Jardin des Tuileries



Situated right in the heart of Paris, the Jardin des Tuileries stretches from the Louvre to Place de la Concorde. Commissioned by Queen Catherine de Medicis and created in 1564 at the same time as the Palace of the same name (which was later destroyed), it was redesigned in 1664 by architect Andre le Notre, who was responsible for the layout of its paths, its symmetrical flowerbeds and its terrace overlooking the Seine.


Jeanne d'Arc



Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc in French) is a 15th century national heroine of France. She was tried and executed for heresy when she was only 19 years old. The judgment was broken by the Pope and she was declared innocent and a martyr 24 years later. She was beatified in 1909 and canonized as a saint in 1920.


La Conciergerie



La Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle include the remains of the oldest Parisian royal palace - the Palais de la Cité, which was converted into a prison in the 15th Century. The Conciergerie thus already had an unpleasant reputation before it became internationally famous as the "antechamber to the guillotine" during the Reign of Terror, the bloodiest phase of the French Revolution. It housed the Revolutionary Tribunal as well as up to 1,200 male and female prisoners at a time.


Musée de louvre



The first royal "Castle of the Louvre" was founded in what was then the western edge of Paris by Philip Augustus in 1190, as a fortified royal palace to defend Paris on its west against Plantagenêt attacks. The first building in the existing Louvre was begun in 1535, after demolition of the old Castle.

Now the Musee du Louvre, the former home of the kings of France, is one of the largest museums in the world.

Official web site: http://www.louvre.fr/


Palais de justice



It is located in the heart of Paris on the île de la Cité, the law courts (the "Palace of Justice") occupy more than 4 hectares of land and, with the various floors, have nearly 200,000 sq. m. of space. The building contains around 24 kilometers of hallways, 7,000 doors and more than 3,150 windows.

Four thousand magistrates and civil servants work there everyday, but if you count all of the legal officers, lawyers, police officers and gendarmes, defendants, tourists and spectators who come to the law courts on a given day, the building welcomes an average of 15,000 people daily.


Palais-Royal



The Palais Royal began as a small and private theater in the residence of Cardinal Richelieu. It was designed by the architect, Jacques Lemercier. This theater became known by the name of the residence, the Palais Cardinal. It was the first theater in France with movable scenery wings and a proscenium arch. Its first production was Jean Desmeret's Mirame in 1641.

Following Richelieu's death, the palace became royal property. It was then used for courtly entertainment. In 1660, Moliere and his troupe used the theater for their productions until the death of Moliere in 1673. After Moliere's death, Jean-Baptiste Lully used the Palais Royal for his Academy of Music and their opera productions. The theater burned down in 1763. It was rebuilt but burned down again in 1781. The area was then redeveloped into an amusement area by its owner the Duke de Chartres. It contained a number of theaters, many called the Palais Royal at various times. To this day several theaters remain in the area.


Place Vendôme



Place de Vendome is situated between Tuileries Garden and Opera. Column in Place Vendome was built in 1806-1810, after victory of Napoleon in Austerlitz battle (1805). Originally a statue of Napoleon as a Cesar was on the top. In 1871 the column was tore down but three years later it was reestablished with a copy of the original statue on the top.

In the house #12, in the old Russian embassy passed away the great polish composer Frederic Chopin.

Metro: Pyramides or Tuileries.