The essentials of the heart of the city

At 3,070 meters long with 236 addresses, rue de Rivoli is one of the most famous streets in Paris. The project of its architecture was born in 1800 from Bonaparte's desire to embellish the surroundings of the Tuileries Palace and the Louvre by creating a street of Arcades with a majestic alignment that allowed easy circulation of pedestrians. Today mainly occupied by shops and department stores, it is extremely frequented, day and night, from Saint-Paul to La Concorde.

Since the end of the 12th century, the Louvre buildings have dominated the heart of Paris. Located on the outskirts of the city, they were gradually overtaken by it and then included in its center. During time, the somber fortress of its beginnings carried out a transformation to become the modernized residence of François Ier, then later the sumptuous palace of the Sun King. It is the history of this building and of the museum which, from 1793, occupied its many rooms which you can now explore.

This garden owes its name to the clay of the ground with which Parisians made their tiles until the 16th century. It was created in 1564 for Catherine de Medici. Though the palace is no longer standing, the garden represented the birth in the city with its worldly public promenade. André le Nôtre redesigned it in 1664 around a large central alley lined with French-style flowerbeds. In addition to the galleries of the Orangerie and the Jeu de Paume that it houses today, this garden offers an open-air museum with many sculptures from the time of Louis XIV up to the present day. For visitors with children, the Tuileries also offer play areas, pools with rental boats, pony rides, and even a large outdoor fair during the summer months.

Listed as a historic monument in 1937, the Place de la Concorde has known many events before its decorative aspect. The Place de la Terreur, place of the execution of the Royal family, was subject to later construction in 1836 by Gabriel of the Ministry of the Navy. His work gave an artistic aspect to this large space. The two central fountains inaugurated in 1840 represent French navigation with the fountain of the seas (statues of the Mediterranean, the Ocean and fishing) and the fountain of rivers (statues of the Rhine, the Rhone and the surrounding agricultural crops). All around, the statues represent 8 French cities: Bordeaux, Brest, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen and Strasbourg. In the center of the square, an obelisk that is more than 3,300 years old was offered to France in 1831. The Paris fountains first had a water distribution function before their decorative function. Today they are especially observed in the four corners of the city, for their architectural and artistic qualities. They are found in parks, gardens, squares or squares in the capital.