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 monumentChurch of St-Leu and St-Gilles
Louis Bonaparte, future king of Holland, selected the small village of St-Leu in the Oise valley as the place to live with his young bride, Hortense de Beauharnais. With the generous gift of 600 000 francs from his famous brother, Napoleon, Louis bought the two chateaux of St-Leu. Louis then proceeded to demolish the old […]
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Place, museum or monumentSt Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough
It was to England that the Imperial family fled after the fall of the Second Empire, their first residence being at Camden Place in Chislehurst. Following the death in 1873 of her husband, Napoleon III, and that of her son, the Prince Imperial, in 1879, the Empress Eugenie was eventually to settle in a new […]
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Place, museum or monumentChurch of the Madeleine
There has been a church in this area since the 13th century when the neighbourhood was known as Ville l'Evêque and its church was Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, situated at the end of the present-day boulevard Malesherbes. In the 18th century a new building was deemed necessary in view of the recent growth in the population of the […]
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Place, museum or monumentImperial Theatre of Compiègne
It was with the aim of entertaining the imperial court during its sittings Compiègne and of providing a more spacious theatre than that built by Louis-Philippe, that Napoleon III decided in 1866 to build a more up-to-date and larger theatre. Located to the left-hand side of the palace (on a site once occupied by a […]
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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, […]