A hiking trail on the Right Bank following Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France (1769-1821 Napoléon Bonaparte) is remembered primarily as a brilliant military leader who conquered most of Europe while also dealing with legislation (the Napoleonic Code), urban development, and many other issues. Napoleon's versatility and unique personality make him undoubtedly the most fascinating figure in French history (certainly modern).

And although Napoleon left behind an enormous legacy, in Paris his name is commemorated on a relatively modest street in the 6th arrondissement. However, although in this sense his commemoration is lacking, souvenirs from the Napoleonic era are spread throughout the length and breadth of Paris And even those who do not cherish his memory cannot ignore them.

My goal is to allow all those interested in Napoleon's life and legacy to get to know him on foot through a tour of Paris. The main problem I encountered was that there are a huge number of such sites and it is not possible to fit them all into a geographically logical itinerary. To solve this problem, I created two itineraries in one place. The first will focus on the Right Bank, while the second will focus on the On the left bankSince even in such a case there will be sites related to Napoleon that will remain off the route, at the end of each route I will briefly mention them so that you can visit them at a later stage.

The itineraries are partially based on the lecture “A Night with Napoleon in Paris,” which can be viewed here:

Map of the hiking trails in the footsteps of Napoleon

We will begin the trip at the Palais Royal, exiting the Palais Royal Musée du Louvre metro (lines 1 and 7).

Palais Royal Napoleon's first conquest

The Palais Royal was built between the years (1633 – 1639) by Cardinal Richelieu, advisor to King Louis XIII and the most powerful man in the kingdom at the time. The palace was built on the site of a swamp, which emitted bad odors. The playwright Corneille, a contemporary, said:

An entire city miraculously arose from the muddy canal.

The palace was built west ofMarais District, which was the center of Paris' social life in those years, and which was also built on a marsh, as its name suggests, since the word "Mari" means marsh in French. Initially, the place was called the "Cardinal Palace", but after the death of Louis XIII, his widowed wife, Queen Anne of Austria, and their ten-year-old son - who would later become King Louis XIV - moved to the palace, which she renamed the "Royal Palace".

Want to see what the Palais Royal looked like shortly before Napoleon arrived there? Watch this video.

The palace became the residence of close associates of the royal family of the House of Orléans, who were related to the younger son of Louis XIII, and the younger brother of Louis XIV. One of them, the Duc de Chartres, whose name was Louis-Philippe, nicknamed “Aglietta”, the father of King Louis Philippe “the Citizen”, converted the place in 1781, six years before the evening we are talking about, into an incredible center of commercial, entertainment and erotic activity.

Napoleon arrives at the Palais Royal as a young officer in 1787, having come to Paris to claim the subsidy promised to his father for planting mulberry trees on the family land in the village of Ajaccio in Corsica, where his family lives.

Every morning the young officer knocks on the doors of various officials and his face is blank. However, every evening the young man with a developed imagination and a love of drama goes to the theater. One evening he returned from the “Comédie Italienne” theater where the operetta “Bert and Pippin” was being performed. Pippin is “Pippin the Bold,” Pippin the “Goth,” the father of Charlemagne – Charlemagne, King of the Franks. However, the operetta does not deal with Pippin’s wars against the Goths, against the Saxons, against the Muslims, and with the crossing of the Alps, which brought him gloriously into Italy, but with the pursuits interwoven with sexual allusions for the virgin Bertha, long-legged, or the crooked-legged, who would be his wife.

The young officer leaves the theater agitated and does not want to return to the solitude of his hotel room – room number 9 on the third floor of the Hotel Cherbourg on Rue Saint-Honoré – and he seeks adventure at the Palais Royal. The events of that night can be read inArticle about the Palais Royal here on the site.

At that time, the officer lived in a small attic on Rue Vivienne, near the Palais Royal, with his friend Junot, who would later become General Junot. If so, she must have heard a few months later, in November 1795, the thunder of cannons rolling from the nearby Tuileries Palace, where that officer repelled the mob that stormed the palace with cannon fire and in a bloodbath, saved the Directory, which was the body that ruled France at that time, and was appointed military governor of Paris.

On December 24, 1800, a massive explosion shook the streets around the Palais Royal. The explosion was caused when a bomb cart loaded with ten barrels of explosives exploded on the nearby Rue Saint Nicaise, seconds after the officer, who had by now appointed himself consul, passed by in his carriage accompanied by the consular guard on his way to the nearby opera house where the premiere of Joseph Haydn’s oratorio “La Creation” was to take place. Twenty-two people were killed and dozens injured, but the consul, the consul, escaped unscathed.

While I was pondering the assassination attempt, I too felt the chill of the evening and entered the Palais Royale. My feet led me to the restaurant Trois Frères Provençaux (Three Provençal Brothers) formerly located at 88 Galerie de Beaujolais. There I naturally ordered Poule a Marengo (Chicken in the Marengo style). Legend has it that on the eve of the Battle of Marengo, which took place on June 14, 1800, the Consul's soul craved boiled chicken, and his cook managed to improvise from the products he had on hand at the time an original dish that was the ancestor of Poule a Marengo.

The truth is, this dish was born in the kitchen of the three provincial brothers, who were one of the cornerstones of the famous French “gourmet” cuisine. The dish is simple, all you need:

Chicken cut into quarters, chopped onion, flour, a tablespoon of soup, a glass of white wine, tomato paste, garlic, pepper, chopped mushrooms, parsley, serve with French toast.

This restaurant no longer exists in the Palais Royal, but if you still want to eat at the restaurant where Napoleon ate, you are welcome to go to the restaurant Le Grand Vefour Where Napoleon ate with Josephine. Alternatively, you are welcome to jump to Cafe La Regence (Café de la Régence) located at 167 Rue Saint-Honoré. Napoleon used to play chess there and before him Philidor also played there, who invented the famous Philidor opening.

The Louvre Museum (Le Louvre)

The idea of ​​opening a museum in the Louvre predates the French Revolution. Marigny, who was Minister of the Interior under King Louis XV and brother of Madame Pompadour, the King's mistress, conceived it.

Want to see what the late Titular Palace and Palace look like? The Louvre During the Napoleonic era? Watch this video.

Napoleon adopted this idea and developed it on a grand scale. He concentrated in the Louvre the works of art he had plundered from the countries he had conquered, especially from Italy. Vivant Denon, the gifted painter who had accompanied Bonaparte on his journey to Egypt (and who was nicknamed “The Eye of the Army” L’Oeil de L’Arme), was appointed director of the museum, which opened its doors to the general public in 1803.

Napoleon's lust for works of art was insatiable. In 1802, the Medici Venus, the sculpture known as "Le Gloire de Florence" ("The Pride of Florence"), was dragged to Paris, on a journey that lasted ten months. In 1810, Napoleon told the famous Italian sculptor Antonio Canova:

Here in the Louvre are all the important works of art from Florence. All that's missing is the statue of Hercules.

The embarrassed Canova replied:

Perhaps His Majesty will agree to leave something in Italy.

Some attribute courage to the statue and claim that he responded to the emperor with a sharp tongue:

After all, there is nothing left in Italy, His Majesty has already taken the "Bona-Parte" (In Italian, “bona parta” means “the good part”). 

It was nighttime, and the museum was closed, but suddenly there was a commotion. A large door opened, a beam of light burst into the street, and people were dragging out the Medici Venus. Yes, it was 1815, the Medici Venus was being dragged back to Florence after the fall of Napoleon. And the French? The disappointed French embarked on a massive public relations campaign for her severed sister – the Venus de Milo – which remained in the Louvre, until they managed to dim and forget the memory of her Florentine sister that was rising above her.

And one last thing about Napoleon and the Louvre before we continue west. Go outside and look at the central façade designed by sculptor Claude Perrault (1613-1688). Up there you will see a statue that says Ludovico Magno, meaning Louis XIVAnd the truth is, it makes sense because this facade was created during the reign of this king.

However, in reality, you are actually looking at Napoleon's head, which was built there in the early 19th century. However, after the Bourbons returned to power, they decided to erase all traces of Napoleon, so they asked another statue to be placed in his place. Foreign wig on the head, thus turning him into Louis XIV.

The triumphal arch of the carousel

Carousel Square It is located on the western side of the Louvre and is named after the Carousel competition that took place there during the reign of Louis XIV. In the early days of Napoleon, there was a residential neighborhood there that spread north to where the Rue de Rivoli is today (which we will talk about in a moment). Napoleon decided to destroy this neighborhood and build a triumphal arch there, similar to the triumphal arches built by Louis XIV at Porte Saint Martin and Porte Saint Denis.

The construction of the gate in front of the Tuileries Palace (the late) began in 1806 to commemorate the victory at the Battle of Austerlitz. On the gate stands a statue of the four bronze horses that were looted from Venice. The statue was originally created in Greece on the island of Chios in the fourth century and later rolled to Constantinople, from where it was looted by the Venetians during the Fourth Crusade. It could be said that the looter is exempt from the looter, but that was not the case in our case. After the fall of Napoleon, the horses were returned to Venice, where you can meet them inside the Church of San Marco or see their replicas hanging above the entrance gates of the church.

In November 1807, after the Treaty of Tilsit, the Imperial Guard under the command of Marshal Bessieres entered Paris in a ceremonial parade through the Porte de la Villette and from there toArc de Triomphe The carousel is still surrounded by scaffolding. Napoleon expresses displeasure at the sight of the scaffolding and inquires about the reason for the delay in construction. He is told that they are waiting for the completion of his statue, which will be placed in a horse-drawn carriage. Napoleon is furious and replies:

What statue are you talking about? I did not ask for any statue, nor do I want my statue to be the main subject of the gate that I initiated and which I financed at my own expense, for the glory of the army that I had the honor of commanding.

Today, you can see on the gate a replica of the statue of the Four Horses, and in the horse-drawn carriage stands not Napoleon but the Goddess of Peace – which the Bourbons placed after Napoleon's fall.

Rivoli Street

From the Arc de Triomphe of the Carousel, we will walk a little west and turn north towards Rivoli Street, the western part of which is the work of Napoleon I, while the eastern part is the work of Napoleon III.

The construction of Rue Rivoli, named after one of Napoleon's battles in Italy in 1797, began with an assassination. On December 24, 1800, a cart bomb, loaded with ten barrels of explosives, exploded on Rue Saint Nicaise, just seconds after Napoleon passed by in his carriage, accompanied by the Consular Guard cavalry. Twenty-two people were killed and dozens wounded, but Napoleon escaped unscathed.

As a result of the explosion, forty-six houses were destroyed, rendering them uninhabitable. Napoleon demolished them to the ground and added more and more, including two nearby monasteries. The aim was to open up the area north of the Louvre, which was packed with narrow alleys and buildings, some of which date back to the Middle Ages. Thus were born Rue Castiglione and Rue Napoleon, which was ironically renamed Rue de La Paix during the Restoration. At the same time, the Carrousel Square was expanded and work began on the wide and elegant Rue Rivoli – the street that would connect the Place de la Concorde with the Place de la Bastille.

The consul entrusted the task to his favorite pair of architects, Fontaine and Percier, his house architects. They planned a chain of houses on the north side of the Rue de Rivoli, adjacent to each other, with a colonnaded façade serving as a sidewalk, a sight familiar to anyone visiting central Paris. The intention was to build luxury buildings. It was forbidden to open butcher shops, bakeries, build large ovens with smokestacks, use hammers, and other oddities. It is no wonder that the contractors had difficulty marketing the houses and it was necessary to grant them a tax exemption for twenty years, an exemption that was extended for another ten years so that the construction could be completed.

St. Roche Church

From Rue Rivoli, continue north to Rue St. Honoré, which is parallel to it, turn left and walk until you reach the Church of Saint-Roch. Outside the square of this beautiful Baroque church (where the Marquis de Sade was married in 1763), one of the events that launched Napoleon's career took place.

The year is 1795 and a royalist revolt breaks out in Paris against the Directory that ruled France after the fall of Robespierre. Napoleon, whose career was frozen because of his closeness to Robespierre, is called upon to defend the new regime. On October 5, the royalists attempt to capture the Tuileries Palace and Napoleon, using the few cannons at his disposal, manages to repel them. The main battle takes place near the Church of Saint-Roch, where, according to Thomas Carlisle, Napoleon manages to “clean the streets with the scent of shells.” If you look closely, you can see the remains of shell holes on the front of the church…

Place Vendôme

Continue on Rue Saint-Honoré until you reach Place Vendôme.

This is what Place Vendome looked like before Napoleon built his famous column there.

In 1810, the height of Napoleon's fame, a triumphal column was erected in the Place Vendome. This is a column that imitates the triumphal columns of the Roman emperors, Trajan and Marcus Aurelius. The column is made of bronze, melted down from one thousand two hundred cannons that fell as spoils at the Battle of Austerlitz. The top of the column was intended to hold a statue of Charlemagne, but when it was unveiled on August 15, 1810, the statue of Napoleon, who celebrated his forty-first birthday that day, was revealed in all its glory.

This column and the statues that stood in the square have a fascinating story, which you can read about in the article Place Vendome and the Curse of the Statues And since we still have a long way to go, I won't write about them here. Instead, continue on Rue Saint-Honoré until you reach Rue Royale, where you will turn right until you reachMadeleine Church.

The Church of the Magdalene (L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine)

In 1807, Napoleon summoned the architect Pierre Alexander Vignon to carry out a grandiose plan. The intention was to transform the unfinished building, which stood where the Madeleine Church is today, into a temple to the glory of the Grand French Army (La Grande Armee).

https://youtu.be/_CSh7Ml9o6c

There used to be a synagogue here, which was confiscated by Maurice de Souley (the man who would later establish the Notre Dame ChurchA church dedicated to Mary Magdalene was built on the ruins of the synagogue in 1182, hence the name of the square and the church: Magdalene.

The construction of the latter building began in 1764, before Napoleon was born, but its construction was halted due to the architect's death. And when a new architect was appointed, the work was interrupted again due to the revolution. However, Napoleon would not be able to fulfill his plan because the great army faded, dissipated and disappeared in the frozen expanses of Russia in 1812. As a result, the building returned to its original purpose – a church, the construction of which would only be completed during the reign of King Louis Philippe – eighty years after its construction began.

The Champs-Elysées or May the Light Shine

Return to Rue Royale and turn right onto Rue Faubourg St. Honoré. From there, turn left onto Rue Boissy d'Anglas and walk until you reach the Champs-Elysées. On these avenues, which became brighter and safer during Napoleon's reign, Philippe Lebon, the inventor of gas lighting, was, ironically, murdered when Napoleon was crowned emperor.

It was King Louis XIV who ordered the streets of Paris to be illuminated with lanterns. And under Napoleon, Napoleon added to those he found another 4200 lanterns. The shape of the lanterns also changed over the years. At first, the lanterns were hung on hooks that were attached to the walls of the houses, a connection that was strong enough for the revolutionaries of 1789 to hang on them aristocrats or priests who had the misfortune to encounter the wild crowds on the streets. This is where the famous song Ça Ira, created during French Revolution and describes how the aristocrats will be hanged from street lamps. Here is his famous performance by Edith Piaf:

The lighting of Paris was very important to Napoleon. There was a direct connection between the level of lighting and the level of crime. Of the 600,000 inhabitants of Paris, about XNUMX were beggars and vagrants. Many of them were discharged soldiers. Crime and violence were matters of daily life, or rather of night after night. In Port au Ble, a very busy place, six soldiers raped a respectable woman and then threw her into the Seine.

However, the light of the lanterns combined with a massive police presence reduced the scope of crime considerably. Even when he was away from Paris on the battlefield, the emperor was concerned with the illumination of the city. In 1807, on the eve of the battle with the Russians at Friedland, he wrote an angry letter to the Minister of Police, Joseph Fouché:

I understand that Paris is no longer lit up. Those responsible for this are swindlers and sons of Belial…

Arc de Triomphe

Continue along the Champs-Elysées until you reach the Arc de Triomphe. If you want to shorten the distance, you can take the metro at Concorde station (line number 1) to Charles de Gaulle – Étoile station.

Napoleon did not hide his disappointment that compared to the Arc de Triomphe Saint-Denis, built for the glory of Louis XIV, the Arc de Triomphe looked mediocre. He aspired to erect a monument that would glorify his victories beyond all the monuments the world had known, by erecting a huge, unparalleled triumphal arch at the Étoile, from which eight roads would branch off in different directions.

Architect Jean Chalgrin designed the gate. The cornerstone for the gate, whose foundations were eight meters deep into the ground, was laid in 1806, on the eve of Napoleon's departure for the Battle of Jena. However, construction proceeded sluggishly. When the impatient Napoleon entered Paris in late 1810 in a ceremonial procession with his new wife, Marie Louise, daughter of the Austrian emperor, the procession passed under a giant model of the gate made of wood and canvas that covered the real gate that was in its infancy. But Napoleon's decline prevented the completion of construction in his lifetime, and the gate, like other projects, would only be completed during the reign of Louis-Philippe.

From here, on December 15, 1840, Napoleon's funeral procession departed, ending at the palace. The invalid On the left bank, which we will visit on our second itinerary.

Other places related to Napoleon on the Right Bank of Paris that were not included in this itinerary

Tuileries Palace

Napoleon, who was still Consul Bonaparte, established his residence there on February 19, 1800. The palace does not exist today. It burned down in 1870 and the stones were sold for secondary use. Indeed, Napoleon's rival, also from Corsica, Pozzo de Borgo purchased some of the stones and built himself a palace not far from Ajaccio in Corsica, Napoleon's birthplace, as the saying goes: he who laughs last laughs. But who knows today who Pozzo di Borgo was?

Hotel de Cherbourg

Bonaparte lived in this hotel upon his arrival in Paris in October 1787. Where the palace stood is now the Coquillieres du Forum des Halles.

Hotel de la Colonnade; 24 rue des Capucines

This is where Napoleon lived when he was appointed commander of the interior forces of France (General en chef de l'arme'e d'inte'rieur) on October 26, 1796. During the Empire, Marechal Berthier lived in this house, which was destroyed in 1880.

Elysee Palace

Address: 55 Rue Faubourg St. Honoré (you can even combine it with a tour of the Right Bank, if you deviate slightly from the route and then return to it).

Napoleon lived here from February 28, 1809. Here he abdicated for the second time on June 22, 1815 after Waterloo.

Hotel Chantereine now 58-60 rue de la Victoire

This is where Napoleon lived with Josephine, whom he married on March 9, 1796. The house was sadly destroyed during the Second Empire.

Hôtel Bourrienne – 58 Rue d'Hauteville

The magnificent house belonged to Fortunée Hamelin, a friend of Josephine. Later, Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne lived there, who studied with Napoleon at the officer school and later became his personal secretary. In the past, it was still possible to visit it and enjoy rooms decorated in the style of Napoleon I, but currently it seems that the place is completely closed to the public.

L'Hotel Mondragon – 3 Rue d'Antin

Here, in the salon, the civil marriage ceremony of Napoleon and Josephine took place on March 9, 1796. Today the building belongs to BNP Paribas. It can be visited during Heritage Days (Journe'es du Patrimoine).

Hotel de l'Empire – 48 Rue de l'Arbres Sec

One of the old houses from that imperial period has been converted into a boutique hotel, located within walking distance of the Louvre Museum and the Tuileries Gardens. Only the facade of the building recalls its imperial past, the rest of the building has been renovated and renewed. The L'Empire Cafe offers a buffet breakfast for a particularly refined palate.

Want to stay in a hotel? You are welcome to click on this link.

Canal St. Martin

Napoleon ordered the construction of this canal in 1802 to bring fresh water to Paris and shorten the journey between the northern and southern parts of the Seine. Construction of the canal was completed in 1825, four years after his death.

Today, the canal is one of the favorite areas for both Parisians and tourists thanks to the cafes, restaurants, and clubs located right next to it.

Have you finished walking in the footsteps of Napoleon on the Right Bank?

Now it's time to follow in his footsteps on the Ile de la Cité and the Left Bank of Paris. During the tour, we will visit the place where he was crowned emperor, the places where he lived, the officer school where he studied, the place where he planned to build a monumental palace, and of course, we will not forget to pay our last respects at the place where his bones lie.

You can find all this in the article. A hiking trail following Napoleon on the Left Bank.