Paris in Winter | The Flame of Liberty and Princess Diana’s Final Journey⎮Pont de l’Alma Tunnel – Travel guides for couples; romantic escapes, city breaks + worldwide adventures

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This guide forms part of our complete France Travel Guide , featuring scenic road trips, iconic destinations, practical travel advice and honest first-hand travel experiences from across France.

This article is also part of our 48 Hrs; Paris in Winter series, exploring Normandy Beaches and experiencing Eurostar for the first time. Read the complete itinerary here.

Full Paris Winter Itinerary:

How a symbol of Franco-American friendship became Paris’s unofficial memorial to Princess Diana

As we wandered along the cobblestoned streets of Paris, we suddenly came across a statue that looked familiar… it turned out to be the Flame of Liberty, that is now a permanent memorial/shrine & place of remembrance for Princess Diana.

The Flame of Liberty in is a full-sized, gold-leaf-covered replica of the flame of the torch from New York City’s Statue of Liberty.

The monument (which measures about 3.5 metres in height) is a monument of a flame, made of gilded copper, supported by a pedestal of gray-and-black marble.

The monument was installed in 1989, eight years before Diana’s death. It was created as a symbol of Franco-American friendship and was never designed as her memorial.

It’s located near the northern end of Pont de l’Alma tunnel in the 16th arrondissement.

This sits right above the tunnel where Diana was killed in 1997, when the car she was travelling in (trying to get away from paparazzi) crashed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel.

Even though it was never intended to be a memorial for the Princess, fans and well-wishers from all over the world transformed the site by leaving flowers, photographs, candles, and written messages, some that you can still see today.

The surrounding square was officially named Place Diana in 2019, recognizing its longstanding association with the princess. French-American Cultural Foundation⁠

The Tragic Death of Princess Diana

Shortly after midnight on August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, left the Hôtel Ritz Paris with her companion Dodi Fayed. They departed through the hotel’s rear entrance in a Mercedes-Benz driven by Ritz security official Henri Paul. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones travelled in the front passenger seat. Their destination was Fayed’s apartment near the Champs-Élysées, while photographers followed the vehicle through central Paris.

At approximately 12:23 a.m., only minutes after leaving the Ritz, the Mercedes entered the Pont de l’Alma underpass at high speed. Paul lost control, and the vehicle struck the tunnel’s 13th concrete pillar. Dodi Fayed and Henri Paul died at the scene. Rees-Jones was seriously injured but survived. Diana was freed from the wreckage, treated by emergency personnel and transported to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital.

Doctors attempted emergency surgery, but Diana died from severe internal chest injuries at approximately 4:00 a.m. She was 36 years old. French and British investigations concluded that excessive speed and Henri Paul’s impairment by alcohol were central causes of the collision. A British inquest jury ruled in 2008 that Diana and Fayed had been unlawfully killed through the grossly negligent driving of Paul and the pursuing paparazzi. Associated Press⁠

Listen to Candle in the Wind by Elton John. Elton and Bernie Taupin reworked Candle in the Wind, a song originally released in 1973 and written about Marilyn Monroe. Taupin created new lyrics in Diana’s memory, beginning with the now-famous reference to an “English Rose.”

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