Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The rue de la Paix, located in the 1st and 2nd arrondissements of Paris, originated in the destruction of the convent of Capucines, founded in 1604 by Marie de Luxembourg under Henri IV. This convent, originally built in the Faubourg Saint-Honoré, was moved in 1686 to give way to Place Vendôme, on the order of Louis XIV. The nuns settled there until their expulsion in 1790 during the Revolution, the site becoming a Mint Hotel and a circus.

The piercing of the street was decreed by Napoleon in 1806 under the name Rue Napoléon, before being renamed Rue de la Paix in 1814 to celebrate the peace treaty signed after Napoleon I's abdication. Its route linked Place Vendôme to Boulevard des Capucines, crossing a rapidly changing neighbourhood. The bones exhumed during the work, including those of Queen Louise of Lorraine and the Marquise of Pompadour, were transferred to the catacombs or to Saint-Denis.

From the early 19th century, the street became a high place of luxury and elegance. Marie-Antoine Lent opened her first pastry shop in 1829, while haute couture houses (Worth, Paquin, Grès) and jewellers (Cartier, Mellerio, Van Cleef & Arpels) settled there. The arrival of the Opéra Garnier in 1861 strengthened its prestige, attracting a well-to-do international clientele. Furnished hotels, such as Westminster or Park Hyatt, and perfumeries (Roger & Gallet, Grenoville) made it a showcase of French know-how.

The street is also marked by cultural events: it inspires the Monopoly plateau (since 1935) as the most expensive square, and appears in films (Drôle de frimousse, Signed Arsène Lupin). According to some sources, its pavement still hides unexhumed graves, such as that of the Marquise de Pompadour under number 3. Today, it embodies Parisian luxury, with a square metre estimated at over 18,000 euros in 2023.

Architecturally, the street is distinguished by its 19th century buildings, such as that of architects Mesnard and Rouillère (No. 3, 1854) or Vever jewellery (No. 14, 1907). The facades house Art Nouveau decorations (shop Linzeler by Louis Süe, 1923) and traces of history, such as the former Worth Hospital (No. 7) during the First World War. Its gas lighting, installed in 1829, symbolized Parisian modernity.

Future

The Rue de la Paix, located in a prestigious and affluent district of the capital, consists mainly of high jewellery houses such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels or Mellerio, luxury shops, large hotels and palaces such as Hotel Westminster and Park Hyatt.

External links