High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace and an associated garden located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Facing the Place du Palais-Royal, it stands opposite the north wing of the Louvre, and its famous forecourt, screened with columns and, since 1986, containing Daniel Buren's site-specific artpiece, Les Deux Plateaux, known as Les Colonnes de Buren. Originally, the Palais Cardinal was the residence of Cardinal Richelieu, who had hired the architect Jacques Lemercier to design it. Construction was completed in 1629. Upon his death in 1642, Richelieu bequeathed the palace to the French Crown. After Louis XIII died, it became the home of the Queen Mother, Anne of Austria, her advisor, Cardinal Mazarin, and her young sons, King Louis XIV and Philippe, duc d'Anjou. During the Fronde, the royal family fled there for safety.