Visiting Place Vendome in Paris: Best Tips

Visiting Place Vendome in Paris: Best Tips

The Place Vendome is a Parisian public square in which it is inevitable to pass during your movements through the city. Because of its grand size, one usually doesn’t even realize that they are in it until they later look at a map. 

If you are planning a visit, then there are a few tips I would give to help optimize your time there. Here’s everything you need to know. 

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

OPENING HOURS: 24 Hours

ADDRESS: 1st Arrondissement 

METRO STATION: Pyramides

What’s in a Name? 

The Place Vendome also goes by the names Place Louis-le-Grand and Place Internationale. Not everyone is familiar with all three, aside from perhaps taxi drivers, but other than this you may have a hard time asking for directions if you aren’t able to offer all 3 to a local. 

It’s in your best interest to simply remember what general direction the square is located in. Know that it is exactly north Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine! Those are two landmarks that everyone in Paris will be able to direct you to! 

Place Vendome – by stevecadman – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Things to Do Around the Place Vendome in Paris

If you can get yourself to the Louvre or the Tuileries Gardens, the most convenient way to reach the Place Vendome is by jumping off at Metro Tuileries or Concorde (line 1 or 8) and walking for 5 minutes via Rue Castiglione up and into to the square. You can also move from the Opera Garnier or the Rue St. Honoré shopping strip, and then take Rue de la Paix south to the square. The best metro stops to do so would be Pyramides (Line 7 or 14) or Opera (line 3, 7 or 8).

Why Go?

What’s the hype all about, anyway? Paris is filled with public squares, so what makes this particular one so special and so worth a visit. Well, thanks to the grand scale of this plaza, there happens to be a lot to do within the space itself. 

Shopping

The Place Vendome is lined with luxury boutiques of big name brands from all over the world. This is prime real estate for anyone looking to splurge on jewelry and clothing, and simultaneously wonderful for anyone who enjoys a good window shop!

Place Vendome – by Britchi Mirela – Wikimedia Commons

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It’s Home to the Ritz

The Ritz Paris is a name that needs no further introduction, and the entrance to it is situated in the iconic Place Vendome. The Ritz is one of the most glamorous hotels in the city, and non-guests are invited in for a number of reasons. They have a fantastic 1920s themed hotel bar, called Bar Hemingway, as well as afternoon teas in the parlor. 

5 Places to Experience the 1920s in Paris

The Light

I usually go off on a rant about how majestic Parisian sunset light is in the public squares, but the Place Vendome is somehow a level above the rest. When the gold washes in just before sunset, these buildings and concrete grounds are drenched. People come from far and wide, dressed in their Sunday best, just to be photographed in this memorable way. 

Place Vendome – by MarkusMark – Wikimedia Commons

Know Some History

The square is a lot less exciting when you don’t know a few fun and interesting facts about the bygone years:

• The Place Vendome was commissioned by Louis XIV and was completed in 1720. 
• Having little to no tress or greenery in the square was a design choice, owing to the desire for stark, barren elegance as opposed to just another Parisian green space. 
• In the early 19th entry, emperor Napoleon commissioned a column for the square, but it had to be totally reconstructed in 1874. This is the column that still stands today. 
• The original column was damaged and destroyed during the two revolutions. Interestingly, it had been fashioned out of over 1000 melted down cannons belonging to enemy armies. 
• The public used to be able to climb to the top of the column and enjoy some pretty breathtaking views over the Place Vendome and Paris itself, but these rights have since been removed from the public. 

Place Vendome – by Unknown Photographer – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Fun Facts About the Place Vendome in Paris

Don’t Forget the Romance

There is an indescribable charm to Paris at night, and the ways one can get lost strolling the dimly-lit streets until all hours of the morning. There are just some landmarks that are worth passing through if you are on a romanic walk (with yourself or with a lover — no difference!), and I must say the Place Vendome is always quite the treat. 

Place Vendome – by Dimitri Destugues – Wikimedia Commons

Walking through here in the depths of the night is as memorable as seeing the Eiffel Tower light up on the hour. It almost feels as though the old car from Midnight in Paris could swoop in at any second, whisking you off to a midnight bar where Hemingway, Dali and Picasso are arguing over fine Bordeaux wine. 

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This is Not a Picnic Square

The Place Vendome is not the Parisian square where one goes with a picnic basket and throw. This is a walking square made almost entirely of concrete, and there is nowhere to settle down for a floor-level meal. 

If you’d like to picnic in the 1st arrondissement then I would recommend heading to the nearby Tuileries Gardens where you’ll find some grass and picnic areas. 

Place Vendome – by Moonik – Wikimedia Commons

That said, there are a number of public benches throughout the Place Vendome, so if you really did want to enjoy a takeaway meal in the space then you could do so from a casual seated position. 

Top 5 Places for a Picnic in Paris