Paris Palais Royal
The Paris Palais Royal, built in 1629, is a peaceful haven of elegant architecture. The Palais Royal Gardens are an oasis amid the summer heat. The Palais Royal was built for Cardinal Richelieu who bequeathed it to Louis XIII. The Sun-King Louis XIV spent his youth here. Later, the father of the future King Louis-Philipe, Louis-Philipe d’Orleans, would build arcades and shops to off-set growing debts.
Palais Royal Fountain
The Palais Royal is opposite the north wing of the Louvre , making it an ideal stop while you are visiting the 1st Arrondissement. Today the Paris Palais Royal houses the Conseil d’État (Counsel of State), the Conseil Constitutionnel (Constitutional Counsel), and the Ministère de la Culture (Ministry of Culture). At the rear of the garden are the older buildings of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. In the southwest corner is the theater Comédie-Française where between 1660-1673 Molière produced his plays.
Tree Shaded Walkways
Although not open to the public, you can visit the courtyard of the Palais Royal and the Palais Royal Gardens. The gardens are somewhat smaller than those built at the time of Richelieu. The father of King Louis-Philipe later added arcades and shops. A double row of wonderful shade trees line the garden which is laid out around a central fountain. We enjoyed the chairs strategically placed in the sun. Benches beneath the shade of the trees are also available for those sunny hot days when you need a respite from the heat. Two fenced gardens with benches and flowers act as bookends to the central section which contains the fountain.
Other sites nearby the Paris Palais Royal
We entered the garden via Passage du Perron. Upon exiting via the same route, we turned right and wandered through Galerie Colbert. You can also walk straight down rue Vivienne and experience the beauty of one of my favorite Galeries – Galerie Vivienne.
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