Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
Place des Vosges is one of the most beautiful squares in Paris and the heart of Le Marais district. Its lawn and shade are appreciated when the weather is fine. Antiques, art shops and restaurants are found under the arcades. Le Marais.
Located close to Opéra Bastille and Picasso Museum, Place des Vosges is the heart of trendy Le Marais district.
The industrious French King Henri IV commissioned its construction in 1605. The square and the houses bordering the square were completed in 1612 and remained intact.
Place des Vosges features a homogeneous brick and stone architecture unique in Paris. Its 127m x 140m square design, arcades and refreshing garden are remarkable.
Place des Vosges is a good starting point for a visit of Le Marais and for shopping in rue des Francs-Bourgeois. Check the walk in Paris Marais.
Paris metro: Saint-Paul, line 1.
Place des Vosges is 10' walk from Picasso Museum Paris, 15' walk from Centre Pompidou, 20' from Notre-Dame Cathedral. Locate Place des Vosges on Paris map.
More and more good Paris hotels are in Le Marais. A few are exceptional, set in old houses and so different from modern hotels everywhere in the world. Hotel Presbytère in Le Marais is one of them. Hôtel Le Presbytère is set in the former presbytery of Saint-Merry church. It is a mere 300 m from the famous Pompidou Centre and 350 m from Forum des Halles shopping centre. Notre-Dame is 800 m away. Set over 5 floors, each room in this 3-star hotel has an en suite bathroom. The Gothic decoration and furnishings will transport guests to another time. A courtesy tray is provided in each of them. A continental breakfast is served daily, in the comfort of your rooms if booked in advance. There are pLenty of bars in rue des Lombards near-by. Many restaurants can be found within walking distance. Chatelet metro station (lines 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14) is just 350m from Hôtel Le Presbytère, making it easy for guests to discover the parts of Paris that are further away. A public car park is available at a surcharge.
The history of Place des Vosges goes back to 1604. King Henry IV commissioned then a pavilion at the southern end of the square. He then ordered to build 35 other buildings following the same design and forming a square. The result is a beautiful and early example of urban planning. The symmetrical square is surrounded by buildings with red brick and white stone facades constructed over arcades. The Royal pavilion at the center of the southern side, the King's pavilion, was built on top of a gateway. It is mirrored at the northern side by the Queen's pavilion. The square was inaugurated in 1612 by Louis XIII, the son of Henri IV, as Place Royale. It was then a favorite place for duels, a stricly forbidden activity since 1626. In 1639, Richelieu, his minister, commissioned an equestrian statue of King Louis XIII at the center of the square. Destroyed during the French Revolution, it was replaced by a new statue in 1825. In 1800, Napoléon changed the name of the square from Place Royale to Place des Vosges to show his gratitude towards the Vosges, the first department in France to pay taxes.
Victor Hugo, the author of the novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", lived from 1832 to 1848 on the second floor of Hotel de Rohan-Gueménée. The house, called Maison de Victor Hugo, is today a museum. Visit the rooms where Victor Hugo wrote most of Les Misérables, a historical novel, published in 1862 and considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. On display are souvenirs, drawings and books from his childhood to his exile between 1852 and 1870.
The Hotel de Sully is one of the most beautiful private mansions in Le Marais. This 17th century monument was home to Henry IV's minister, Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully. Since 1967, it is the headquarters of the Centre des monuments nationaux and is not open to visit. The garden, which was originally planted with a formal embroidery effect, has two entrances: 7, Place des Vosges at one end and 48, rue Saint-Antoine through the courtyard at the other end.
Hotel Presbytère is in Le Marais
