Place des Grands Hommes is not just a square, but was built for a neighbourhood with a philosophy of life, in the light of utopias, in the image of free spirits.
Montaigne, Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire each have a dedicated street here, joining in a star shape onto a gallery forming its centre, a gallery renovated in 1991 and inaugurated by Queen Elisabeth II.
This emblematic feature of the Triangle d'Or district, of which the Bordelais are proud, has had many lives but has always remained a district of exchange, life and… love.
It is the names given to these adjoining streets that gave the square its name.
