Overview
The Jardin du Palais Royal is one of Paris's most refined and secretive pleasures — a perfectly enclosed garden hidden behind the grandeur of the Palais Royal's façade on Rue Saint-Honoré. Created for Cardinal Richelieu in 1633 and later home to the young Louis XIV, the palace passed to the Orleans family in the 18th century, who surrounded the garden with the arcaded galleries that still exist today. The garden is famous for two contrasting elements: the order and formality of its allées of clipped linden trees and its central fountain, and the playful surprise of Daniel Buren's 260 striped black-and-white columns installed in the main courtyard in 1986 — one of the most debated and beloved public artworks in modern Paris.
🕐 Opening Hours
Free admission unless noted above
🚇 How to Get There
💡 Enter from Place du Palais-Royal (through the Buren columns courtyard) or from Rue de Montpensier on the garden side.
Get Directions →What to See
- 1Buren columns (Les Deux Plateaux) — 260 striped black-and-white columns of varying heights by Daniel Buren, installed 1986
- 2Garden with linden trees — a peaceful, perfectly manicured garden with fountain, roses, and clipped trees
- 3Arcaded galleries — 200 metres of covered arcades housing rare boutiques, antique dealers, restaurants, and Comédie-Française
- 4Grand Véfour restaurant — one of the oldest restaurants in Paris, operating since 1784 under the arcades
- 5Comédie-Française — France's national theatre company, headquartered in the Palais Royal since 1799
Photos
Jardin du Palais Royal with its clipped linden trees and the arcaded galleries of the Palais Royal surrounding it
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