The Place Vendôme has a fascinating history. Originally, it was laid out in 1702 by architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who built most of the Versailles Palace. He gave it over to the Minister of Finance who eventually gave it to King Louis XIV who then enlisted Mansart to design a square to rival the Place des Vosges.
Similar to the Place des Vosges, Mansard made all the buildings on the square identical, with arched ground floors and tall-windowed second floors. Pilasters and ornamental pillars were placed between each set of windows.
There was a statue of the king in the square until 1792 when it was torn down during the French Revolution.
The column you see here was erected by Napoleon. The column's continuous ribbon of bas-relief bronze plates were made from the 1200 cannons taken from the combined armies of Russia and Austria during battle. The reliefs depict scenes during the Napoleonic Wars between 1805 and 1807.
Today, the square is home to expensive hotels, jewelry and clothing stores.
For music lovers, composer Frédéric Chopin died in Number 12 on this square.