Commissioned by Henri IV and inaugurated in 1612, Place des Vosges — then Place Royale — was conceived as both architecture and strategy. The King wished to gather his nobles and ministers around him, creating a square where aristocratic life would be staged within perfect geometry. Symmetry, arcades, red brick façades, and slate roofs imposed order, grandeur, and a sense of belonging to a privileged circle.

What began as a stage for tournaments, royal ceremonies, and courtly intrigue soon became a haven for salons, writers, and artists. Centuries later, the atmosphere remains — part aristocratic, part literary, always composed. Here, history is not merely seen but felt: in the measured proportions, in the hush beneath the arcades, in the ivy that climbs the stone.

To linger at Place des Vosges is to brush against layers of Paris itself — aristocracy, revolution, romance, art. And today, within its arcades and hôtels particuliers, refinement continues in discreet hotels, avant-garde salons, and Michelin-starred tables. The cape settles easily here, between the past and the present, discretion and spectacle.