The Palais Royal first captivates visitors for the elegance of its architecture and garden. Within a relatively compact area, it also brings together four centuries of history, theaters, shops, cafés and a few excellent places to eat.
The Palais Royal is home to two theaterss, Buren’s Columns, a formal French garden, elegant arcades and shops, renowned restaurants and, above all, a remarkable history. It is, therefore, well worth a visit for couples, families and visitors of all ages.
We suggest starting your visit from Place du Palais Royal, reached by taking Rue de Rivoli from Le Relais du Louvre.
The Palais Royal was built from 1628 at the initiative of Cardinal Richelieu. Bequeathed to Louis XIV in 1636 and later to his cousin Louis-Philippe d’Orléans, it was extensively transformed in the 18th century, notably with the creation of arcades that quickly attracted shops and merchants. The Palais Royal became one of the liveliest places in Paris, combining shops, cafés, restaurants, entertainment and gaming houses.
On the eve of the Revolution, its cafés also became places of political debate. On July 12th, 1789, at the Café de Foy, Camille Desmoulins addressed the crowd and called on Parisians to take up arms. The Palais Royal thus became one of the centere of the Revolution.
From Place du Palais Royal, walk along the Conseil d’État building, which stands directly opposite to you, to reach Place Colette, where you can stop for a break at Café Le Nemours.
Opposite the café is the Comédie-Française. This iconic French theater now offers English subtitling glasses for performances at the Salle Richelieu. Its program combines great French classics, foreign works and contemporary productions.
https://www.comedie-francaise.fr/en
Vous pourrez ensuite entrer dans l’enceinte du palais et découvrir la cour d’honneur, célèbre pour ses Colonnes de Buren.
La cour d’honneur jouxte les jardins avec ses allées, ses aires de jeu, son grand bassin central et ses agréables terrasses.
The garden is lined with arcades, housing shops, art spaces and cafés, as well as unusual boutiques such as Noxa, in the Galerie de Nemours, just inside the Palais Royal. Since 1949, Noxa is specialized in miniature figurines, toy soldiers and historical figures. With more than 30,000 pieces, it has one of the world’s largest collections in this field.
Leaving the garden through the Galerie de Beaujolais to the north, you will pass the Grand Véfour, once one of Paris’s greatest restaurants, awarded with three Michelin stars. While opinions on its cuisine are, today, more restrained, its exceptional historic interior is well worth seeing. In the early evening, its former “American bar” offers classic cocktails and in-house creations.
The Theater du Palais Royal, on Rue de Montpensier, is worth seeing for its elegant historic décor and its Italian-style theater atmosphere. Its program, mainly in French, will be of greater interest to French-speaking theater lovers.
The theater faces the Bar de l’Entracte with a terrasse which, at summer time, will be a pleasant place to end your walk. In just a few hundred metres, you will have discovered four centuries of Parisian history, from Richelieu’s palace to today’s shops, theatres and cafés.