France and Napoléon go hand in hand but with two French Napoléons, it can get tricky to know which Napoléon did what in Paris. This is especially so as they were even related. So just what did Napoléon Bonaparte do compared to Napoléon III? Who was the emperor and who was the architectural mastermind.
Napoléon Bonaparte vs Napoléon III
Paris has reminders of Napoléon everywhere, including the "N" engraved in bridges and on buildings, statues and even cafés named after these famous gentlemen. The café Le Bonaparte above is a perfect spot for my morning coffee after leaving my usual hotel on rue Vaneau, then heading down due de Babylone, rue de Sévres, rue de Four and then straight across Boulevard Saint-Germain to the cafe. It's a relaxed spot with plenty of pedestrian traffic to watch while taking a drink.
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Café Le Bonaparte
Location: 42 Rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris, France
Let's look at each Napoléon to see what they did and how they compare to each other.
Napoléon Bonaparte
- Bonaparte was Emperor of France.
- Napoléon Bonaparte's tomb is located in the grandiose national military museum, Musée de l'Armée, the largest museum of military history in France.
- The "N" on the bridges and buildings in Paris is for this Napoléon.
- A check list of Napoléons wouldn't be complete without mentioning that this is the Napoléon that lost at Waterloo.
- The statues around Europe are of this guy.
- Lived in the Tuileries just across the garden from the Louvre.
- Napoléon filled the Louvre with art he picked up when his army swept across the Continent.
- The Napoleonic Bee was the symbol chosen by Napoleon as his personal emblem.
Napoléon III
- Elected president of France and his vision of transforming Paris into a grand city was the driving force behind his architectural achievements.
- Napoléon III is most known for his reconstruction of Paris. His vision was shared by Baron Haussmann who he hired to build all the beautiful bourgeois apartments, intricate bridges and grand sweeping boulevards.
- This was the Napoléon that lived at the Louvre.
- Napoléon III was the nephew and godson of Napoléon Bonaparte (this is the family connection).
- He modernised agriculture and thereby made France a large export country. With these exports France prospered.
- Napoleon III also adopted the bee as one of his symbols.
