Palais-Royal
A cardinal's private palace that sheltered exiled English royalty, concealed a royal affair, and now lets anyone stroll through its garden for free.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Paris offline.
Cardinal Richelieu commissioned it from architect Jacques Lemercier starting in 1633; within a decade of his death it was housing Queen Mother Anne of Austria, her sons (including the future Louis XIV), and later the exiled wife and daughter of England's executed King Charles I. The succeeding Dukes of Orléans altered it so thoroughly that almost nothing of Lemercier's original design survives. Three French government bodies now occupy the building; the garden is yours.
What to look for
- The Jardin du Palais-Royal — its layout traces to 1629, planted by Jean Le Nôtre, father of the more celebrated André Le Nôtre
- The arcade enclosing the garden, which houses shops today
- The screened entrance court on Place du Palais-Royal, positioned directly opposite the Louvre
The Jardin du Palais-Royal is a free public park; enter from Rue Saint-Honoré or Place du Palais-Royal in the 1st arrondissement.
Palais-Royal is one of 39 sights worth the detour in Paris, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Paris pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Paris
- Eiffel TowerThe 300-metre iron tower Parisian artists petitioned against before it was even finished.
- Louvre MuseumThe world's most-visited museum lives inside a 12th-century fortress that became a royal palace.
- Notre-Dame de ParisThe spire fell on live TV in April 2019; since December 2024 you can walk back inside.
- Musée d'OrsayVan Gogh and Monet hung inside a Beaux-Arts station built for the Paris–Orléans railway.
- Champs-ÉlyséesA single 1.9-km straight line runs from the Concorde obelisk to the Arc de Triomphe — Paris's ceremonial spine on the Axe historique.
- Place de la BastilleThe prison that lit a revolution is gone — and the mob that stormed it on 14 July 1789 came for gunpowder, not the seven forgotten men inside.