Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris, lies at the heart of the fashionable Marais district, and is a fine example of 16th century town planning. A symmetrical square, it is surrounded on all sides by red brick and white stone houses, with grey slate roofs, whose doorways all open out on to vaulted arcades.
The arcades house fashionable art galleries and trendy cafes, which all lookout on to the garden in the centre of the square, which is a nice place to relax.
Victor Hugo lived at number 6 Place des Vogues from 1832 1848, at the time he was writing his masterpiece ‘Les Miserables.’ His house, now a free museum dedicated to the author’s life, allows you to see the inside of one of these 16th century houses which were once the homes of Paris’ aristocratic elite.
On the south east corner of the Square is the entrance way to Hotel de Sully. Built in 1624, Hotel de Sully was purchased by Henry IV’s Chief Minister, the Duke of Sully, who after a life time of thrift, lived a lavish retirement here with his much younger bride. The building is now home to the “National Office of Historical Monuments and Sites’ and usually closed to the public, but the courtyard and garden are free to visit.
Place des Vosges now stands on what was once the site of the Hôtel des Tournelles. Tournelles, a royal residence, was destroyed by order of Catherine de Medicis after her husband King Henry II died there on the 10 Jul 1559, after being injured in a tournament. Originally named Place Royal, Place des Vogues was built on the vacant site by Henry IV between 1605 to 1612.
The square was given its present name, Place des Vosges, in 1799 by order of Napoleon in honour of the French region of Vosges, which was the first to pay the taxes that had been levied to raise finance for his government’s military campaigns.
How to Get There
Metro: Bastille - Line 1, 7, 8
or Metro: St Paul - Line 1
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