Paris
Paris
+ Exploring Paris
Sights
* Pont Alexandre III
* Arc de Triomphe
* Art Moderne de La Ville de Paris, Musée d'
* Arts Asiatiques-Guimet, Musée national des
* Arts Décoratifs, Musée des
* Arts et Métiers-Techniques, Musée national des
* Assemblée Nationale Palais-Bourbon
* Baccarat, Musée
* Balzac, Maison de
* Bastille
* Bibliothèque Nationale De France
* Carnavalet, Musée
* Cernuschi, Musée
* Chaillot, Palais de
* Cognacq-Jay, Musée
* La Conciergerie
* Concorde, Place de la
* Eugène Delacroix, Musée National
* Faubourg Saint-Germain
* Faubourg St-Honoré
* Fragonard, Musée
* Gobelins, Manufacture nationale des
* Grand Palais
* Grands Boulevards
* Les Halles
* Hôtel De Ville
* Institut De France
* Institut du Monde Arabe
* Jacquemart-André, Musée
* Jeu de Paume, Galerie nationale du
* Madeleine, Eglise de la
* Maillol, Musée
* Le Marais
* Marmottan, Musée
* Mode et du Costume, Musée de la
* Montmartre
* Montparnasse
* Moyen-Age, Musée National du
* Musique, Musée de la
* Nissim de Camondo, Musée
* Opéra Garnier
* Orangerie, Musée National de l'
* Palais-Royal
* Panthéon
* Père-Lachaise, Cimetière du
* Petit Palais, Musée du
* Picasso, Musée
* Plantes, Jardin des
* Rodin, Musée
* Sacré Coeur, Basilique du
* St-Germain-des-Prés
* Saint-Louis, Ile
* St-Sulpice, église
* Sainte-Chapelle
* Tuileries, Jardin des
* Vendôme, Place
* Vosges, place des
Vicinity
+ Vicinity
Walk/Drive
Food&Drink
In The Know
Did You Know?
( Highly Recommended )
This square illustrates Louis XIV's style at its best, classical and elegant without being too emphatic! It was designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart at the end of the 17th century and an equestrian statue of the king was placed in its centre. However, the statue was destroyed during the Revolution and in 1810 Napoleon had a tall bronze-clad column erected in its place, somewhat spoiling the architectural harmony created by the combination of arcades, pilasters and rows of dormer windows interrupted by the occasional pediment. In 1849, Frédéric Chopin died in No 12. Today the square is the headquarters of Paris's top jewellers.
A rather comical game of musical chairs went on for over 60 years to decide who should stand at the top of the column: Napoleon dressed as Caesar was replaced by Henri IV then by a huge fleur de lys before Napoleon reappeared...in less pompous attire, but not for long! A copy of the original statue commissioned by Napoleon III started another round; in 1871 the Commune took it down in anger but the Third Republic had it reinstated as a demonstration of tolerance...'much ado about nothing!'
Address: 75001 Paris
Bus: 72
Metro: Opéra
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