France Square (Plaza Francia in Spanish), also known as "Plaza Altamira", is a public space located in

Altamira Altamira may refer to: People *Altamira (surname) Places *Cave of Altamira, a cave in Cantabria, Spain famous for its paintings and carving *Altamira, Pará, a city in the Brazilian state of Pará * Altamira, Huila, a town and municipality in C ...

, east

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. It was built at the beginning of the 1940s and opened on August 11, 1945, with the original name of "Plaza Altamira". Its name was later changed due to an agreement between the cities of Caracas and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to have a Venezuela Square in Paris and a France Square in Caracas. This square was designed by town planner Luis Roche within the project of "Altamira neighborhood", a wealthy district of

Chacao municipality Chacao is one of the five political and administrative subdivisions of the city of Caracas, Venezuela. The other four are Baruta, El Hatillo, Libertador and Sucre. This legal entity is known as the Caracas Metropolitan District. Chacao is also ...

in Miranda States. In France Square stands an

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

— one of the landmarks of Caracas — the water mirror and a fountain that falls till the bottom of the square, which has turned into a small shopping center and the main entrance of Altamira subway station. In 2002 this square became the place where many people congregated in protest against the president at the time, Hugo Chávez, in a very big national strike known as the "Paro Petrolero".

References

Buildings and structures in Caracas Squares in Venezuela Tourist attractions in Caracas {{Venezuela-geo-stub