Hotel Deville
A swampy area of the Seine known as La Place de Greve, this site has held a lofty spot in the history of Paris since the fourteenth century. The site of public uprisings (faire la greve = to strike), political rallies, executions and innumerable festivals and celebrations. Originally, a meeting place of the Water Merchants, the Hotel De Ville or Town Hall, was built on the square in 1357.