From Wikipedia:
Les Deux Plateaux, more commonly known as the Colonnes de Buren, is a highly controversial art installationcreated by the French artist Daniel Buren in 1985–1986. It is located in the inner courtyard (Cour d'Honneur) of the Palais Royal in Paris, France. The work replaced the courtyard's former parking lot and was designed to conceal ventilation shafts for an underground extension of the culture ministry's premises. Some of the columns extend below courtyard level and are surrounded by pools of water into which passersby toss coins. The project was the "brainchild" of the culture minister Jack Lang and elicited considerable controversy at the time. It was attacked for its cost and unsuitability to a historic landmark. Lang paid no attention to the orders of the Commission des Monuments Historiques, which objected to the plan. In retrospect Ayers has remarked: "Given the harmlessness of the result (deliberate — Buren wanted a monument that would not dominate), the fuss seems excessive, although the columns have proved not only expensive to install, but also to maintain."
The route begins not far from the famous opera house, runs along Richelieu Street, the garden of the royal palace, the secret square of Valois, the new bridge, the statue of Henry the fourth, the st. Shapel, the Citte, the Notre Dame de Paris, St. Louis island, the embankments and bridges and ends in Latin quarter