La Fontaine des Eléphants, Chambéry, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Fontaine des Éléphants is Chambéry's best-known monument, a tall stone column on the Place des Éléphants, topped by a statue and held up by four elephants. It was put up in 1838 to honour General de Boigne, a local-born adventurer who became one of the city's great benefactors.

The story behind it

Benoît de Boigne was born Benoist Le Borgne in Chambéry in 1751 and died in the same city in 1830. A Savoyard adventurer, he made his fortune in India, and he never forgot his hometown. He gave generously to Chambéry, and the city thanked him with this monument a few years after his death.

The project chosen was by Pierre-Victor Sappey of Grenoble, picked for its originality and scale despite a modest cost. The whole structure is 17.65 metres high and built in limestone. It is a curious, skilful stacking of three monuments in one: a fountain, a column and a statue. The elephants nod to the years de Boigne spent in India. Locals have long joked about the sculpture with a cheeky nickname, the "quatre sans cul", because the elephants appear without their rear ends.

What to look for

• The four elephants at the base, with their heads and forequarters emerging from the stonework, which explain the fountain's name and its local nickname.
• The statue of General de Boigne at the very top of the column, looking down over the square he is remembered by.
• The way the monument layers a fountain, a column and a statue into a single vertical shape, which is easiest to appreciate from a few steps back.
• The pale limestone itself, and how it catches the light differently in the morning and at the end of the afternoon.

Tips for your visit

• It stands in the open air in the middle of the square, so you can look at it any time and it costs nothing. Ten minutes is enough to walk around it and read its details.
• Soft light in the morning or early evening is best for photographs, and the square is usually calmer outside rush hours.
• Rue de Boigne, named after the same benefactor, starts close by and leads you into the old town, so the fountain makes a natural starting point for a stroll.
• There is nothing to enter, but it is worth pairing with other stops in the centre. Check current opening hours for any museum or building you want to go into nearby.

See it on a quest

Chambéry: The Minimalist’s Treasure Hunt passes the Fontaine des Éléphants as one stop on a longer walking route through the city. You reach the monument on foot, the app tells you about it as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what stands in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start whenever suits you, with no guide and no group to join.