Place des Vosges, Paris

Place des Vosges is my absolute favorite place in all of Paris. It is an elegant square with symetrically perfect buildings from the 17th century. In the center is a part with neatly clipped grass, gravel paths, wrought iron park benches, and gas lanterns. Madame de Sevigne, the famous letter writer of the court of the Sun King, once lived in Place des Vosges. Her home is now the Musee Carnavalet. By the way, if you have the time, be sure to visit that museum. It offers, in my opinion, as rich as an experience as the Louvre, with sumptuously decorated period correct rooms and amazing artwork of Paris through the centuries. There is a great brasserie located on the northeast corner of the Place. We sat at a cozy table, eating roasted chicken, au gratin potatoes, and sipping wine. Delicious. In Place des Vosges, one can sit on a park bench, wiggle their feet in the sandbox, munch on a croissant, and forget that they are in a bustling, cosmopolitan city. They can walk the square and easily imagine what life would have been like during earlier centuries, when carriages and not cars traveled the cobblestone streets, when Victor Hugo toiled away creating his classic novels (by the way, his home, too, is located near Place des Vosges).