January 14, 2008

Place Dauphine

When you cross the Pont Neuf (see my previous post), you are almost at Place Dauphine. It’s a calm, car free, square – actually almost a triangle – seldom overcrowded; a place to have a flat (not cheap), to have a walk, to sit down on a bench… and there are a few restaurants, cafés, shops… and a small hotel (GMG stayed there in 1969 during a hitch-hiking tour – see his comments on my pervious post). French people know in general that the couple Simone Signoret and Yves Montand used to have a flat here.

Place Dauphine was created - on the edge of Ile de la Cité - on the initiative of Henri IV about simultaneously with the Pont Neuf. It got its name in honor of the crown prince, the “dauphin”, the future Louis XIII, father of Louis XIV.

Originally, the place was surrounded by 32 similar buildings in red bricks. Only two buildings remain more or less as they were, the ones on each side of the small passage from Pont Neuf. All the other ones have been rebuilt or replaced but there is still a quite unique style and atmosphere.

From the comparison of the 1734 and today’s maps you can see that one side of the square used to have a number of buildings that were demolished in 1874 to open the view to the back side of the then newly built part of the Palais de Justice. When I took these photos some ten days ago, the Christmas decorations were still there. You can see Henri IV on his horse between the Christmas tree branches. You can see some of these pictures on my photo blog.

Yesterday, I got a nice “You make my day” award from SusuPetal, a very creative Finnish poet, artist…. with blogs in English, Finnish, Swedish. Sincere thanks SusuPetal!

36 comments:

hpy said...

SusuPetal was quicker than I, but you still have a price to pick up at

http://hpyl.blogspot.com/2008/01/in-mailbox.html

alice said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
alice said...

Je trouve que cette place a un charme tout parisien, très perceptible dans tes photos.

Anonymous said...

Good Monday morning, Peter and all the best for beginning week!
We have here this morning -2C and five centimeters snow, not quite ordinary January day, but better than
rainy weekend.Next time in Paris I will find out also this place of your post :)

GMG said...

Hi Peter,
I see that the Henry IV is still there after all these years... It was probably undergoing some kind of renovation when I went through last time, and therefore I didn't notice! Anyhow, Place Dauphine is now much more chic than in 1969!
Have a great week
Gil

GMG said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TORUŃ DAILY PHOTO said...

Hi Peter...a lovely airy square you have there in Paris.

Sorry for not visiting your site for such a long time but here at TORUŃ DP we have been very busy! Doesn't mean we have forgotten about your site though!

Cergie said...

Peter, j'aime cette place. Je suis contente que tu aies fait ce message.
Nous y étions avec Reflex que tu ne connais pas cet été. Figure toi que nous cherchions un endroit où déjeuner, nous avons traversé aussi le pont neuf, erré derrière la cathédrale, finalemnt, il me semble que nous avons déjeuné chez Charretier. Nous avons beaucoup marché ce jour là (nous étions descendus aux Halles)
J'aimerais que tu fasses un message sur le marché aux fleurs. Je ne me souviens pas que tu l'aies déjà traité.

Félicitation pour ton prix. Comme d'habitude, tu l'as juste annoncé. Je te remercie de me l'avoir attribué en comment chez moi. Je verrai quant à moi comment je ferai pour y donner suite
Passe une bonne journée et ne te laisse pas emporter par ton enthousiasme, sois raisonnable / ton genou.

Ash said...

Congratulations on the award Peter!!! Well-deserved :)

Olivier said...

j'aime bien cette partie de Paris, et puis quand on passe sur la place dauphine on peut chantonner

"Je suis l'dauphin d'la place Dauphine
Et la place Blanche a mauvaise mine
Les camions sont pleins de lait
Les balayeurs sont pleins d'balais

Il est cinq heures
Paris s'éveille
Paris s'éveille"

Bonne Journée

hpy said...

Il est bien plus de cinq heures à la place Dauphine, et ça fait déjà longtemps que Paris s'est évéillé, mais moi j'ai l'impression de dormir encore. Ca doit être cette couleur grise que l'on voit partout sur les blogs. Et aussi dehors.
Bon genou!

Anonymous said...

I like your work again today, Peter and, also, congratulations on your award.

Anonymous said...

I like your work again today, Peter and, also, congratulations on your award.

Gaëlle said...

Merci pour toutes ces explications. Cette petite place me donnerait presque envie d'aimer Paris, et pourtant Dieu sait si j'ai une relation conflictuelle avec cette ville !
Je te souhaite une très bonne semaine.

Jessica said...

I think there are many people whose day you make, mine included. I'm glad Susu recognized you. This is another great post. I can't get enough of the comparisons between present-day Paris and the Paris of the past. Thanks for being such a great resource for this.

tut-tut said...

Great photos and background information!

Anonymous said...

TO my great shame I don't think I've ever been place Dauphine. Makes me want to go! Thanks for bringing the city to us in such an informative and attractive way.
Congratulations on your well deserved award, I think you make the day of many of us!

Thanks also for passing on the award to me, I feel very honoured.

Olivier said...

merci Peter pour le prix 'You make my day' cela fait tres plaisir.

Peter said...

hpy:
Sincere thanks, picked it up!

alice:
Oui, encore plus de charme un jour un peu plus chaud!

leenam:
See you next time in Paris, I hope!

Azer Mantessa said...

yay! :-)

congratulations on the 'you make my day award' :-)

Peter said...

gmg:
The place has been freshened up lately, as has the Pont Neuf. There is now an underground parking.

glenn:
You are welcome whenever you can!

cergie:
J'irai voir les fleurs quand mon genou sera apte!

Peter said...

ash:
Thanks Ash!

olivier:
Une belle chanson!

hpy:
C'est lundi! Il faut se reveiller!

Peter said...

oldmanlincoln:
Thanks for your kind words!

bleeding orange:
Comment? Tu n'es pas amoureuse de Paris?

jessica:
It's a pleasure to please you!

Peter said...

tut-tut:
Thanks so much for these nice words!

nathalie:
Shame on you! But the place is still there, so next time!

azer:
yay!:-)

Kunterbunt said...

As always: a photo along with well chosen information and what I find fascinating (again) the two different overviews. Great work, as always, Peter.
Thanks a lot for the award :-) So you made my day / my afternoon, too.

Anonymous said...

Those top two images are especially gorgeous. I love the unusual view of the Pont Neuf with the Dauphine entrance behind.

Shammickite said...

I see that you are snow-free in Paris at the moment.
Are you expecting any of the white stuff?

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi dear Peter,
My congrats for you award , that YOU are deserve as the Best!!!
Yes I agree you blo is fantastic I can't wait for the other day what you post again!

Oh and I posted today, more (yes I did!) background information about the glasshouses , but also at the bottom you can click on the link THE HAGUE/DENHAAG for more information in English about the lightballs ( you asked for that) too! Thanks for your visits.

Have a nice week! :)

Marie said...

Your photos are really very pretty and romantic, Peter. I love them.

Zhang Chunhong said...

La photo avec la décoration de Noël fait un bon effet: on a l'impression que Henri IV vient de loin à cheval pour trouver son cadeau sur le sapin de Noël.

Peter said...

april:
I'm happy that you are also interested in the comparison "before and now". I like that very much myself.

ruth:
... especially interesting as these are the onlytwo original remaining buidlings.

ex-shammickite:
We don't have snow every year in Paris and if we have it, it's noramlly gone very quickly. There have been exceptions. Let's see if this year will be an exceptional one. The winter is not yet over:

Peter said...

joann:
Just wait for tomorrow and you may be disappointed... Thanks anyhow for the nice compliments!

marie:
Thanks so much!

zhang:
C'est vrai qu'on a l'impression qu'il arrive... maintenant quand tu le dis!

Noushy Syah said...

You definitely are..

..make my day too..

Congratz Peter..

Anonymous said...

This and the previous post give us a nice sketch of this well-defined little area. And while small, such a lot to look for and discover. Looks a peaceful spot to retire with a newspaper or book. I guess because of the location there is not much through traffic

sonia a. mascaro said...

Congratulations for the "You Make My Day" Award!

Place Dauphine looks a nice place!
Beautiful photos as always! Thanks for sharing Paris with us!

Kate said...

I love this little piece of heaven in Paris. I love the solitude and quietness of the Place Dauphine. One year I had reservations for a room in that old, old hotel, but friends loaned me their wonderful flat instead so I disappointedly cancelled my reservations. Love the photos.