Louis XIII Square, Paris

You are approaching the Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris. Long before these symmetrical red brick townhouses appeared, this site was the location of the Hotel des Tournelles, a sprawling medieval palace where French royalty lived. Its history took a dark turn in fifteen fifty-nine when King Henri II was fatally wounded during a jousting tournament held on the grounds. His widow, Catherine de Medici, was so deeply affected by this tragedy that she ordered the entire palace demolished, leaving behind a vast, empty space that eventually became the site of this elegant square.