5 of France’s Prettiest Squares

Here are five more stunning French squares that prove size isn’t everything.

1. GRAND’PLACE, ARRAS

Actually three super squares combine to make a dazzling whole in this lovely Pas-de- Calais town: Grand Place, Rue de la Taillerie and Place des Héros. For the best view of the 155 harmonious façades punctuated by 345 columns, make your way up to the epic belfry.

2. PLACE DES VOSGES, PARIS

The oldest planned square in Paris and originally called Place Royale, this Marais beauty is picture perfect. Whether you stroll along the boutique-lined arches, head for a museum or restaurant, or simply laze on the grass with a picnic, this is capital elegance epitomised.

3. PLACE STANISLAS, NANCY

One of Europe’s most eye- pleasing squares, Nancy’s grand and handsome Place Stanislas completed in 1756 by Stanislaus I to honour his son-in-law, Louis XV-is a model example of French classicism, and is noted for its fountains and gilded wrought-iron gates.

4. PLACE DU CAPITOLE, TOULOUSE

Toulouse’s European Champions Cup rugby triumph in May saw thousands flock to the city’s iconic main square to salute their heroes at the neoclassical Capitole (city hall). In quieter moments, it is a perfect spot to enjoy a terrace coffee or lunch and people watch.

5. GRAND-PLACE, LILLE

Lille’s big-scale beauty – also known as La place du Général de Gaulle – is notable for its different architectural styles, from the richly omamented Flemish Old Stock Exchange to the Théâtre du Nord, formerly the home of the French king’s soldiers, in classic French architectural style, to the 20th-century building which houses the region’s daily newspaper, La Voix du Nord.

From France Today Magazine