) Marguerite of Navarre iii) Marie de Medici
Golden Pioneers: Women of the 2024 Olympic Games
Nearly two centuries later, Paris added a bold and contemporary chapter to its monuments.
During the 2024 Summer Olympics, the city unveiled ten monumental golden statues celebrating influential women in French history. Installed along Rue de la Chapelle, each sculpture stands more than four meters high.
These figures represent pioneers whose courage reshaped society.
Among them is Olympe de Gouges, who wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in 1791 — a revolutionary text demanding equality during the French Revolution.
Another statue honors Simone de Beauvoir, whose groundbreaking book The Second Sex challenged traditional views of gender and became a cornerstone of feminist philosophy.
Simone Veil, survivor of Auschwitz and later President of the European Parliament, is remembered for championing the legalization of abortion in France in 1975.
Also honored is Alice Milliat, a tireless advocate for women’s sports who organized the Women’s World Games in the 1920s after the Olympic movement initially refused to include female athletes.
Illuminated at night, these golden statues feel almost cinematic — a powerful procession of pioneers entering the city.
Dalida, Piaf and the Women Who Became Parisian Legends
Not all monuments in Paris are monumental in scale.
Some feel almost intimate.
In Montmartre, visitors leave flowers beside the bust of Dalida, the beloved singer who lived nearby. The small square that bears her name offers one of the most charming viewpoints over the neighborhood.
Montmartre remains one of the most iconic places to live in Paris, a village-like district filled with artistic history (you can read more in our article about Montmartre).
And it is impossible to think of Dalida without remembering the iconic duet “Paroles, paroles”, where she responds to Alain Delon’s endless declarations of love with amused skepticism.
Across the city in Belleville, a bronze statue honors Édith Piaf, the legendary singer born in the neighborhood. Known as La Môme Piaf — the little sparrow — her voice carried the emotion of Paris across the world.
These statues feel less like official monuments and more like neighbors — reminders that Parisian memory is shaped not only by history, but also by affection.
Writers, Performers and Resistance Heroes
Other monuments celebrate women who left their mark on literature, theater, and the struggle for freedom.
In the Luxembourg Garden, visitors can also find a statue of George Sand, one of the most influential writers of the 19th century. Famous for wearing men’s clothing in public — shocking at the time — she defended artistic freedom and independence with remarkable determination.
Nearby, the memory of Sarah Bernhardt, one of the most celebrated actresses in history, remains deeply linked to Parisian theater culture.
And in the Panthéon, Joséphine Baker became the first Black woman to enter the French national mausoleum in 2021. A dancer, singer, and resistance fighter during World War II, she later devoted much of her life to civil rights activism.
A City That Continues to Evolve
Paris has always been a city of monuments.
But monuments are more than decorative sculptures — they reflect how a society chooses to remember its past.
From the marble queens of the Luxembourg Garden to the golden pioneers unveiled during the Olympic Games, Paris is gradually giving greater visibility to the women who helped shape its identity.
At 56Paris, we feel particularly connected to that spirit of evolution. For several years, our agency itself reflected this dynamic as an all-women team assisting international clients searching for homes in Paris.
Today, our team continues to guide buyers from around the world through the process of buying property in Paris, helping them discover not only apartments but also the remarkable cultural stories that make the city so unique.
If you’d like to learn more about our story, you can watch this interview recorded a couple of years ago:
Because in Paris, history is everywhere — sometimes written in books, sometimes carved in stone, and sometimes simply waiting to be discovered during a walk through the city.
About 56Paris Real Estate
56Paris is a boutique English-speaking real estate agency in Paris specializing in helping international buyers find exceptional homes in the French capital. Our team assists clients throughout the process of buying property in Paris, from property search to closing and beyond.