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Listed as an historical monument, the Place Vendôme is closely linked to the history of France? Until the French revolution, a statue of Louis XIV stood in the middke; it was replaced by the column we can see today and which is topped by a statue of Napoléon.
The Place Vendôme combines luxury and elegance with extreme refinement. The most prestigious jewellers - Chaumet, Carter, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, Mauboussin, Chanel - with their know-how
vie with one another in talent. The mythical Ritz Hotel, along with the other palaces of the area, keep going the legend of this famous Place as the symbol of magnificience.
Napoleon modified the district of the square and shaped it to the form it is today. He decided in 1804 to raise in the centre of the square a column, like the Trajane column in Rome. Under the orders of Vivant Denon, 1200 guns taken from enemy during the battle of Austerlitz were molten. The bronze plank which celebrates the great victories of Napoleon’s army, since the camp of Boulogne until Austerlitz, rises in spiral around a stone reinforcement. A statue of Napoleon dressed as a Roman sculpted by Antoine-Denis Chaudet was placed in top.
The Column was torn down in 1871, during the Commune revolution. It was later restored and a replica of the original statue of Napoleon was replaced at the top.
How to get there
Metro line 3, 7 or 8 : Opera - RER A : Auber
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