The Place Vendome between the rue de Castiglione and rue de la Paix is one of the most famous squares in Paris. Intricately linked with the history of France, since its creation in 1685, this square was commissioned by King Louis XIV and designed by Jules-Hardouin Mansart.
It illustrates the aesthetic principles which chaired during the period and which one also finds in Versailles: the sense of greatness, underlined by the simplicity of lines and the purity of forms.
The First French Republic was proclaimed at the balcony of the Chancellery which became today‘s Ministry for Justice (#13).

Napoleon decided in 1804 to raise in the centre of the square a column, like the Trajane column in Rome. This Column - 44 metres high - is comprised of a stone core, encased in the bronze of 1250 cannons captured at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805). It was built from1806 to 1810. A statue of Napoleon dressed as a Roman sculpted by Antoine-Denis Chaudet was placed in top.

Prestigious banks and French elegance still cluster around the Place Vendome. Labels of luxury such as Boucheron, Chaumet, Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Guerlain, Chanel rule the roost.