Place Vendôme
On Gingerguide's self-guided Paris audio tour, Place Vendôme is a stop worth about ~45 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type square
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Paris Paris guide
About Place Vendôme
Paris's most elegant square, lined with luxury jewellers and the legendary Ritz hotel, centred on a column made from 1,250 Austrian and Russian cannons captured at Austerlitz.
Place Vendôme is the most exclusive address in Paris, a perfectly proportioned octagonal square designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1699-1702 for Louis XIV. Its uniform facades of golden stone with high mansard roofs house some of the world's most prestigious establishments: Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chaumet, Bulgari, and a dozen other fine jewellers, as well as the legendary Ritz Paris hotel, established at No. 15 in 1898.
At the centre stands the Vendôme Column, a 44-metre bronze victory column modelled on Trajan's Column in Rome, made from 1,250 Austrian and Russian cannons captured at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Napoleon's statue originally topped it (replaced several times over the centuries). In 1871, the Communards pulled the column down, and the painter Gustave Courbet was blamed for instigating it, he was fined the enormous sum needed to re-erect it, which drove him into exile in Switzerland. The column was restored in 1873 with a replica of Napoleon in his imperial robes.
Did you know? The Vendôme Column was cast from 1,250 cannons captured from Austria and Russia at the Battle of Austerlitz, one of Napoleon's most celebrated victories.
How much time do you need at Place Vendôme?
Around ~45 min works well for Place Vendôme — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Place Vendôme?
Yes — Place Vendôme made the cut as one of 44 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Paris. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Paris
Hear the story of Place Vendôme
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