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Paris 1st arr-Place Vendome-Place des Victoires

 

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Let's leave the area of the palais Royal, and head towards one of the most "chic" Parisian" neighborhood. Generations of billionaires haunted these premises and don't mind feel like one ,just entering the Ritz and impersonate a client.

Rue de la Paix 18th century

It's only a short walk to the place Vendome. Making the tour of the place, you see only the greatest names of jewelers, silverware, luxury boutiques, haute couture, banks and the fabulous Ritz hotel. Don't try to get a room for less than 3000 FF here.  Better don't take your girlfriend with you if you want to keep the contents of you wallet to acceptable levels.Marcel Proust received his friends at the Ritz around 2.00 AM, ate something and stayed up until 3.00 AM. Take the time to have a glass of champagne at the Hemingway-bar, but dress neatly, please ;-)

The place Vendome, a typical royal square of the 17th-18th century was designed by the architect Jules-Hardouin-Mansart and was planned to have a statue of Louis XIV with an enormous wig in the center of the square. When the place was inaugurated in 1699, the place "Louis le Grand" was surrounded by fake walls.The real buildings came only in the period 1702-1720. The very rich Parisians moved over here, like the bankers Law and Crozat The statue of Louis XIV was destroyed during the French revolution and it is Napoleon who built the colonne . Notice the bronze strip attached in a spiral up to the top and made with melted canons the French had captured during the battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Napoleon thrones at the top in a Cesar's disguise. After Waterloo, his statue was torn down. After a lot of different political regimes he is up again , this time with a two-cornered hat. But...the two corners looking like horns are an easy target for bad jokes, so the hat is changed to what we see today:-)
From there head to the rue Saint-Honoré, pass the Eglise Saint-Roch on which front steps, Bonaparte, when he was only a general fired the artillery on Parisian revolutionaries and killed quite a lot.  Now you arrive at the place de la Comedie Francaise.  This area has a lot of "passages" through the houses connecting mainly the rue de Richelieu and the rue de Montpensier. A moment ago you were in the center of a very Parisian noisy section, here you feel out of time. Quietness, like a country villlage, in the heart of Paris! In this street the Theatre du Palais Royal is worth a look. A strange and very baroque looking façade. Just around the corner, rue de Beaujolais, the famous restaurant "Le Grand Vefour", not for the budget wallets but with an incredible rich interior decoration. Behind the restaurant you sneak into little passage (Pernette) to the left. Only specialty shops you can find anywhere await you in this godforsaken area: the music box merchants, antique toys and antique dealers.
And to finish this walk, if you can find the passage des Pavillons you land in the rue des Petits-Champs, make a right and you will arrive at the place des Victoires. This square designed by the same architect as the place Vendome,  Jules-Hardouin-Mansart  was build also to honor Louis XIV in 1685.The original statue of Louis XIV, on a pedestal supported by four chained prisoners, was dressed in royal coat and crowned by Victory. 

Place des Victoires

It was torn down at the revolution. The equestrian statue you see now was made by Bosio and is from 1822. When the rue Etienne-Marcel was opened in 1883, the place was entirely disfigured.It ceased to be an enclosured place since it was pierced at all sides, which is a denial of the architectural concepts of Mansart. Around the place you can find the very trendy fashion boutiques of Thierry Mugler and Kenzo.