Palais-Royal (Paris, France)

Guides: Destinations > Cities > Paris > Louvre and Les Halles > Palais-Royal
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Cardinal Richelieu, appointed Prime Minister in 1624 commissioned the architect Jacques Lemercier to construct this building as a small and private theater. As successor Louis XIII later assigned the building as a royal residence to be used for courtly entertainment. The Palais is made of two parts, one being the palace and the other the surrounding galleries. Today the Palais houses the Council of the state, the Constitutional Council, the ministry of Culture and the Comedie Francaise, where the classics of French theatre are still performed. The gardens are best seen at dusk with the ingenious lighting of lampposts and hanging lanterns that illuminate the galleries and entrances.