It is a gift from the ruler of Egypt, about three thousand years old, and it was set up here in 1836 on the spot where the guillotine stood during the Revolution. Louis XVI was executed on this square in 1793, and so, in the Terror that followed, were over a thousand others. Now the square is a roundabout with fountains, ringed by traffic and framed by the Tuileries gardens on one side and the Madeleine church on the other. The banks of the Seine in this part of the city are UNESCO listed.
The honest advice for a rider is to treat Paris as a city to park in. The Périphérique ring road is fast, dense and unforgiving, and central Paris is a web of one-way streets, bus lanes, cobbles and tram lines. Paris also has a low-emission zone, so find out if your bike needs the Crit'Air sticker before you ride in, and look up the latest rules on parking. Motorcycle bays are common at the edges of the centre, and a garage near a metro line is the sanest option. Petrol stations are rare in the middle of the city, so fill up on the outskirts, in Levallois-Perret or Clichy, which are only a few kilometres away.
On foot, the area is easy. You can walk the Tuileries to the Louvre, cross the Pont de la Concorde to the Assemblée nationale, or head up the Rue Royale to the Madeleine and the smart shops of the Faubourg Saint-Honoré. The Champs-Élysées begins at the square's northwest corner and runs gently uphill to the Arc de Triomphe. Early morning, before the coaches arrive, gives you the best light on the stone and the fewest crowds.
If you want a break, take a coffee at a pavement cafe and watch the traffic rotate around the obelisk. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with soft light and fewer tourists. The metro station at Concorde is a good way to move around if the bike stays in the garage.