The Elysee Palace in France enjoys equal popularity in the world with the Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom, the Kremlin in Russia as well as the White House in the U.S.A. It is the residence of the president of the French Republic and the symbol of the supreme authority in France. The Elysee Palace, with an area of 11,000 square meters, is at the eastern end of the Champs Elysee in the bustling city of Paris proper and backed by a large and tranquil garden of more than twenty thousand square meters. Its main building, quite handsome[1] and graceful, is a 2-story classical stone architecture of European style, flanked by two side buildings facing each other and with an extensive rectangular courtyard in the middle. There are altogether 369 halls and rooms of different size.
The Elysee Palace, built in 1718, has a long history of closing to[2] 300 years to date. This house was at first a private residence of a count named d'Evreau, hence it was called Hotel d' Evreau. It had later gone through many vicissitudes[3] and its owners had been changed for many times, but all the dwellers in it were distinguished personages and high officials. The house was renamed Bonaparte Mansion when it was owned by Louis XV and Louis XVI successively[4] when they acted as emperors. Napoleon I signed his act of abdication here when he had suffered crushing defeat[5] in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Napoleon III moved in the Mansion in 1848 when he was elected president, and the house became a Royal Palace when he proclaimed himself as emperor. The Third French Republic issued a decree in 1873, designating officially the Elysee Palace as the residence of president of the French Republic. Over the hundred odd years since then, almost all the presidents of the French Republic worked and lived there. Starting from 1989, the Elysee Palace is open to the public every year in September on the French Castles Day.
法国的爱丽舍宫
在世界上与美国的白宫、英国的白金汉宫以及俄罗斯的克里姆林宫同样闻名遐尔的还有法国的爱丽舍宫。它是法兰西共和国的总统府，也是法国最高权力的象征。 爱丽舍宫位于巴黎香榭丽舍大街的东端，面积1.1万平方米，地处热闹的市中心，背倚一个2万多平方米的恬静大花园。它的主楼是一座两层高的欧洲古典式石建筑，典雅庄重，两翼为对称的两座两层高的石建筑，中间是一个宽敞的矩形庭院。宫内共有369间大小不等的厅室。
爱丽舍宫兴建于1718年，迄今已有近300年的历史。此处原为一位伯爵（名叫戴弗罗）的私人住宅，所以当时称为戴弗罗公馆。后来历经沧桑，几易其主，但长期都为达官贵人所享用。路易十五和路易十六都先后入住过，并将此处改名为波旁大厦。1815年拿破仑一世滑铁卢战役大败之后曾在此签降书逊位。拿破仑三世于1848年当选总统后也曾迁至此处，他称帝后此处即成为皇家殿堂。法兰西第三共和国于1873年颁布法令，正式指定爱丽舍宫为法国总统府。此后的百余年，历届法兰西共和国的总统几乎都在此工作和生活。从1989年开始，在每年9月份的法国古堡节，爱丽舍宫便向公众开放参观了。