Places, museums, monuments : 32
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Place, museum or monument / Directoire-Consulat-Ier Empire/Directory-Consulate-1st Empire, Directory / 1st EmpirePalais du Roi de Rome at RambouilletThe facades and roofs of the southern part of the eastern wing of the former palace of the King of Rome in Rambouillet (Yvelines) have been classified officially as historical monuments, by decree of the Conseil d’Etat (February 2022). The building has been closed since…
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Place, museum or monumentPalais Brongniart – Paris Stock Exchange
In 1808, Napoleon Ist decided to build a definitive home for theParis stock exchange. In fact, since its formation in 1724 the stock exchange had been 'of no fixed abode', meeting in the Galerie Vivienne in the Palais de Mazarin until 1793, then moving to the Louvre in the Palais Royale before ending up in […]
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Place, museum or monumentArc de Triomphe de l’Etoile – Paris
In 1806, Napoleon ordered the construction of a triumphal arch to glorify the Grand Army, and the first stone was laid on 6 August of the same year. Over 160 feet high, it outshone by far all of its predecessors. Designed after the Arch of Titus in Rome, it was meant to provide a majestic […]
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Place, museum or monumentGare du Nord Station
Under the Second Empire, the railways in France developed to such an extent that historians have described the period as the “Railway revolution”. From 3 248 km of track in 1851 the network leapt to 16 465 km of track in 1869. France entered the “age of the train”. And this extraordinary rise brought with […]
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Place, museum or monumentGarnier Opera House
On 29th September, 1860, Napoleon III ordered the construction of a new opera house to replace the one in rue Le Peletier, a temporary building both too narrow and situated in a congested area of Paris. A contest in which 171 applicants competed was launched in December. It was won by a young architect still unknown […]
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Place, museum or monumentCathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris
During the ancien regime, Notre-Dame de Paris did not host great occasions. This function was performed rather by other religious edifices in the capital and surrounding area – the Sainte-Chapelle was the receptacle of the crown of thorns brought back by Saint Louis, the cathedral at Reims was used for the coronation of the kings, […]
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Place, museum or monumentPanthéon
Conceived following a wish of Louis XV, Saint- Geneviève church was built by Soufflot then by Rondelet from 1764 to 1789. In 1791, the Constituent Assembly transformed the new church into a temple destined “to receive the great men of the epoch of French liberty.” Mirabeau, Voltaire, Le Peletier of Saint-Fargeau, Bara, Rousseau and Marat […]
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Place, museum or monumentPont des Arts Bridge
By a decree of 15th March 1801, Bonaparte ordered the construction of a bridge which would connect the Louvre and the Collège des Quatre-Nations, the present day Institut de France. And this work marks the introduction of a new building material, iron. An attempt had been made in Lyons but it was in Paris that […]
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Place, museum or monumentDomaine national de Saint Cloud – Park and Historical Museum
The Château de Saint-Cloud was the scene of some of the significant moments in French 19th century history, and most notably in Napoleonic history in that it saw the rise and fall of both the First and Second Empires. Bonaparte seized power there in his coup d'etat of 18 Brumaire, and the Empire was proclaimed […]
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Place, museum or monumentEcole Militaire – Champs-de-Mars Military School
After his schooling at Brienne, the young Bonaparte went to the Paris Ecole Militaire military school from 22nd October 1784 to 28th October 1785. He left as a second class lieutenant in the artillery, with a commission to join the La Fère regiment in Valence. In 1795 Bonaparte came back to the school to establish […]