150 years ago, the palace of Saint-Cloud was shining brightly. A princely, royal and imperial residence just a stone's throw from Paris, it saw Monsieur, the King's brother, Napoleon, who proclaimed the Empire, Charles X and Louis-Philippe, pass through it until Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie. The palace was a holiday residence much appreciated by the latter and a place of great receptions, and was a symbol of the splendours of the Second Empire. Magnificent history, tragic destiny! The palace was ravaged by a fire in 1870. Today, the Musée des Avelines offers us a stroll through this lost monument. The exhibition is based on exceptional photographs by Pierre-Ambroise Richebourg, who succeeded in capturing the refinement of the palace, two years before his death. With a veritable mise en abyme, the tour parallels these photographs with pieces of national furniture evacuated from the palace before the fire. These comparisons bear witness to the elegance and eclecticism of the palace's rich furnishings, combining authentic objects and beautiful copies of the 19th century in a sometimes daring attempt at harmony. A stroll through the imperial apartments of Saint-Cloud, a true evocation of the past that will revive, for a moment, what has disappeared.