Place Vendôme

Place Vendôme Review

Property laws have kept this refined square spare and pure. The architect Jules-Hardouin Mansart designed the perfectly proportioned plaza in 1702 as an octagon. To maintain a uniform appearance, Mansart built only the facades of the hôtels particuliers (mansions), and the lots behind were then sold to buyers who customized their palaces. In the square's center, a 144-foot column erected by Napoléon was toppled in 1871 by painter Gustave Courbet and his band of Revolutionaries. The Third Republic stuck the pieces back together again and sent him the bill, though he died before the first payment was due. Chopin lived and died at No. 12, which is also where Napoléon III enjoyed trysts with his mistress; since 1902 it has been home to Chaumet, one of several high-end jewelers in the area. At No. 15, the Hotel Ritz remains a top destination where celebs can often be found quaffing some of the city's best—and priciest—cocktails in the tiny Hemingway Bar.