Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
10am-6pm Tue-Sun;
St-Paul or Bastille)
Between 1832 and 1848 writer Victor Hugo lived in an apartment on the 3rd floor of Hôtel
de Rohan-Guéménée, overlooking one of Paris' most elegant squares. He moved here a year
after the publication of
Notre Dame de Paris
(The Hunchback of Notre Dame), completing
Ruy Blas
while living here. His house is now a small museum devoted to the life and times
of the celebrated novelist and poet, with an impressive collection of his personal drawings
and portraits.
MANSION
HÔTEL DE SULLY
In the southwestern corner of place des Vosges is the back entrance to this aristocratic man-
sion, built in 1625 and home to the headquarters of the Centre des Monuments Nationaux,
responsible for many of France's historical monuments. From the square, duck beneath the
arch and be instantly wooed by two beautifully decorated, late-Renaissance courtyards, both
festooned with allegorical reliefs of the seasons and the elements.
In the northern courtyard look to the southern side for spring (flowers and a bird in hand)
and summer (wheat sheaves); in the southern courtyard turn to the northern side for autumn
(grapes) and winter, with a symbol representing both the end of the year and the end of life.
In the second courtyard are symbols for the elements: on the western side 'air' on the left and
'fire' on the right, and on the eastern side 'earth' on the left and 'water' on the right.
CITY HALL
HÔTEL DE VILLE
Paris' beautiful neo-Renaissance town hall was gutted during the Paris Commune of 1871
and rebuilt in luxurious neo-Renaissance style between 1874 and 1882. The ornate facade is
decorated with 108 statues of illustrious Parisians, and the outstanding temporary exhibi-
tions (admission free) held inside in its
Salle St-Jean
almost always have a Parisian theme.
From December to early March, an ice-skating rink sets up outside this beautiful building,
creating a real picture-book experience.
ART MUSEUM
MUSÉE COGNACQ-JAY
10am-6pm Tue-Sun;
St-Paul
or Chemin Vert)
