ITINERARIES AND VISITS

The urban development in the capital undertaken first by Napoleon I and later by Napoleon III established the city as we know it today. The Louvre, the arc de Triomphe of the Carrousel, the Vendôme Column, the stock exchange, the Châtelet Fountain, the arc de Triomphe, the rue de Rivoli, the Madeleine church, etc. were all planned and built during First Empire, while the Opéra, the grand boulevards, the North Station, most of the Parisian gardens, again Louvre, etc. were the product of the Second Empire.

And if we add a few museums to this list (notably the Orsay Museum, the Invalides and Military Museum, the Museum of the Legion d'Honneur, the Marmottan Museum, and the Carnavalet Museum) then it can clearly be seen that Paris in its entirety as it stands today is a showcase for the two Empires.

In terms of its wealth of Napoleonic memorabilia, one place, Rueil-Malmaison, beats all the others. To help you discover its sites and museums, we have made for you a special itinerary.

The national estate of the Château de Versailles is not to be missed.

The château de Bizy at Vernon, former property of Joseph Lesuire, general in in the Napoleonic campaigns from 1805 to 1811, is a beautiful site packed full First Empire memorabilia. Today, the château belongs to the descendants of Marshal Suchet, Duke d'Albufera.

In place Charles de Gaulle in Rouen there is an equestrian statue of Napoleon. A work by Dubray begun in 1865, it was cast in bronze from Austrian cannons taken at Austerlitz. On the pedestal, a low-relief freize executed after a design by Isabey represents the Emperor's visit to the factory of the Sévène brothers on 2nd November, 1806.
The model which Isabey made for this freize is held at the local Rouen Fine Arts Museum, as are other works relating to the First Empire. There are also notably paintings and sketches by Géricault of officers of the Grand Army.