Napoleon first came to Paris in 1784, aged 15, as a young cadet, to the Ecole Militaire, taking the water bus from Nogent-sur-Seine, and alighting at the Port-Saint-Paul, at the downstream end of the quai des Celestins, opposite the Ile-Saint-Louis. The Ecole Militaire was founded in 1751, and took twenty years to complete. Napoleon studied here for only one year before joining the artillery regiment of La Fere.

The Champs de Mars, which runs north-west from the Ecole Militaire to the Seine was laid out with the Ecole as a parade ground, and up until the 1900s was a dusty, treeless and rather unattractive area. In Napoleon's day it covered a much larger area than what we now see, and could hold 10,000 men in battle formation. It was not opened to the public until 1780, when it was used as a race-course. Napoleon was to distribute his eagles here in 1804.

We now cross the Seine by the Pont d'Iena. This was one of several bridges built under Napoleon and was opened in 1813. It is probably best known for Blucher's wish to blow it up, which fortunately Wellington prevented. The bridge was renamed the Pont d'Ecole Militaire after Napoleon's fall, before resuming its original name in 1830. Other bridges built at the time include the Pont de la Cite. and the Pont d'Austerlitz (opened in 1807 but replaced in 1854. The Pont des Arts (1802) was the city's first iron bridge but has now been rebuilt in steel to the original design. (The Pont d'Arcole owes nothing to Napoleon's Italian victory but is named after a young insurgent of that name who was killed during the revolution of 1830).

On the hill before us we see the Palais de Chaillot. Originally occupied by a convent set up in 1684 Napoleon had this demolished and requested his architects Fontaine and Percier to draw up elaborate plans for a new palace to house his son, the King of Rome. Only the vast cellars and subterranean vaults were built and these still stretch under the avenues Georges-Mandel, d'Eylau and Kleber. The area subsequently fell into decline and the cellars became a refuge for pickpockets and cut-throats. A new "palace" was built for the Exhibition of 1878, but was itself replaced by the present building erected for the 1937 Exhibition.

Making our way up the Avenue Kleber we come to the Arc de Triomphe. Napoleon originally planned to build the arch near the site of the Bastille, but when it was found that that site was unsuitable the present site was chosen. Designed by Chalgrin, and modelled on the Arch of Titus in Rome, the foundation stone was laid on 15 August 1806. Construction was slow, and when the Empress Marie Louise made her state entry into Paris in 1810 the arch was erected in canvas stretched upon wooden scaffolding. By 1814 the arch was still only eighteen feet above ground level. Work stopped with the fall of Napoleon and wasn't recommenced until 1833. it was completed in time for Napoleon's hearse to pass beneath in 1840.

Heading down the Champs Elysees we come to the Tuileries. Napoleon's first encounter was in 1792 when he lived over a shop nearby and witnessed at first hand the mob enter the palace and approach the King. At that time the palace consisted of a long squat, rectangular building and extended from the two extreme ends of the Louvre wings. It was destroyed by fire in 1871 and only the Pavillon de Marsan and the Pavillon de Flore remain. Napoleon made it his official residence when he became First Consul, and would often review his troops outside.

To the north of the Tuileries lies the Eglise St Madelaine, designed as a Greek temple. Work had actually started on a church here in 1764, but ceased in 1790. In 1806 Napoleon decided to dedicate the church to the glory of his Grande Armee, and had the earlier church demolished and the present building erected. Inside the church the half dome is decorated with the "History of Christianity" in which Christ and Mary Magdalene are surrounded by heroes including Napoleon.

The nearby Elysee Palace was the former home of Murat from 1805 to 1808. The Empress Josephine lived here for a while, and after his divorce Napoleon resided here until 1814. Subsequently both Czar Alexander and Wellington stayed here. The British Embassy further along this street was the home of Pauline Bonaparte.

On the hill before us we see the Palais de Chaillot. Originally occupied by a convent set up in 1684 Napoleon had this demolished and requested his architects Fontaine and Percier to draw up elaborate plans for a new palace to house his son, the King of Rome. Only the vast cellars and subterranean vaults were built and these still stretch under the avenues Georges-Mandel, d'Eylau and Kleber. The area subsequently fell into decline and the cellars became a refuge for pickpockets and cut-throats. A new "palace" was built for the Exhibition of 1878, but was itself replaced by the present building erected for the 1937 Exhibition.

Head west to the Place Vendome, where stands the Austerlitz Column. The road running to the north was cut in 1806 and was originally named the rue Napoleon, but was renamed in 1814 taking its present name the rue de la Paix. Interestingly no Paris streets now carry Napoleon's name.Initially a gilded statue of Louis XIV stood in the square, but was pulled down in 1792. In 1810 Napoleon commissioned Percier to erect a replica of Trajan's column commemorating his march from Boulogne to the victory at Austerlitz. Constructed of stone and covered in bronze sheets, made from 1200 guns taken during the campaign, it was initially topped by a statue of Napoleon himself, dressed in his coronation robes. This image was removed in 1815, but a new statue of him was erected in 1833, now dressed in his more familiar bicorne and overcoat.

In 1864 this statue was removed to Les Invalides, and a new statue, again in his coronation robes, erected. In 1871, under the lead of Gustave Courbet, a crowd sawed through the column and toppled it over. The allegorical statue of victory held by Napoleon disappeared, to be subsequently discovered in a private collection in England. For this wanton act of destruction M. Courbet was subsequently arrested and sentenced to six months imprisonment, and all his possessions were seized to pay for the cost of reconstruction. In the event M. Courbet fled to Switzerland where he later died.

Head south into the Rue de Rivoli which was opened in 1811 to provide a more direct east-west route across the city, replacing the older Rue St Honore. Napoleon took the opportunity to remove much of the squalid housing which had stood around the palace, and, to ensure that standards were maintained, ruled that within the street there were to be "no shopsigns, hammering, bakers or sausage-and-meat purveyors.

Follow the Rue de Rivoli as far as the Boulevard de Sebastopol and turn right over the river onto the Ile de la Cite. The island is dominated by the church of Notre-Dame, but following the Revolution it was largely abandoned, its sculptures mutilated and its windows boarded up or left open to the elements. As part of Napoleon's Concordat with the Pope the building was restored to the church in 1802, but little work was undertaken to restore it until 1844.The building was, however, used and richly decorated for Napoleon's coronation as Emperor in 1804, and for the baptism of his son, the King of Rome in 1811. In 1805 the standards captured at Austerlitz were hung in the church as wall-hangings.At the other end of the island stands a statue of Henri IV, which at first sight would appear to have little to do with Napoleon. The bronze for the statue, however, came from a statue of Desaix, one of Napoleon's generals.

The Louvre in Napoleon's time housed the many art treasures plundered during the campaigns of his armies, and particularly those from his Italian campaigns of 1796. In the grounds stands the Arc du Carrousel, a triumphal arch erected in 1806 by Percier and Fontaine as a monument to Austerlitz and the overthrow of the Holy Roman Empire. Napoleon was not impressed considering it to be "more a pavilion than a gate", a sentiment which can still be shared today as it stands somewhat dwarfed in its rather splendid surroundings. Six marble bas-reliefs decorate the sides of the arch depicting The Capitulation of Ulm, The Battle of Austerlitz, the Meeting of Napoleon and Alexander at Tilsit, the Entry into Munich, the Entry into Vienna and the Peace of Pressburg. Initially the arch was crowned with the Horses of St Mark's taken from Venice, and during one of the Emperor's absences Denon added a chariot and a statue of Napoleon. On his return Napoleon had the statue removed, stating that the arch was not a monument to him but to "the army I have the honour to command." The statue now stands at Malmaison. The horses were returned to Venice in 1815, and the present group was added in 1828.

Returning via the Quai des Tuileries cross the Seine by the Pont Alexandre III to Les Invalides where our tour ends.

This fine structure with its distinctive dome was erected between 1670 and 1676 on the orders of Louis XIV to house the old and infirm soldiers of his army, and remains one of the most impressive buildings in Paris. An equestrian statue of the "Sun King" still adorns the front facade, one of the few royal representations to avoid the ravages of the Revolution.

To one side of the building is the Musee Armee recording the history of the French army and in particular has a collection of uniforms and artifacts of the Napoleonic period.

Directly under the Dome lies the tomb of Napoleon himself. Surrounding him are to be found the tombs of Joseph Bonaparte (King of Naples and then Spain), and Jerome Bonaparte (King of Westphalia), along with that of Napoleon's son (Napoleon II, the King of Rome) moved here by Adolf Hitler in 1940. In adjacent vaults can be found the tombs of Jourdan, Duroc, Bertrand and Grouchy.

Following negotiations, which commenced in 1833, Napoleon's body was brought here in 1840. When the ship carrying his body docked at Le Havre it was met by surviving members of his staff; Gourgaud, Bertrand, Las Cases and Marchand, who then escorted the bier to Paris.The funeral took place on 15 December 1840, when over 100,000 people turned out despite the bitterly cold weather. The coffin was initially placed in the St Jerome chapel before being taken to the central crypt in 1861 where it now lies, within the enormous sarcophagus of red porphyry which itself sits on a plinth of green granite. Inside there are six encased coffins: one in white tinplate, one in mahogany, two in lead, and the last two in ebony and oak.Queen Victoria visited the tomb in August 1855 during her State visit. A summer storm was brewing as the cortege approached the coffin, then covered with a black pall embroidered with golden bees. The Queen placed her hand on the Prince of Wales shoulder and said "Kneel down before the Tomb of the Great Napoleon". As she did the storm broke, lightning flashed across the skies and the rain poured down, while inside the building the organ played "God Save the Queen". A fitting setting perhaps to the respect paid by the monarch of Napoleon's most implacable foe.

Compiegne is situated not far from Paris in the heart of the Oise valley, on the edge of a vast forest renowned for its hunting. It was this excellent hunting which led to the area becoming one of the principal royal residences. It was a favorite summer resident for the kings of France, Louis XIV stayed there 75 times, and it soon became a traditional stopping point during coronation ceremonies on the return from Rheims. Hunting was Louis XVes main passion and Compiegne's was his favorite Chateau. The palace suffered during the Revolution, but was returned to its glory under the Empire when it was transformed into an imperial residence which rivaled both Versailles and Fontainebleau. It was at the Chateau of Compiegne in 1810 that Marie-Louise was received by her husband to be, Napoleon, just as Marie-Antoinette had been received by Louis XVI 40 years earlier. In 1814, on his return from exile, the Chateau of Compiegne was where Louis XVIII was received by Napoleon's marshals.

Napoleon III also loved Compiegne and during the Second Empire, it became the official residence of the imperial court during the autumn.

The Palace dates back to Clovis when it was a simple wooden Merovingian villa, perfect as a hunting lodge. Enlarged, modified and transformed, Compiegne was to serve as a residence for the kings of France up until the middle of the 19th century. As a stopping point during the ceremonial of coronations, as a hunting reserve, as halt on the road north, Compiegne is the only other royal dwelling, along with Versailles and Fontainebleau, to have had the privilege of being the seat of government.

Whilst some of the surviving decor dates back to Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, the Empire style dominates. Compiegne is the only imperial residence which today still has its decor and furniture of 1808-1810 The 'historical apartments' are notably: the King's, and subsequently Emperor's, apartment; the Empress's apartment; the Queen's, and subsequently King of Rome's, apartment; and the Dauphin and Madame Royale's, and subsequently the Prince's, double apartment. The rooms in each apartment have been carefully restored, paying great attention to historical accuracy.

The Second Empire was for the chateau of Compiegne a return to the glories of the past. From 1856 on, Napoleon III and Eugenie made it their autumn residence and began their famous 'Series'. For about a month and a half (usually from the end of October to the beginning of December), hundreds of guests (ferried to Compiegne on special trains from Gare du Nord) were received every week by the royal couple. The political, artistic and scientific elite of the Second Empire all passed through the doors of Compiegne, where they were treated to entertainment's of various types.