Louis xiv - activities

Hôtel national des Invalides: a landmark in France's military history

Located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, the Hôtel des Invalides is an impressive site that plunges us into France's military history. Three museums are housed here: the Museum of the Army, the Museum of the Order of the Liberation and the Museum of the Plans-Reliefs, as well as the tomb of Napoleon 1st, which lies beneath the Invalides dome.

Did you know? The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte made the Sun King jealous.

The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is certainly one of the most beautiful in the Paris region, and when it was built, it aroused a great deal of jealousy! King Louis XIV even punished its owner, Nicolas Fouquet, because of its splendor!

History: why did Louis XIV move out the Louvre in Paris to go to Versailles?

Everyone knows there was a time the City of Versailles was almost the capital of France, instead of Paris, and we owe so to King Louis XIV who preferred moving out of the Louvre palace to go to his Versailles palace.

Ephemeris of October 21 in Paris: The birth of the Comédie-Française

On October 21, 1680, the Comédie-Française was founded by order of King Louis XIV, the result of a merger between Molière's troupe and that of the Hôtel de Bourgogne. The sovereign's idea was simple: to put an end to the quarrels between the two rival troupes, while reaffirming royalty by promoting classical French theater, at a time when the Comédie-Italienne was very much in vogue.

Visit the royal estate of Marly, the family home of Louis XIV

Marly was a pleasure residence of the Sun King, 7 km from Versailles, where only a select few had the privilege of being received. Although the château has now been demolished, the magnificent estate remains open to visitors, and a museum offers a chance to relive the atmosphere of Marly over the years and the kings who frequented it!

History of Place Vendôme

Before it became the luxurious square we know today, Place Vendôme was a resolutely political place. And the beautiful Vendôme column wasn't always in place... Here's a look back at the square's eventful history.