Walk between the Louvre and the Palais-Royal

The triumphal arch of the Tuileries is the gateway to the Tuileries garden. It commemorates the Napoleonic victories. If you stand in the axis of the Triumphal Arch you can see perfectly aligned the Triumphal Arch of the Champs-Elysees and even the Grande Arche de la Defense.

The pyramid gives access to the museum, you should not be discouraged when you see the queue that snakes around the square because it moves quite fast. In any case you don't have much choice, there are people every day.

The Kiosque des Noctambules is in fact the entrance to the metro station Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre. It is a contemporary work created in 2000 which is made of glass balls.

The Comédie-Française is one of the oldest theaters in the world. It is the guardian of the French theater tradition, the repertoire and the staging are mostly very classical, the great plays of the repertoire are played. Molière, one of the founders of the Comédie-Française, is regularly performed.

The neighborhood is very pleasant. Be careful if you want to take tickets for a show of the Comédie-Française, most of the plays are very successful. Indeed, the shows are often of great quality with very good actors for a rather modest price. You have to book well in advance to get a seat.

The Buren columns caused a great stir when they were first installed. Today they are well accepted. They still look a bit cheap in this rather sumptuous environment. Originally there was a parking lot and we have the impression that we have kept the same pavement by adding bits of columns. This has advantages, we can use it to rest.

The gardens of the Palais-Royal leave a mixed feeling, especially the stores under the arcades, one has the impression that they haven't moved for 150 years. Everything seems old, old-fashioned and a bit abandoned.

The Palais-Royal is an enclosed space surrounded by houses, it is sometimes difficult to find the entrance. It is a little less frequented than the other Parisian gardens.

It's hard to believe but the Palais-Royal has known a rather agitated period. After the revolution it was frequented by many prostitutes and the surrounding buildings housed gambling houses. Extract from a police report of the time: "The most shameless and scandalous libertinism is shown in the Palais-Égalité, the prostitutes' girls do not keep any measure anymore; their words, their actions make the least shy modesty blush. It is in broad daylight that one sees them indulge in all the excesses of their impudence". Napoleon's first relationship with a woman was with a prostitute in the Palais-Royal!

In 1786, a clockmaker living in the neighborhood fired a cannon to indicate noon to the walkers of the Palais-Royal. This tradition still continues today.

What is interesting when you go for a walk in the Parisian gardens is the fact that on your way home you have to shine your shoes and take a foot bath. The pavement in all the Parisian parks dazzles the eyes and dirties the shoes.