Palais Royal

The Palais-Royal, in Paris

The Palais-Royal is a majestic historic ensemble of Paris, a former palace of Richelieu become a place of power and culture. The Paris audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this elegant monument, facing the Louvre, rich in several centuries of history.

The former palace of Richelieu

The Palais-Royal is one of the great historic ensembles of Paris, located just opposite the Louvre. It was built in the seventeenth century for Cardinal Richelieu, the powerful minister of King Louis XIII, and was then called the Palais-Cardinal. At the death of Richelieu, the palace returned to the Crown and welcomed the royal family, which earned it its name of Palais-Royal; the young King Louis XIV lived there part of his childhood. Later, it became the property of the Orléans family and was surrounded by arcaded galleries sheltering shops, cafés and places of pleasure, becoming a high place of Parisian life, of ideas and even of revolutionary effervescence. Today, the palace shelters high institutions of the State and places linked to culture. A witness of the history of France, the Palais-Royal is an elegant and must-see monument of Paris.

What to see

You admire the majestic historic ensemble facing the Louvre, built in the seventeenth century for Cardinal Richelieu, become a royal residence where the young Louis XIV lived, then a high place of Parisian life surrounded by arcaded galleries, which today shelters high institutions of the State and of culture. The Palais-Royal is an elegant monument of Paris. It is a must-see stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Palais-Royal lies facing the Louvre, in the heart of Paris, reachable on foot and by public transport, including the metro. You admire its galleries, courtyards and gardens, generally freely accessible; the institutions it shelters follow their own conditions of access. You discover it during a walk in the district.

For whom was the Palais-Royal of Paris built?

For Cardinal Richelieu, the powerful minister of Louis XIII, in the seventeenth century; called at first Palais-Cardinal, it returned to the Crown at his death and welcomed the royal family, including the young Louis XIV, hence its name of Palais-Royal.

Where is the Palais-Royal of Paris?

Facing the Louvre, in the heart of Paris, in France.