The Hôtel du Petit-Bourbon, a former Parisian town house of the royal family of Bourbon, was located on the right bank of the Seine on the rue d'Autriche, between the Louvre to the west and the Church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois to the east. It was constructed in the 14th century, not long after the Capetian Kings of France enlarged the fortress of the Louvre in order to use it as a royal residence. On two 1550 maps it is shown simply as the Hôtel de Bourbon, but by 1652, as the Petit-Bourbon on the map of Gomboust. The Bourbons took control of France in 1589, at which time they also acquired the Louvre.
View of the river facade of the Petit-Bourbon (with the Louvre on the left) from a 1646 engraving by Stefano della Bella
Site plan of the Petit-Bourbon
Estates General of 1614 in the Salle du Petit-Bourbon
The Ballet Comique de la Reine at the Petit-Bourbon, 1581
The Louvre Palace, often referred to simply as the Louvre, is an iconic French palace located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, occupying a vast expanse of land between the Tuileries Gardens and the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois. Originally a defensive castle, it has served numerous government-related functions in the past, including intermittently as a royal residence between the 14th and 18th centuries. It is now mostly used by the Louvre Museum, which first opened there in 1793.
West wing of the Louvre's Cour Carrée with the Pavillon de l'Horloge
North wing of Louvre facing main courtyard
Aerial view of the Louvre Palace (right) and the Tuileries Garden (left) in 2018
The Louvre Palace (center) and the Tuileries Palace front (burned 1870s) circa 1850