The Palais-Royal

Ever since Cardinal Richelieu commissioned the architect Jacques Lemercier to design a palace for him on this site, the Palais-Royal has played a major role in the history of Paris and indeed of France. Over the centuries, the palace has been decorated and transformed by famous artists and architects, as succeeding generations of the Orléans dynasty made it their home. The beating heart of Paris, the Palais-Royal has seen revolutions and empires come and go. It has been a den of gambling and prostitution, a source of inspiration to famous writers, and an open-air art gallery. Now home to a number of government institutions - the Conseil d'État, the Conseil Constitutionnel, and the Ministry of Culture - it remains a place where power and pleasure come together. Theatre and commerce have always had their place at the Palais-Royal, a tradition that endures with the Comédie-Française and the Théâtre du Palais-Royal.