Originally known as the Place Royale, the Place des Vosges is the oldest square in Paris. Located in the fashionable and historic Marais district, it is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful squares in the world.
The Place des Vosges was begun in 1605 as residences for courtiers in the service of Henri IV and completed in 1612. Originally called Place Royale, in 1799 it was renamed after the Department of the Vosges, a part of France near the German border. (The Vosges was the first to pay its taxes to a particular military campaign.) With arcaded buildings in brick and cream-colored stone, these royal-style residences face a cool formal garden lined with linden trees.
Built on the site of the Hôtel des Tournelles and its gardens, the Place was part of the first European program of royal city planning. In a very real sense, it is the prototype of all the residential squares of European cities that followed.
The square, which now contains a lovely little park, is beautiful, with several fountains, symmetric paths crossing through the park from one side to the other, old trees that filter the light, and a statue of Louis XIII is located in its center. Just sit down on one of the benches notice all the details you'll see, like the old lanterns that adorn the square.
A true square (140 m x 140 m), you can traverse the entire breadth of it between the arcade. From one of our available Paris apartment rentals place des Vosges, you may well see families with their beautifully dressed children passing the afternoon in the cool of the shade. There are several nice restaurants to choose from here, as well, many art galleries and of course the Maison de Victor Hugo. You may also hear the strains of choral and classical music as you stroll.
In its heyday, the garden of the Place was the most fashionable place to see and be seen. A darker side of the square was in evidence at night, when the duelists came to settle debts. The fashion-conscious set followed the court, and as a result magnificent houses were built in the surrounding streets. However, when Louis XIV moved the court to Versailles, the area soon fell out of style. As other neighborhoods were developed into the elegant Paris most people recognize today, the Marais stayed resolutely in the past. However in the 1960s the Marais was declared an historic preservation district and today the area is very fashionable again indeed.
The arcades around the Place de Vosges are home to numerous cafes and super-chic boutiques, and elegant young mothers bring their children to play in the garden. It seems as if every street has its own specialty shop or gallery, and some of the wonderful homes nearby have become museums.
The square was inaugurated in 1612 with a grand carousel to celebrate the wedding of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. One of the new features of the Place Royale (as it was then called) was that the housefronts were all built to the same design, probably by Baptiste du Cerceau, of red brick with strips of stone quoins over vaulted arcades on square pillars. Take it all in from one of several accommodating paris apartments. Two pavilions that rise higher than the unified roofline of the square balance the north and south faces, offering access to the square through triple arches. Although they are designated the Pavilion of the King and of the Queen, no royalty has ever actually lived in the aristocratic square. Today the square is planted with a grove of mature lindens. The tranquility of the square combined with the symmetry of the park and the surrounding buildings is a feast for the eyes.
The square is right in the middle of the Marais district. When walking from your Paris apartment rental Place des Vosges , whether you wish to visit the house of Victor Hugo, lie down in the grass and relaxing after a long day, shop at one of the nearby boutiques or eat in one of the delicious bistros around, you will not be disappointed.
If you're a fan Hugo's work, you will find your Paris vacation rental is mere steps away from his home, now a very relaxing little museum with a lovely old, creaking, sideways-slanted wooden staircase. Inside are the effects of the writer, with displays illustrating the appearance of his house when he lived there.
You could spend days exploring the Marais as well, but be sure to make time to sit in this beautiful square, either in the garden (no charge) or at one of the many adjacent cafes or restaurants.
