Tuileries Palace Palace

Address: Jardin des Tuileries, 75001 Paris, France (between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde)

Hours: Public garden open daily; hours vary seasonally (check Paris tourism sources)

Admission: Tuileries Palace was destroyed; the site now forms the Jardin des Tuileries (public garden) - free to enter

The Tuileries Palace was a royal and imperial residence in central Paris, originally commissioned by Catherine de’ Medici in 1564. It stood between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde and was one of the city’s principal royal palaces until its destruction in the 19th century.

The palace itself no longer exists; the area it occupied is now part of the public Tuileries Garden, a formal park with paths, sculptures and fountains that connects the Louvre to the Place de la Concorde. Visitors use the garden to orient themselves to the Louvre and the west end of central Paris and to view the site where the palace once stood.

The palace was begun in 1564 for Catherine de’ Medici and served as a residence for French monarchs and later for imperial administrations. It was stormed during the Revolution, used by successive regimes including Napoleon, burned during the Paris Commune in 1871 and was removed in the following decade.

The former palace site lies in Paris’s 1st arrondissement on the right bank of the Seine, immediately west of the Louvre and east of the Place de la Concorde.

• No surviving structure: The palace was destroyed by fire during the Paris Commune in 1871 and fully demolished in the 1880s, so nothing of the original building remains on site.
• Site in the Tuileries Garden: The footprint of the former palace sits within the public **Tuileries Garden**, which links the **Louvre** to the Place de la Concorde and is the best place to view where the palace once stood.

The site of the former Tuileries Palace is in central Paris beside the Tuileries Garden between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. Metro line 1 stops at Tuileries station (and Concorde station on lines 1, 8 and 12 is also adjacent); it is an easy walk from the Louvre, Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre metro, and many central RER/Metro connections. By car it’s in the city center along Rue de Rivoli/Quai des Tuileries, though public transport is the usual way to access it.

• Remember the palace itself was destroyed in 1871; what to visit is the Tuileries Garden and its sculptures - arrive early in the morning to enjoy quieter walks and good light for photos before Louvre and city crowds grow.
• Enter the gardens from lesser-used gates off Rue de Rivoli or from the Place de la Concorde side to reach quieter parts of the park quickly; the west end near the Orangerie and the Medici Fountain are often less busy than the central promenade.
• Don't miss the Jardin des Tuileries' smaller features - the Medici Fountain, the Jeu de Paume and the sculpture trails - and if you want museum time add the Orangerie (west end) which requires a separate ticket.