4ᵉ arrondissement · Paris
Memorial of the Martyrs of the Deportation
French name: Memorial des martyrs de la Deportation
Free admission
- Always freeFree every day
Closed: Fri, May 1, 2026 – Fri, May 1, 2026
Closed: Sat, Feb 14, 2026 – Mon, Mar 2, 2026
Address
Square de l'Ile-de-France, 7 quai de l'Archeveche, 75004 Paris
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Opening hours
Mon–Fri 15:00-18:00 · Sat, Sun 09:30-18:00 · Jul–Aug 09:30-18:00
Set into the eastern tip of the Ile de la Cite, beneath the square de l'Ile-de-France and behind the apse of Notre-Dame, the Memorial des martyrs de la Deportation was designed by the architect Georges-Henri Pingusson and inaugurated by General de Gaulle on 12 April 1962. It is dedicated to everyone deported from France during the Occupation, and was commissioned by the association of former deportees and resistance members Le Reseau du souvenir. The architecture does all the work. A narrow staircase drops between two concrete walls, a spiked gate opens, and you emerge into a closed court from which the river is visible only through a thin barred slot. The crypt holds the tomb of an unknown deportee, fifteen urns of earth and ashes brought back from the main Nazi camps, and a corridor lined with thousands of lit glass rods. An interpretive display, renovated in 2016, occupies the upper rooms. Entry is free, audioguides included, and free guided tours are offered in French and English, with German and Spanish on request. Watch the closing days: the memorial shuts on the first Wednesday of every month, on 1 May and during the French winter school holidays. On weekdays the morning is reserved for booked guided tours; unaccompanied visits start at 3pm.