Place Vendôme

Place Vendôme in Paris holds two stories most visitors miss: the penniless final weeks composer Frédéric Chopin spent in a rented apartment on the square, and the bronze column at its center, cast from cannons captured after Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz. The guide follows painter Gustave Courbet, who called the column worthless and pushed for its removal during the Paris Commune. Listen for how a square of luxury boutiques still carries the weight of that argument.