The Palais Bourbon in Paris is located on the Left Bank of the Seine river, facing the Tuileries to the east and Champs Élysées on the west. Since 1830, the palace has been the seat of the Assemblée Nationale (National Assembly), which is the lower legislative chamber of the French Government. However, before this it was the seat of the Corps Législatif and then the Chambre des Députés. It was designed by the famous Italian architect Giardini and originally built for the daughter of Louis XIV and Françoise-Athénad's marquise de Montespan in 1722-28.

Initially, the palace was a mere block, with simple wings ending in pavilions. It was enlarged in 1765, and in 1768 the Hôtel de Lassay was annexed to the palace, where it served as residence for the presidents of the assemblies. Then the palace was confiscated during the French Revolution, declared national property and used by the larger chamber of the French Legislature, the Council of the Five Hundreds. Between 1804 and 1807, the colonnaded front was added upon Napoleon's request, and the pedimented Roman portico that faces the Place de la Concorde was added in 1806-08 by the architect Poyet.

In 1827, the palace was bought by the son of the the prince of Condé, at which time major reconstruction of the Chamber of Deputies commenced, including rearrangement of access corridors, adjoining rooms, and of the library, with decorations employed by Delacroix. The new chamber was inaugurated in 1832. Further work was done in the 19h Century, adding another floor to the palace and strengthening the gallery. During World War II, the palace became the Nazi administration’s seat of government.

More recent work has been accomplished to meet the needs of today's legislators of the National Assembly, whose work is no longer only confined to the chamber. In 1974, a building was constructed on the opposite side of the the rue de l'Université, which linked it to the palace by an underground passage, and another building was purchased on the Boulevard Saint-Germain, making it possible for deputies to have their own offices.

At present, the largest parties the Assemblée Nationale are the Socialist Party (Parti socialiste), the French Communist Party (Parti communiste français), Union for the presidential majority (Union pour la majorite presidentielle), National Front (Front national), The Greens (Les Verts) and the Union for French Democracy (Union pour la démocratie française).

The Palais Bourbon also houses a gift shop and book shop, as well as documentation in several languages. The palace can only be visited by appointment, arranged through a Parlementary Deputy or by contacting the General Services Administration (+33 1 40 63 64 08). However, appointments must be made at least one or two months in advance.