Luxembourg Palace

The Luxembourg Palace in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, north of the Luxembourg Garden, is where the French Senate meets.

The palace was originally built for Marie de' Medici, mother of king Louis XIII of France on the site of an old townhouse owned by the Duc de Piney-Luxembourg by Salomon de Brosse. Louis commissioned the artists Nicolas Poussin and Philippe de Champaigne to decorate the Palace.

It was then owned by Marie's granddaughter, Anne, Duchess of Montpensier. The palace was not used until it was owned by Louis XVI's brother, the Comte de Provence. During the French Revolution, it was the center of the French Directory and later the first residence of Napoleon Bonaparte when he was First Consul of France.