Palais-Royal, Paris, France - SpottingHistory.com

The Palais Royal was built in 1629 by Cardinal Richelieu, an influential French minister. It became a royal palace after the cardinal bequeathed the building to King Louis XIII. Louis XIV, the Sun King, spent his youth here before moving to the nearby Louvre and later to Versailles.

Between 1871 and 1874, Louis-Philippe d'Orléans, cousin of King Louis XVI expanded the palace by adding arcades and shops. At the time the galerie d'Orléans, the colonnaded space that separates the garden from the cour d'honneur also housed gambling dens, cafes and there were even prostitutes of both sexes.

The Palais Royal was mobbed during the revolution of 1848 and was almost destroyed by fire in 1871. Fortunately the basic structure survived. After its restoration in 1876 the building was handed over to the government. It currently houses the Council of State and other government offices.

The palace is not open to the public, but you can visit the courtyard and the garden. The courtyard, known as Cour d'Honneur, is dominated by a large sculpture by Daniel Buren, installed in 1986. It consists of 280 black and white striped truncated columns. Adjacent to the courtyard is the Galerie d'Orléans, a courtyard flanked by two colonnades. It is home to two modern fountains created by the Belgian sculptor Pol Bury.

The galerie d'Orléans leads to the Jardin du Palais Royal, the palace garden. The garden is formally laid out around a central fountain. It is a quiet refuge in the heart of the city. The current garden is somewhat smaller than originally designed in 1630 for Cardinal Richelieu due to the construction of sixty arcaded buildings on three sides of the park by Louis-Philippe d'Orléans in 1874. The buildings around the garden now house restaurants, deli shops and galleries.

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User Reviews

Rany SADER (6 months ago)
A real hidden gem behind the Louvres. Not as crowded as the Tuilleries and definitely smaller. I always enjoy it on a beautiful sunny day when in town. You can also sip a coffee in one of the coffee shops surrounding it.

Flo’s Guides (7 months ago)
Stunning place to come as a tourist. The parc next to it is a bit dirty but it’s quiet and nice. It’s lovely to take pictures in the middle, and coming in right as sunset hits paris makes for pictures with orange stones, it’s stunning! I highly recommend for anyone taking a stroll through Opera or near the Louvre

Montes (IbrahimOday) (8 months ago)
Great place to visit if you want to take pictures because honestly for me it wasn't that much thing to do here except for taking pictures the park is good for all year's weather except for summer ?

RK (8 months ago)
Very nice and calm place. No great works but worth visiting the place. It’s free too. It does not have any great artworks but has a nice garden, nice corridors. You feel relaxed when you visit this place. I suggest every tourist to spend 30 min at this place either before or after visiting louvre museum

Nikki A (13 months ago)
Maybe this will help someone? You can enter the Louvre only with electronic tickets, but you can buy by going inside, you need to provide a certificate of vaccination with the desired phaser and the ticket will cost € 15.

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The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

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