Around Palais Royal

There's a lot to see in the immediate neighborhood around the Palais Royal Gardens, and you can pretty much stick to Rue des Petits Champs, Rue Vivienne, and Rue de Richelieu. Just walk up Rue Vivienne toward Rue des Petits Champs and on the northwest corner is the building where the Louisiana Purchase was signed. There is a small plaque commemorating the event.

Directly across are another two historic shopping arcades, which were competitors at one point: the Galerie Colbert and the more impressive Galerie Vivienne, with its stunning mosaic floors. The Legrand Filles et Fils cave à vins operates out of the Galerie. This wine store, which also sells sweets, chocolate, and gourmet food, has been pleasing Parisians since 1850. You can go inside for wine tasting or sit at a table underneath the glass and iron-roofed arcade for lunch or just some cheese and charcuterie.

Heading east a bit on Rue des Petits Champs is Place des Victoires, a circular square. There's an equestrian statue of Louis XIV dressed as a Roman emperor. Also nearby is the Notre Dame des Victoires church and the Banque de France.

  

Back on Rue Vivienne is Le Grand Colbert, a classic French restaurant named after Louis XIV's famous minister. With its high ceilings, ornate plasterwork, globe lamps, brass railings, ceiling moldings, and mosaic floors just like the ones at Galerie Vivienne, it attracts a mix of elderly diners, business lunchers, tourists, and couples (that was us). This brasserie is well known and does not need self promotion, but they like to display the poster of the movie "Something's Gotta Give," with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, in which a key scene was filmed. It can be pricey, but if you stick to the lunch menu of the day it's not expensive.

Further up on Rue Vivienne is Brongniart Palace, which was the former headquarters of the now extinct Paris Bourse and today is a place for conferences, conventions, receptions, and exhibitions. Across from the old Bourse is the Le Vaudeville brasserie, which got its name from the also extint Théâtre du Vaudeville, which at one point was located across from the Paris Bourse.

Walking back toward Rue des Petits Champs on Rue de Richelieu you can find the Bibliotheque Nationale and the quaint Square Louvois, where the Opéra de la Rue de Richelieu used to be. And just down from that is the Fontaine Molière on Place Mireille, a bronze sculpture built in 1844 that shows Molière seated under an imposing arch. This is the theater district, after all, and we're just a few blocks away from the Opera Garnier. Below, two marble female sculptures, "Serious Comedy" and "Light Comedy," are watching Molière, each holding a scroll listing Molière's works, and at the bottom are lion masks from which sometimes water pours into a semi-circular basin. The design of the fountain was headed by the same architect who designed the fountain in place Saint Sulpice.

Directly across the street is HAND, a funny store whose name stands for Have A Nice Day (and they say the French aren't friendly...). They have really good cupcakes and you can also get all the Corn Flakes you want.

One block west, at the corner of Rue des Petits Champs and Rue Saint Anne, is the house where between 1671 and 1683 lived Jean Batiste Lully, a Florentine-born French composer who was Superintendent of Music under Louis XIV. He composed many ballets for the king during the 1650s and 1660s, in which both he and the king danced. He also composed the music for Molière's comedies. He is buried in the Notre Dame des Victoires church.

And one block west of that is the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, a Parisian theater that was founded in 1855 by the composer Jacques Offenbach for the performance of opéra bouffe and operetta, but with the decline in popularity of operetta the theater expanded its repertory to include comedies.

On a more trivial note, just up the block is La Fontaine Gaillon, Gerard Depardieu's restaurant.

The last theater we saw was the Opéra Comique, a Parisian opera company that was founded around 1714. It was at some point called the Théâtre Italien, but it again became most commonly known as the Opéra Comique. Today the company's official name is Théâtre National de l'Opéra Comique, which despite its name is not always comic or light in nature. The stunning building on Place Boieldieu, also known as Salle Favart, is actually the third Salle Favart on this spot, the first two having burned down in 1838 and 1887, respectively.

We ended our long tour at Le Centorial, originally the headquarters of the historic French bank Crédit Lyonnais. After they moved headquarters and sold the building, "Le Centorial" replaced "Credit Lyonnais" on the frontispiece, but the sculpted CL logo did not have to be changed. Built at the end of 19th century, this jewel of Parisian architecture is a classified historical monument mainly for its grand façade.