The bronze Lion de Belfort dominates the traffic-laden Place Denfert Rochereau, a favourite starting point for the city's countless political demonstrations. The regal beast was sculpted by Bartholdi, and is a scaled-down replica of the one in Belfort, commemorating the Colonel Denfert-Rochereau's brave defence of the town in 1870. Nearby rue Daguerre is a sociable, pedestrianised market street brimming with cafés and food shops.
Place Denfert Rochereau is also where you'll find the entrance to the Catacombes, a vast network of bone-lined tunnels. Click here for more information. The entrance is next to one of the gloomy toll gates of the Mur des Fermiers-Généraux built by Ledoux in the 1780s.