The Palais Royal Garden Walk

A longstanding theatrical destination, the Palais Royal was expanded in the 1780s by its owner, the King’s brother, the Duke of Orleans, to include arcaded shops bordering the garden, making it one of the most significant social, entertainment, and commercial centers on the eve of the Revolution. There, people of all social ranks rubbed shoulders, while theater, fashion, and politics mingled. Two days before the storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789), in the wake of King Louis XVI’s dismissal of the finance minister, revolutionary Camille Desmoulins delivered a moving speech to the Palais Royal crowd, directing citizens to take up arms and wear green cockades—many improvised using leaves from the chestnut trees lining the shops—so they could identify themselves as allies. The Duke of Orleans, the only royal family member to side with revolutionaries, eventually voted for the king’s execution.