Palais du Luxembourg

commissioned Salomon de Brosse to design her a home based on the Pitti Palace in Florence. She was able to move in with her two sons, Louis XIII and Gaston Duc d’Orléans, in 1625, even though the palace wasn’t fully completed until 1631. Shortly after it was finished, the Queen was forced into exile after having attempted an abortive coup. The Queen left the palace to her second and favourite son, Gaston, in 1642. It remained a royal palace until the Revolution and was open two days a week as a museum between 1750 and 1779.

During the Revolution it was briefly used as a prison and then later served as the first residence of the Emperor Napoleon. It became home to the senate in 1800. It was extensively altered in the 19th century, with a new garden façade being built by Alphonse de Gisors. It acted as the Luftwaffe’s

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