PLACE VENDÔME

Description

Essentials about Place Vendôme in brief

Paris is a city of many beautiful squares. But one of the most beautiful is definitely Place Vendôme, one of the five so-called royal squares of Paris. Place Vendôme is located in the heart of the city between the Opéra Garnier and the Tuileries Garden. Designed in a magnificent neoclassical style and framed by splendid townhouses, the square should definitely be one of the destinations during a walk through the center of Paris. Especially for visitors with a well-filled wallet, Place Vendôme is a worthwhile destination, because here you can stop at the world-famous Hotel Ritz or spend your money in one of the flagship stores of the most expensive jewelry and watch brands.

The history and layout of Place Vendôme

Following the example of Place des Vosges, King Louis XIV planned the construction of another square, this time in the heart of the city. The architect’s plan envisioned a very ambitious development for the 177-meter-long and 152-meter-wide square with a library, academies and the mint, connected by Corinthian arcades. However, the construction of Place Vendôme was delayed due to the death of the Minister of Construction as well as financial difficulties of the King, which eventually led to the sale of the site to the City of Paris in 1699. The latter had new, less ambitious plans drawn up. Nevertheless, the realized square design of Place Vendôme became the model for most of the squares in France.

In 1799, the square was given its current name, which goes back to Cèsar de Vendome, whose wife founded a nunnery that once stood on the site of the square. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte signed a decree to erect a new column in the square. The model was Trajan’s Column in Rome. The foundation stone of the 43-meter-high column with Napoleon as the emperor was laid in 1806, and it was inaugurated four years later. The triumphal column was cast from 133 Russian and Austrian cannons, which came from Napoleon’s victory in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. By the way, the column had an eventful history. Several times it was demolished and rebuilt.

Luxury on Place Vendôme

Today, Place Vendôme is known mainly for two things. First, as the address of the world-famous Hotel Ritz. And secondly as the address for the who’s who of the international jewelry and watch industry. If you have a well-filled wallet, you can spend a few euros on a new piece of jewelry or a timepiece at Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Piaget, Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre Breguet and many other top brands on Place Vendôme.