The Louvre, (featured in the video above) was once a palace and former residence of the kings of France.  It is located in the heart of Paris, the hallmark of grandeur in French architecture.   The first Louvre was a fortress built at the beginning of the 13th century by Philip II Augustus to defend the Seine against invaders.  It was enlarged and embellished by Charles V in the 14th century.  In 1564 Catherine de Médicis commissioned Architect Delorme to build a château to the west called the Tuileries.  Then a grand royal residence and palace was constructed joining the Louvre and the Palais des Tuileries by a series of buildings. The most important is the Grande Galerie built along the Seine during the reign of Henry IV.  

In the 17th century Louis XIII and his minister Richelieu extended the west wing northward by adding the majestically domed Pavillon de l'Horloge (clock pavillion) by Jacques Lemercier. Under Louis XIV and his minister Colbert, the Cour Carrée, a great square court, was constructed. The Louvre was abandoned as a royal residence when Louis XIV moved the court to Versailles in 1682.  After the Revolution of 1789, Napoleon I and Napoleon III lived in the Tuileries.