Beneath these chestnut trees lies a captivating tale. This is Place Dauphine. King Henry IV initiated this public square in 1607. It was his second project for Paris squares. The first was Place Royale. Now it is the Place des Vosges. He named Place Dauphine for his son. His son was the Dauphin of France and future Louis XIII. The Dauphin was born in 1601.
Place Dauphine is near the western end of Île de la Cité. It is in the first arrondissement of Paris. The square is triangular. From here, you can access the middle of the Pont Neuf. The bridge connects the left and right banks of the Seine. It passes over the Île de la Cité. Rue Henri-Robert connects Place Dauphine and the bridge. This street is forty metres long. Where they meet, there are two other named places. They are Place du Pont-Neuf and Square du Vert-Galant.
Place Dauphine was laid out between 1607 and 1610. Place Royale was still under construction. It was among Henry IV’s earliest city-planning projects. The site was once part of the western garden of the Palais de la Cité. Capetian kings lived there long ago. This was before the Louvre was built. A pavilion stood in the garden’s western wall. It overlooked two riverine islets.
Achille de Harlay received about 3 acres of land on March 10, 1607. He had to follow a general plan. The houses had to have a specified facade. The development had two parts. There was a triangular square. There was a row of houses across from the triangle’s base. This was on the eastern side of the rue de Harlay. There were two entrances to the square. One was in the middle of the eastern range. The second was at the western point. It opened onto the Pont Neuf. The western gateway had paired pavilions. They faced the bridge and the statue of Henri IV.
The last house was finished in 1616. Originally, all houses had similar facades. They resembled those at the Place Royale. However, the houses were more modest. Each unit had two arcaded shopfronts on the ground floor. A narrow door led to an interior court. A steep staircase led to two residential floors above. These floors had brick and limestone. At the top was an attic floor. It had a steep slate roof and dormers. Each range at Place Dauphine had a single roof. The dormers did not show separate houses. Behind the facades, the houses varied in plan and area.
Since its construction, almost all houses have been raised. They have new facades. Some were rebuilt. Others were replaced with imitations. Only two retain their original appearance. They flank the entrance facing the Pont Neuf. In 1792, during the Revolution, Place Dauphine was renamed Place Thionville. It kept this name until 1814. The former eastern range was heavily damaged by fire in 1871. This happened during the Paris Commune. It was removed to open the view toward the Palais de Justice.
Place Dauphine is served by the Metro stations Pont Neuf and Cité. These are on lines 4 and 7.
Place Dauphine is one of the most romantic squares in Paris. Many consider it one of the oldest squares in Paris. It is in the centre of Paris. Yet, it is relatively unknown to tourists. You will find art galleries and small restaurant-cafés here. It is quite busy but without tourist crowds. The triangular square is 102 metres long and 67 metres wide. Rue de Harlay marks the square’s east side.
In 2016, IGN calculated that the geographical centre of Paris is on Place Dauphine. Yves Montand and Simone Signoret lived at number 15. Jacques Dutronc mentioned it in his song Il est cinq heures, Paris s’éveille.
Isn’t it amazing how much history is concentrated in this small, picturesque square?