Photos from a broad

"I'd like this to be my kingdom," a thirty-year resident told me several years ago as we stood on his second-floor étage-nobile balcony ... The square seems to breed such undemocratic sentiments, inspired, perhaps, by the dramatic views from on high. It's as if the architects had drawn their plans with condescension in mind. - David Downie

Even though I well know that this is prime Paris real estate, I feel very much at home in the Marais and in the Place des Vosges in particular. It seems that everyone does. Or at least in contrast to the colder and grandiose four-sided spectacles like Place Vendôme.

I learned a lot today about my beloved Place des Vosges on David Downie's historical tour but one bit did cause me to gasp a little [or, okay - a lot] - the realization that, "the weathered 'brickwork' on closer inspection turns out to be cheap trompe-l'oeil plaster applied to wood." Say it ain't so! But that said, it's clearly no less lovely than if it weren't a facade.

Location: Paris, France ★