The Place du Châtelet (French pronunciation: [plas dy ʃatlɛ]) is a public square in Paris, on the right bank of the river Seine, on the borderline between the 1st and 4th arrondissements. It lies at the north end of the Pont au Change, a bridge that connects the Île de la Cité, near the Palais de Justice and the Conciergerie, to the right bank.
Two identical-looking theatres stand facing the square, the Théâtre du Châtelet and the Théâtre de la Ville, both designed by architect Gabriel Davioud and completed between 1860 and 1862 as part of Baron Haussmann's grand reconfiguration of Paris.
The name "Châtelet" refers to the stronghold, the Grand Châtelet, that guarded the northern end of the Pont au Change, containing the offices of the prévôt de Paris and a number of prisons, until it was demolished in 1802-10.