The Palais-Royal (Royal Palace) is now occupied by the Conseil d'Etat, the supreme administrative court, and the Secrétariat de la Culture et de la Communication.
The palace, situated close to the Louvre, was built between 1634 and 1639 for Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), who on his death bequeathed it to the king. After Louis XIII's death his widow Anne of Austria moved into the palace, which then became known as the Palais-Royal.
Her son, Louis XIV, returned to the Louvre in 1652, but soon afterwards, after a brief stay in the Château de Vincennes, transferred the court to Versailles. Thereafter the king granted the palace to the House of Orléans. Louis-Philippe d'Orléans - who supported the principles of the Revolution and accordingly became known as Philippe Egalité, though this did not save him from the guillotine - gave the palace its present form and surrounded the gardens with colonnades, shops and apartments.
On July 13 1789 Camille Desmoulins, a lawyer and journalist, addressed a revolutionary crowd under these colonnades, and this was followed on the next day by the storming of the Bastille. Before and during the Revolution and under the First Empire the Palais-Royal was a popular meeting-place, with restaurants, cafes, and brothels.
Notable residents in the Palais-Royal apartments have included Colette and Jean Cocteau.
The National Library in Paris houses the national collection of books, periodicals, manuscripts, prints, maps and plans, coins and Oriental manuscripts. It organizes periodic special exhibitions on the history of books and art.
Address: Bibliothèque Nationale, site François-Mitterrand Quai François-Mauriac, F-75706 Paris, France
Hours:
9:30am-6:30pm; Closed: Mon
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), 1945 Victory Day (May 8), May Day / Labor Day (May 1), Bastille Day - France (July 14), All Saints' Day - Christian (November 1), Remembrance Day / 1918 Armistice Day (November 11), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Pentecost Monday (Whit Monday) - Christian, Ascension Thursday - Christian
Tips: Group visit by appointment.
Photography prohibited.
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
Like other buildings dating from the time of Napoleon, such as the Arc de Triomphe and the Madeleine, the Stock Exchange (by A.-T. Brongniart, 1808-27) is Neo-Classical in style. The original plan was in the form of a Greek temple; the side wings, giving it a cruciform ground plan, date only from 1902-03.
Trading in the Exchange reaches its peak around midday. From the gallery (reached by stairs in the vestibule on the left) visitors can watch the hectic activity of the brokers and speculators. Most of them will understand little of what is going on, and will welcome the audio visual aids which give an introduction to the work of the Exchange; for information, apply in the gallery.
Address: Palais Brongniart - Bourse de Paris, Palais de la Bourse Rue Viivienne, F-75002 Paris, France
This gallery is dedicated to Bourse, Paris Stock Exchange, with its role in the economy and money in activity.
Address: Palais Brongniart - Bourse de Paris, Palais de la Bourse Rue Viivienne, F-75002 Paris, France
Hours:
1:15pm-4pm; Closed: Sun, Sat
Tips: Closed all bank holidays.
Group visit and guide tour reserve one day in advance.
Documentation available in foreign languages.
Photography prohibited.
The collections of coins and medals date from Antiquity to present day.
Address: Cabinet des Medailles, Bibliothèque Nationale de France 58 rue de Richelieu, F-75002 Paris, France
Hours:
1pm-5pm
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), 1945 Victory Day (May 8), May Day / Labor Day (May 1), Bastille Day - France (July 14), Assumption Day - Christian (August 15), All Saints' Day - Christian (November 1), Remembrance Day / 1918 Armistice Day (November 11), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Pentecost Monday (Whit Monday) - Christian, Ascension Thursday - Christian
Between the Place du Carrousel and the Tuileries Gardens is a large underground complex. It includes shopping arcades, restaurants, galleries, function rooms and a large parking lot, as well as studios and, in the Aile de Flore, an art center with a library, a workshop and service facilities for the various artistic activities in the complex.
Address: Carrousel du Louvre, 99 rue de Rivoli, F-75001 Louvre, France
A passage between the Palais-Royal in Paris and the Comédie Française leads into the inner courtyard, which since 1986 has been patterned by the controversial "colonnes" of the sculptor Daniel Buren. These black and white striped "columns", no more than a few inches high, are set in geometrically precise rows over the whole area of the courtyard.
In the west pavilion in the north wing of the Louvre (Pavillon de Marsan) is the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which is independent of the Louvre. It has a rich collection of furniture and furnishings from the Middle Ages to modern times. Attached to it is a fashion museum, the Musée de la Mode et du Textile, with a collection of costly creations by Chanel, Dior, Worth, Cardin and other famous couturiers.
Address: Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Palais du Louvre 107 rue de Rivoli, F-75001 Paris, France
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Fountain at the Palais Royal in Paris.
Blocks in front of the Palais Royal in Paris.
Courtyard of the Palais Royal in Paris.
Lanterns in the archways of Palais Royal in Paris.
The glass tower of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris.
