The Place des Vosges is where modern Paris learned how to build a square. Henri IV ordered it in 1605 on the site of the old royal Hôtel des Tournelles — abandoned after Henri II died there from a jousting wound in 1559 — and wanted a grand, regular setting where Parisians could gather and the court could hold its festivities. The king was assassinated in 1610, two years before it was finished, and the Place Royale was inaugurated in April 1612 with a spectacular three-day carousel celebrating the engagement of the young Louis XIII to Anne of Austria.
The design was revolutionary: thirty-six houses, nine on each side, all with the same facade of red brick and pale stone, steep blue-grey slate roofs and dormer windows, raised above a continuous arcade. Two taller pavilions face each other across the square — the Pavillon du Roi on the south side and the Pavillon de la Reine on the north. The name changed in 1800, when the square was renamed after the Vosges, the first département to pay its taxes to the new Republic.
For four centuries the square has had famous residents: Madame de Sévigné was born at no. 1 bis in 1626, Cardinal Richelieu lived at no. 21 and Victor Hugo at no. 6. It sits on the border of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, in the heart of the Marais, and it is completely free to visit, day and night.
Top things to do at Place des Vosges
Walk the full circuit of the arcades
The vaulted galleries run right round the square — roughly 140 metres a side — and shelter art galleries, antique dealers, cafés and, often, street musicians playing classical pieces that echo beautifully under the vaults. Walk the whole loop and look up: every house is slightly different in detail, despite the uniform plan.
Picnic in the Square Louis-XIII
The central garden is a public park with gravel paths, clipped lime trees, four fountains and, in the middle, a marble equestrian statue of Louis XIII — a 19th-century replacement for the bronze melted down during the Revolution. In the warmer months the lawns fill with picnickers; buy supplies on Rue Saint-Antoine or Rue de Turenne and join them.
Find the Pavillon du Roi and Pavillon de la Reine
Enter from Rue de Birague to pass under the Pavillon du Roi, the king’s pavilion, as royalty would have done. Opposite, the Pavillon de la Reine now shelters a five-star hotel. Both are a storey taller than the other houses — the only break in the square’s symmetry.
Visit Victor Hugo’s apartment
At no. 6, in the south-east corner, the Maison de Victor Hugo lets you into one of the houses. The permanent collection is free, and the courtyard garden has a café.
Take the secret passage to Rue Saint-Antoine
In the south-west corner, a small door beside no. 7 leads into the garden of the Hôtel de Sully. Walk through the garden and the courtyard and you come out on Rue Saint-Antoine, a few minutes from Métro Saint-Paul — when the gates are open.
How to get to Place des Vosges
- Métro: Chemin Vert (line 8) is the closest, a three-minute walk; Saint-Paul (line 1) and Bastille (lines 1, 5 and 8) are five to eight minutes away. Bréguet-Sabin (line 5) is also nearby.
- Bus: several RATP lines, including the 29, 69, 76 and 96, stop within a few minutes’ walk.
- On foot: about 10 minutes from the Bastille, 15 from the Hôtel de Ville and 25 from Notre-Dame. See our getting here guide for airports and stations.
Insider tips
- Come early in the morning for the empty square and the best light on the brick facades; late afternoon is liveliest.
- Sunday is busy: the Marais is one of the few parts of Paris where most shops open on Sundays.
- The garden has opening hours (roughly morning to dusk, varying with the season), but the arcades are public streets and always open. Parts of the lawns can be closed in winter to let the grass recover.
- Cafés under the arcades charge for the setting. For a cheaper coffee, walk a block to Rue de Turenne or Rue Saint-Antoine.
Best tours & tickets for Place des Vosges
These top-rated experiences pair well with a visit to Place des Vosges:
Walking tour from €15 Paris: Marais Guided Tour Without the Crowds
A compact, well-reviewed introduction to the district: 90 minutes with a guide through the lanes, courtyards and hôtels particuliers around the Place des Vosges, timed to avoid the busiest hours. With hundreds of reviews and one of the lowest prices on the page, it is the easy first booking for a Marais visit.
- The Place des Vosges and the royal story of the Marais
- Hidden courtyards and aristocratic mansions
- Small groups and a low price
Walking tour from €50 Marais: Intrigues of the French Kings Walking Tour
History with gossip: a two-hour walk through the royal Marais of the 17th century, from the tournament grounds of the Tournelles to the Place Royale, the duel that defied Richelieu and the mansions of courtiers and favourites. Newer, with excellent early reviews.
- Henri IV, Louis XIII and the Place Royale
- Duels, mistresses and court scandals
- The mansions of the royal favourites
Walking tour from €33 Paris: Le Marais District Walking Tour with Small Tastings
A friendly two-hour walk that mixes the history of the Marais — royal squares, aristocratic mansions, the Revolution and the district’s rebirth — with small tastings along the way. A good middle ground between a pure history walk and a full food tour.
- History, architecture and local life
- Small tastings along the way
- Relaxed two-hour format
