Guide Tour of the Place-Vendôme district, Paris, France
The Quartier of Place-Vendôme is the 4th administrative district of Paris, located in the 1st arrondissement. This district takes its name from Place Vendôme. The district is order and beauty, luxury, calm and pleasure, full of prestigious jewelers, restaurants, cafes, bars, and many traders. The square is made up of sober and imposing buildings, hosts the most prestigious jewelry stores and fashion boutiques in Paris, also the largest luxury hotels.
The Place Vendôme is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is the starting point of the Rue de la Paix. Its regular architecture by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and pedimented screens canted across the corners give the rectangular Place Vendôme the aspect of an octagon. Place Vendôme embodies the “high bourgeoisie” side of Paris and the luxury that accompanies it, being endowed with many luxury boutiques, jewelers and fashion houses: Cartier, Boucheron, Trussardi, van Cleef & Arpels, as well as banks, the Department of Justice and the Ritz Hotel.
Place Vendôme
Place Vendôme is a public space, located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Typical of classical French town planning, it is one of the most famous squares in Paris and considered one of the most luxurious in the world. Along with Place des Victoires, Place de la Concorde, Place des Vosges and Place Dauphine, it is one of the city’s five royal squares.
Its architecture is due to the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart who designed, in 1699, a strict urban plan with which the owners of the buildings must comply. A large part of the facades is classified as a historical monument. In its center is the Vendôme column built in 1810. Before becoming a central place in the contemporary era for jewelry, Place Vendôme was, along with Rue de la Paix, the epicenter of Parisian elegance for half a century, with many couturiers and milliners.
Place Vendôme was built on the model of classical French town planning, it is one of the most famous squares in Paris. Quartier Place Vendôme characterized by a regular, 18th-century street grid. Homes and offices mingle in the Haussmann buildings that make it up at this level enjoy a magical view. In the rue Cambon. many luxury houses have their headquarters there. The shops in rue Saint-Honoré and rue de Rivoli is more chic and colorful. The proximity of the luxury hotels of the Ritz, Meurice, Costes and Crillon in this district with more accessible.
At the centre of the square’s long sides, Hardouin-Mansart’s range of Corinthian pilasters breaks forward under a pediment, to create palace-like fronts. The arcading of the formally rusticated ground floors does not provide an arcaded passageway as at place des Vosges. The architectural linking of the windows from one floor to the next, and the increasing arch of their windowheads, provide an upward spring to the horizontals formed by ranks of windows. Originally the square was accessible by a single street and preserved an aristocratic quiet, except when the annual fair was held there.
In the center of the square, an equestrian statue of Louis XIV was erected, which would later be destroyed during the French Revolution. During the Revolution, the square was renamed Place des Piques. A huge column (Colonne Vendôme) was then erected on the spot where the statue of Louis XIV stood. This column features bas-reliefs that mimic Rome’s Trajan’s Column. Then Napoléon opened the Rue de la Paix, and the 19th century filled the place Vendôme with traffic. It was only after the opening in 1875 of the Palais Garnier on the other side of the Rue de la Paix that the centre of the Parisian fashionable life started gravitating around the Rue de la Paix and the place Vendôme.
The original Vendôme Column at the centre of the square was erected by Napoleon I to commemorate the Battle of Austerlitz; it was torn down on 16 May 1871, by decree of the Paris Commune, but subsequently re-erected and remains a prominent feature on the square today. The original Vendôme Column was modelled after Trajan’s Column, to celebrate the victory of Austerlitz; its veneer of 425 spiralling bas-relief bronze plates was made out of cannon taken from the combined armies of Europe, according to his propaganda. A statue of Napoleon by Antoine-Denis Chaudet was placed on top of the column. Napoleon is depicted dressed in Roman attire, bare-headed, crowned with laurels, holding a sword in his right hand and a globe surmounted with a statue of Victory in his left hand.
The quarter’s historic buildings house the most luxurious hotels and boutiques of famous fashion and jewellery brands. Place Vendôme is to the world of jewelery what France is to the imagination of luxury: its universal heart. With exceptional hotels and major clothing and fashion accessory brands, Place Vendôme asserts itself as a global and unmissable address for good taste and refinement. Inside the most expensive and coveted buildings of the capital. it’s the palpable air of French luxury,
Jewelry and Fashion Mansions
The Place Vendôme has been renowned for its fashionable and deluxe hotels such as the Ritz. Many famous dress designers have had their salons in the square. The only two remaining are the shirtmaker Charvet, at number 28, whose store has been on the Place Vendôme since 1877, and the couturier Chéruit, at number 21, reestablished in 2008.
Since 1718, the Ministry of Justice, also known as the “Chancellerie”, is located at the Hotel de Bourvallais located at numbers 11 and 13. Right on the other side of the Place Vendôme, number 14 houses the Paris office of JP Morgan, the investment bank, and number 20 the office of Ardian (formerly AXA Private Equity).
Place Vendôme is known today as the location where many renowned jewelers have made their home. But after the middle of the 19th century, it was above all the place of Parisian and worldwide elegance. Customers roam the neighborhood in search of the most beautiful dress, the most beautiful hat or the most beautiful jewelry. Initially, the jewelers-jewelers took over rue de la Paix following the jewelery house Mellerio dits Meller, when it moved there in 1815 at the opening of the street under the First Empire. Extending the rue de la Paix, the place Vendôme is in turn invested.
In 1858, fashion designer Charles Frederick Worth opened at 7, rue de la Paix. Its immense success attracted many couturiers, milliners, hatters, tailors, bootmakers, perfumers and made the district the epicenter of fashion, also extending to rue de Castiglione. One of the first stores, located at the western corner of rue Saint-Honoré, was that of the fashion house Aine-Montaillé, founded in 1863. Until the years following the First World War, fashion houses remained ubiquitous in the square, although the fashion world gradually moved to Avenue d’Antinsince Paul Poiret opened his fashion house a few years before.
The first jeweler to set up shop in the square was Frédéric Boucheron in 1893. He wanted to leave the Palais-Royal district to settle near the new Opéra built by the architect Garnier. He settled in the Hôtel de Nocé, alongside the Countess Virginia de Castiglione, who left her mezzanine apartment in 1894. He took with him several installations of jewelers on the rue de Castiglione, at the beginning of the 20th century.
He was also followed by other jewelers and craftsmen, including: Louis François Cartier who also moved to rue de la Paix, at no.13, in 1899, Joseph Chaumet in 1902, Alfred Van Cleef and Salomon Arpels in 1906, Briquet, Gomper, Lacloche, E. Marchand, these last four before the war, René Boivin, Técla, Mauboussin in 1955, Bvlgari, Repossi and Mikimoto in 1986, Lorenz Bäumer in 1994, Fred in 1999, Courbet in 2018, etc.
Watchmakers have settled in Place Vendôme such as Piaget in 1991, Patek Philippe in 1995, Pierre Dubail, Chopard in 2003, Breguet in 2006, Rolex in 2008, Hublot two years later, but also major fashion houses such as Chanel Joaillerie in 1991 to number 18, Dior Joaillerie in 2001, and Louis Vuitton Joaillerie in 2012.
Hôtel de Vendôme
The Hôtel de Vendôme is a five-star hotel situated at No.1 Place Vendôme. Founded in 1858, it is located at the southern entrance to the Place Vendôme, on the northwest corner of the intersection of the Rue Saint-Honoré and the Rue Place Vendôme. The hotel occupies a former hôtel particulier, the Hôtel Batailhe de Francès, built in 1723 by Pierre Perrin, secrétaire du roi, and the architect Armand-Claude Mollet. Constructed behind the uniform façades designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart for the Place Vendôme, the hôtel itself was designed by Mollet. The façade and the roof of the building on the Place Vendôme were classified as monuments historiques on 17 May 1930.
From 1842 to 1843, it was the Texas embassy. By treaty of 1839, France had become the first nation to recognize the Republic of Texas (1836–1845). A plaque to the right of the main entrance commemorates the event.
The Hôtel Batailhe de Francès was combined with the neighbouring building at 358 Rue Saint-Honoré in the early 19th century, and the merged buildings became a hotel in 1858. In 2004, Chopard, a retailer of luxury watches and jewellery, opened a boutique on the ground floor of the hotel with an entrance on the Rue Saint-Honoré. In 2014 Chopard purchased the entire hotel from its previous owner, the UHP (Union Hôtelière Parisienne). The hotel is currently closed for renovation and is scheduled to reopen in autumn 2022.
Hotel Marquet de Bourgade
The Marquet de Bourgade hotel or Beaudet de Morlet hotel is a former private mansion located at No.2, place Vendôme. The hotel was built in 1714, for the director of the nurseries of King Louis XIV, Noël Beaudet de Morlet, by the architect Robert de Cotte. It was acquired in 1728 by Farmer General Maurice Marquet de Bourgade and notably belonged, during the 19th century, to the Mortier de Trévise family. Since 2011, it has been the property of the LVMH group, which had it completely restored with the Hôtel Heuzé de Vologer, between 2013 and 2017, by the architect Peter Marino, in order to restore it to its 18th century brilliance. It is currently the setting for two of the group’s brands, the houses of Louis Vuitton and Guerlain.
Hôtel de Coëtlogon
The Hôtel de Coëtlogon or Hôtel Giraud is a former private mansion, located at No.3, place Vendôme. Built by the architect Jacques V Gabriel, from 1719 to 1721, for the financier John Law de Lauriston then for René-Charles-Élisabeth de Coëtlogon, it houses, with the Hôtel d’Orsigny at No. 5, the Hôtel Bristol, from 1840 to 1914. In 1989, the two hotels were sold to Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei, who had numerous development works carried out there, in particular by the interior designer, Jacques Garcia, who, thanks to this achievement, offered himself the Château de Champs-de-Bataille in 1992. Very rarely inhabited, the two buildings are still today the property of the Sultan of Brunei. They are also one of the few local hotels to be exclusively “bourgeois”, with no commercial premises on the ground floor.
Hotel Heuzé de Vologer
The Hôtel Heuzé de Vologer or Hôtel de Lambertye is a former private mansion, located at No.4, place Vendôme. Built in 1709, for the Marquis Laurent-François Heuzé de Vologer, by the architect Jacques V Gabriel, it was notably the property of Nicolas Cuisy du Fey, then of his grandson, Count Nicolas Geoffroy de Villemain. In the 1980s, the hotel was completely denatured, all the original decorations were destroyed and replaced by vast rooms converted into offices. The building belongs, since 2011, just like the Marquet de Bourgade hotel at no. 2, to the LVMH group, which has not made it the setting for its subsidiary, the Louis Vuitton house.
Hotel d’Orsigny
The Hôtel d’Orsigny or Hôtel Durfort is a former private mansion, located at No.5, place Vendôme. Built by the architect Jacques V Gabriel, from 1719 to 1721, for the financier John Law de Lauriston then for Jacques-Daniel de Gueutteville d’Orsigny. It houses, with the Hôtel de Coëtlogon at No. 3, the Hôtel Bristol, from 1840 to 1914. The computer company IBM France moved there from 1948 to 1989. It has been owned, since 1989, by Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei.
Hotel Thibert des Martrais
The Hôtel Thibert des Martrais or Hôtel Paulze is a former private mansion located at No.6, place Vendôme. Built for Charles Icard in 1712, by the architect Robert de Cotte, it is notably the property of the lawyer Jacques-Ennemond Thibert des Martrais then of the farmer general Jacques Paulze. From 1842 to 1934, together with the Hôtel Heuzé de Vologer, at No.4, he formed the Hôtel du Rhin. In 1848, it welcomed the future Emperor Napoleon III, following his election as President of the Republic. Singer Henri Salvador, resided in his top-floor apartment there, from 1962 until his death in 2008. The building is now a private condominium, hosting in particular, since 2007, the boutique of the Breguet watchmaking house and its museum on the mezzanine, but also, on the first floor, the “Christian Dior Apartment”.
Hotel Le Bas de Montargis
The Hôtel Le Bas de Montargis or Hôtel de Créquy is a former private mansion located at No.7 place Vendôme. Built in 1708, by and for the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, it notably belonged to the Le Bas de Montargis and then Aumont de Créquy family. From 1724 to 1731, it housed the Entresol club. From 1794 to 1899, the hotel was the headquarters of the Place de Paris headquarters and then belonged to the Beer fashion house, before being sold to the Compagnie Foncière Vendôme. The Company’s project then consists of building a modern office building by maximizing the floor area on the plot. It now houses offices and is a condominium. The hotel housed, shortly before the Second World War, the salon of Elizabeth Arden, run by her sister, Gladys Graham, wife of Viscount Henri de Maublanc. The Louvre Museum preserves pieces of the hotel’s original décor.
Hotel Delpech de Chaumot
The Hôtel Delpech de Chaumot or Hôtel de Chimay is a former private mansion located at No.8, place Vendôme. On a plot acquired by Pierre-Élisabeth de Fontanieu in 1705, then resold nine years later, to the financier Paul Delpech de Chaumot, the hotel was built from 1714, by the architect Pierre Le Maître. In 2012, the hotel was acquired by the Republic of Azerbaijan through its oil subsidiary, SOFAZ, for 135 million euros. Today, the building houses the jewelery department of the house of Dior, and the jeweler Mikimoto, but also the law firm PBA and the fashion house Valentino.
Hôtel de Villemaré
The Hôtel de Villemaré or Hôtel de Joubert is a former private mansion located at No.9, Place Vendôme. It was built from 1706 to 1716, for the financier Jean Bonaventure Le Lay de Villemaré, by the architect Jean-Baptiste Bullet de Chamblain. Since 2016, it has been the property of the central bank of Norway, which acquired it for 1 billion euros. From 2006 to 2015, the law firm Clifford Chance sits in the Hôtel de Villemaré. The ground floor is now occupied by the boutiques of the watchmaking houses Jaeger-LeCoultre and Rolex.
Hotel de La Tour-Maubourg
The Hôtel de La Tour-Maubourg or Hôtel Maleteste is a former private mansion located at No.10, Place Vendôme. Built in 1711, for the financier Urbain Aubert de Tourny, it notably belonged to Jean Hector de Faÿ de La Tour-Maubourg, then to the Rothschild family. In 1971, the complex of which the hotel is a part, was sold by the Rothschild family to Crédit foncier de France, which still owns it today, like the Hôtel Baudard de Saint-James at No.12. It now hosts the watch shops, Patek Philippe and Hublot, the Cushman & Wakefield co-working space, but also the Chaumet workshops.
Hôtel de Simiane
The Hôtel de Simiane or Hôtel de la Grande-Chancellerie is a former private mansion, located at No.11, Place Vendôme. It was built from 1708 to 1714, for Suzanne de Simiane de La Coste, by the architect Germain Boffrand, then annexed to No.13, by the Regent, in 1717, under the leadership of the architect Robert de Cotte. Since 1718, it has been the seat of the Grand Chancellery and then of the Ministry of Justice. Even through the different regimes, it is still today the Ministry of Justice and the residence of the Minister.
Hotel Baudard de Saint-James
The Hôtel Baudard de Saint-James is a former private mansion located at No.12, Place Vendôme. Built in 1702, for the doctor in Sorbonne, Louis Dublineau, by the architect Jacques V Gabriel, it owes its name to Claude Baudard de Saint-James, who is its second owner. The hotel has decorations made in 1777, by François-Joseph Bélanger and the painter Jean-Jacques Lagrenée. In 1971, along with the neighboring Hôtel de La Tour-Maubourg, sold to Immeubles de France, a subsidiary of Crédit foncier de France. It now houses the boutique, the high jewelry workshop and the large salons of the Chaumet house. In 2020, it reopened after major renovation work carried out by interior designer Patricia Grosdemange.
Hôtel de Bourvallais
The Hôtel de Bourvallais or Hôtel de la Grande-Chancellerie is a former private mansion, located at No.13, Place Vendôme. Marquis Joseph-Guillaume de La Vieuville, the hotel passed to the financier Guyon de Bruslon, then to the farmer general, Paul Poisson de Bourvallais. In 1718, it was confiscated by the government of the Regent, and became, after merging with No. 11, the Hôtel de la Grande-Chancellerie, the seat of the French Ministry of Justice, which still occupies it today.
Hôtel de La Fare
The Hôtel de La Fare is a former private mansion located at No.14, place Vendôme. Built by the architect Jacques V Gabriel for his father-in-law Mathurin Besnier, the hotel successively became the property of the financier Claude-François Paparel, before falling in particular to the families of La Fare, Le Tellier de Souvré… Since 1916, it has been the property of the American bank JPMorgan Chase & Co, of which it is the headquarters in France.
Hôtel de Gramont
The Hôtel de Gramont is a former private mansion, located at No.15, place Vendôme. It was built from 1708 to 1710, by the architect Pierre Bullet, for the Duchess Anne de Gramont. Successive property of the Comte de Lautrec, the Marquis de Villette, Claude Darras, the Crédit Immobilier de France and the Nitot family, it was acquired in 1897 by César Ritz and was transformed, together with the Hôtel Crozat at no.17, in the current Ritz Paris. In 1979, Monique Ritz, widow of Charles Ritz, sold the establishment to the Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed, who had it completely renovated from 1980 to 1987, by the architect Bernard Gaucherel. Nearly a century later, in 1999, the Ritz acquired the Hôtel Crozat at number 17, which had been rented since 1910. From 2012 to 2016, the hotel is again under total renovation for an amount of 140 million euros.
Hôtel Moufle de La Thuilerie
The Moufle de La Thuilerie hotel or Serres hotel is a former private mansion located at No.16, place Vendôme. On land acquired by Nicolas-Jérôme Herlaut, the hotel was built for the entrepreneur Pierre Grandhomme from 1723 to 1724, by the architect Germain Boffrand. In 1785, the hotel was sold to Jean-Pierre Serres, who had many works carried out there, in particular the decorations of the antechamber, the bedroom and the living room, the three rooms on the first floor overlooking the square, executed in the Empire style. The latter’s son kept the hotel until 1821, when he sold it to Louis-Gilbert Roche des Escures. He had renovation and embellishment work carried out there, in particular by constructing outbuildings and the building overlooking No.23, Place du Marché-Saint-Honoré. In 1854, the hotel was rented to the newspaper “ Le Moniteur universelle ”, then resold in 1886 to the city of Paris, which kept it until 1938. Since then, it has been a private co-ownership.
Hôtel Crozat
The Hôtel Crozat or Hôtel de Schickler is a former private mansion, located at No.17, place Vendôme. It was built for the financier Antoine Crozat, from 1700 to 1702, by the architect Pierre Bullet, then passed successively to the Deville families, then to Schickler, then sold to the Crédit foncier de France. Since 1998, the hotel has been the property of businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed, who, through this purchase, definitively annexes the hotel to his establishment, the Ritz Paris.
Hôtel Duché des Tournelles
The Duché des Tournelles hotel or Cressart hotel, is a former private mansion, located at No.18, place Vendôme. It was built at the request of Guillaume Cressart from 1723, by the architect Germain Boffrand on a plot that once belonged to the financier, Nicolas-Jérôme Herlaut. In 1897, the perfume and cosmetics house, Ed. Pinaud, set up its headquarters there. A century later, in 1997, the Chanel house acquired it and had many renovations carried out there, notably in 2007, for its tenth anniversary, under the leadership of the American architect, Peter Marino.
Hôtel d’Évreux
The Hôtel d’Évreux is a former private mansion located at No.19, place Vendôme. It was built between 1706 and 1708, by architect Pierre Bullet behind a facade designed to plans by architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, for financier Antoine Crozat. Long owned by Crédit Foncier de France, the real estate complex represented by this hotel as well as the Hôtel des Vieux, the Hôtel Castanier and the Cambon pavilion, was acquired in 2003 by Tamim ben Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar. The hotel is close to the Ritz Paris, located in the former hotels of Gramont and Crozat. It now houses the Paris offices of the White & Case law firm as well as reception areas for the catering company Potel et Chabot.
Hôtel de Parabère
The Hôtel de Parabère or Hôtel Fitz-James, is a former private mansion, located at No.20, place Vendôme. At the beginning of the 18th century, it was notably the property of Madame de Parabère, mistress of the Regent. Duke Jacques-Charles de Fitz-James rented it from 1780 to 1785. The hotel then became the property of the industrialist, Gustave Lebaudy, who died there onDecember 29, 1889, his son then inherited it, and in 1905, notably had a bas-relief from the castle of Rosny-sur-Seine removed from the inner courtyard, attributed to the sculptor Clodion. At the back of the courtyard is an elegant Louis XVI style building built in 1907 – 1908 by the architect René Sergent for the Duveen brothers, famous antique dealers, for whom it is the Parisian store.
Hôtel de Fontpertuis
The Hôtel de Fontpertuis or Hôtel Darnay is a former private mansion, located at No.21, place Vendôme. It was built from 1718 to 1720, for the financier John Law de Lauriston, by the architect Pierre Bullet. From 1935 to 1954, the hotel was entirely rented by the seamstress Elsa Schiaparelli who set up her haute-couture house there and had it completely redecorated by the artists Jean-Michel Frank and Albert Giacometti, at this time the hotel extended on 5 floors, for a total of 98 rooms. From 2012, the Schiaparelli house returns to these places, where it shares the hotel with the Alexandre Reza jewelry house and the Dubail watchmaking house. Although offered for sale to the Emir of Qatar in 2003, along with the Hôtel d’Évreux and the buildings adjoining it, the hotel is still today the property of the Crédit foncier de France.
Hôtel de Ségur
The Hôtel de Ségur or Hôtel de Courtonne is a former private mansion, located at No.22, place Vendôme. Initially owned by the financier John Law de Lauriston, it successively belonged to many personalities such as the Marquise de Parabère or the Ségur and Rothschild families. In 1906, the jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels moved there. After the Second World War, the woodwork of the so-called ” Boffrand ” salon, executed by the carpenters Taupin, Le Goupil and Desgoulons between 1720 and 1723, was reassembled in the Hôtel de Masseran, at the request of Baron Élie de Rothschild. The neighboring Hôtel Boffrand and this one, although not communicating, are today part of the same plot.
Hôtel de Boullongne
The Hôtel de Boullongne or Hôtel de Montbreton is a former private mansion located at No.23, Place Vendôme. It was built by and for the architect Pierre Bullet between 1710 and 1712, then belonged successively to the families, Law de Lauriston, Peyrenc de Moras, Tavernier de Boullongne and Boucher, before falling to the Marquet family of Montbreton then to the family Leemans. Fleetingly owned by Crédit Foncier de France, it was bought by the perfumer François Coty. From 1900 to 1932, the first floor was rented to the art dealers, Germain and Jacques Seligmann, who set up their art gallery there, together with the Hôtel de Monaco, which they bought in 1909. The hotel is owned by the American company Coty, which kept it until 2003, when the Emir of Qatar acquired it, together with the Hôtel d’Évreux, neighboring No.19. Since 1975, the jeweler Cartier has been based there, as well as the jeweler Bulgari, since 1979, which set up its headquarters there after its takeover by the LVMH group.
Hôtel Boffrand
The Hôtel Boffrand or Hôtel Chaban is a former private mansion located at No.24, place Vendôme. It was built by and for the architect Germain Boffrand from 1713 to 1715, and, after having belonged to the Mouchard de Chaban family, to the Boyve family, to the Michau de Montblin family, then to the Orglandes family. From 1914 to 1929, the first floor was occupied by the salons of George Dœuillet ‘s fashion house, then from 1931 to 1933, by the Agnès-Drecoll fashion house and the Gruignon-Hennequin house. The Banque de la Seine also occupied the second floor and the building on rue Danielle-Cazanova from 1924 to 1928. Today the hotel is occupied by the jewelry boutique Van Cleef & Arpels and by the headquarters of asset management company, Carmignac.
Hôtel Peyrenc de Moras
The Hôtel Peyrenc de Moras or Hôtel de Coigny is a former private mansion, located at No.25, place Vendôme. On land belonging to the financier Jean Sauvion, then acquired in 1718, by John Law de Lauriston, the hotel was built for the latter, by the architect Jacques V Gabriel, who completed its construction in 1720. From 1886, the building then became a hotel establishment, the relay hotel of Calais, then the current Mansart hotel at the end of the 1950s. The hotel was bought in 2003 by the Emir of Qatar through his investment fund in France. Today, in addition to the hotel establishment, the building is also the setting, on the ground floor, of the Bulgari jewelery boutique, after having hosted one of the boutiques of the Armani fashion house for a long time.
Hôtel de Nocé
The Hôtel de Nocé or Hôtel d’Orcy is a former private mansion, located at no.26, place Vendôme. Built from 1717, for Charles de Nocé, by the architect Germain Boffrand. Famous tenants reside there, including Countess Virginia de Castiglione and comedian Lucien Guitry, father of Sacha. In 1895, the Klytia cosmetics brand opened the world’s first beauty salon on the first floor of Hotel. Since 1893, it has housed the boutiques of jewelers Boucheron and Qeelin. Even today, the hotel is occupied by Boucheron, which has become a brand of the Kering group, which only acquired the entire building in 2016. In 2017, the hotel was completely restored under the leadership of the architect of the buildings of France, Michel Goutal and the decorator Pierre-Yves Rochon. The work aims to restore the original volumes and on this occasion, the building is notably equipped with an apartment occupying the entire second floor, intended to offer a family stay to Boucheron’s best customers.
Hotel Gaillard de La Bouexiere
The Hôtel Gaillard de La Bouëxière or Hôtel de La Porte is a former private mansion, located at no.28, place Vendôme. It was built from 1711, for the financier John Law de Lauriston, by the architect Jacques V Gabriel. The Nitot family, founder of Chaumet jewelry, remained the owners until the beginning of the 20th century. The family also owned the Hôtel de Gramont at no.15, from which it separated in 1897, in favor of César Ritz, who transformed it, together with the neighboring Hôtel Crozat, into the current Hôtel Ritz. The hotel is now owned by the Colban family, who took over the Charvet house in 1965, and whose shop has been there since 1981.
Surrounding area
Church of Our Lady of the Assumption
Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption is a Roman Catholic church in the First arrondissement of Paris, France. The building was constructed between 1670 and 1676 when it was consecrated. Since 1844 it has been the main Polish church of Paris, situated at 263, Rue Saint-Honoré. The facade includes a peristyle with six Corinthian columns surmounted by a triangular pediment. It bears a certain resemblance to the north facade of the Sorbonne, which was built earlier. With its centered plan, the church is a rotunda 24 m in diameter, with simple pilasters in its lower part. It is surmounted by a dome, pierced with eight bays with, alternately, niches for statues.
Place du Marché-Saint-Honoré
Place du Marché-Saint-Honoré is a thoroughfare in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. A market appeared for the first time in this square in 1810. The place also the location of the Saint-Honoré market now houses the offices of the investment bank BNP Paribas Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB), a subsidiary of BNP Paribas. The central police station of the 1st arrondissement is located at no.45 of the square. In 2003, a market was inaugurated housing bakers, caterers, greengrocers and sellers of jewelery and clothing.
In 1611, Louis XIII gave the Dominicans of the rue Saint-Jacques convent land on the Butte Saint-Honoré to build a new convent, the Convent of the Annunciation. It was inaugurated in 1613 by the regent Marie de Médicis. During the Revolution, the convent was closed, then occupied by the Jacobin Club which met there around Robespierre. Disused at the fall of Robespierre on July 27, 1794, the convent was demolished in 1807 to allow the opening of place.
In 1810 a market appeared for the first time, sheltered by four wooden and stone halls which would take the name of the Jacobins market, in 1814 then that of the Saint-Honoré market in 1826. In 1864, the architect Jules de Mérindol had Pierre Joly d’Argenteuil’s company build four modern glass and iron pavilions there, similar to the Baltard pavilions of the central Halles in Paris. In 1955, the four pavilions were demolished to make way for a parking lot. In 1997, the clear glass building was inaugurated, reviving the 19th century tradition of covered passageways lined with shops. The central passage is called the “Passage des Jacobins”.