Place de la Madeleine square in Paris
This square in Paris is probably most well known for the impressive Greek style temple known as La Madeleine church, however it is also home to luxury gourmet boutiques and restaurants like Fauchon.
About Place de la Madeleine
The Place de la Madeleine is located at the end of the Rue Royale and is named after the impressive structure called La Madeleine, which was eventually consecrated as a church almost one hundred years after this square in Paris was first established.
In fact, the square itself was first defined in the mid 1700s and had a clear line of sight to the Place de la Concorde, and originally there was originally a church dating back to the 1100s that stood on the very same location as the current one.
We will cover La Madeleine church or with its full title, l’Egise Saint-Marie Madeleine in more detail in a separate article, but basically a large monument was commissioned to be constructed at this square in Paris back in the mid 1700s yet the even after the first stones were laid, the plans did not meet with approval.
What had been constructed was destroyed over, shall we say, improved plans, but again these did not meet with approval after the French Revolution and again new plans were drawn up, yet things were still not defined and even the type of monument in Paris was not even decided. So it was not until the 1840s that it was declared that this monument would be a church rather than a train station in Paris or utilised for some other purpose.
And then with the plans that were drawn up Baron Haussmann for the improvements to the city of Paris, the new widened boulevards and streets came in, which is what you will discover converging on the Place de la Madeleine today.
Although, it does unfortunately mean that the traffic from the Place de la Concorde up towards the Place de la Madeleine is rather daunting to say the least and it is such a shame considering the amount of tourists that are visiting this monument while they are on holiday in Paris.
But putting the traffic to one side, there is a lovely flower market that is held by this church and square in Paris on a Tuesday through to a Friday.
Plus you will be able to discover one of the rather unusual monuments, which is a public toilet that dates back to the start of the 1900s and is located by the metro station at the Boulevard de la Madeleine, situated on the right hand side as you look at the Madeleine church.
In addition to this, you will be able to discover numerous gourmet food shops such as a chocolatier, Nicolas for fine wines, champagnes, spirits etc, Hediard with its gourmet delicacies shop and restaurant, the Caviar House Prunier dedicated to caviar, and the iconic Fauchon delicatessen, along with its bakery, pastry house, gift shop and the Fauchon cafe.
Not forgetting the Maison de la Truffe restaurant dedicated to the gastronomic delight of truffles, an unusual art museum called Pinacoteque and several luxury boutiques such as Ralph Lauren.
Access to Place de la Madeleine in Paris
You will find this square located in the 8th Arrondissement where to the south by going along the Rue Royale you will get to the Place de la Concorde that is home to the oldest monument in Paris called the Luxor Obelisk and from there you can wander up the Champs Elysees Avenue.
To the east is the Place Vendome with the July Column monument and to the north east you will be able to discover the impressive and elegant Palais Garnier, which is the famous opera house in Paris.
Getting to the Place de la Madeleine using public transport in Paris is easy, first you have the metro on lines 8, 12 or 14 and disembarking at the Madeleine stop, or alternatively the bus numbers 24, 42, 52, 84 and 94 will also get you here.
