The place Vendôme is an octagonal square in the 1st arrondissement, next to the Tuileries Garden and the rue de la Paix. Laid out from 1699 to plans by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, it is surrounded by uniform classical facades. At the centre stands the Vendôme column, about 44 metres high, erected between 1806 and 1810 and covered with the bronze of captured cannons, with Napoleon at the top. Today it is the square of the great jewellers and of the Ritz. Access is free.
Highlights
The Vendôme column
Inspired by Trajan's Column in Rome, it carries a spiral bas-relief telling the 1805 campaign. It was pulled down in 1871 during the Commune, then rebuilt in 1875.
The jewellers
Boucheron (1893, the first house on the square), Cartier, Chanel Fine Jewellery and others line up their windows: you can look without buying.
The Ritz Paris
The palace hotel at no. 15 dates from 1898; its bar and lounges can be visited by ordering a drink, with the usual caution on prices.
Practical info
Tips
- The square is watched and very clean, but it also serves as a car park for luxury cars: there is nothing to visit inside the shops unless you go in. For a coherent day, continue to the Tuileries Garden or the Opéra Garnier. The city's palace hotels are compared in our article on Paris palace hotels.
How to get there
Metro Tuileries (line 1), Opéra (lines 3, 7 and 8) or Madeleine (lines 8, 12 and 14), a few minutes on foot.
Opening hours
Nearby
See on the map →
Comments
No comments yet.