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French Wars of Religion, 1562–98, were a series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars. See: http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0841497.html
BOURBON DYNASTY HENRY IV of France, 1553-1610, king of France
(1589-1610) ____________________________________________________________________ HENRY IV of France, 1553-1610, king of France (1589-1610) was the first of the Bourbon line of kings. He had been the leader of the French Protestants, the Huguenots, until the converted to Catholicism in order to secure the French Crown. He is alleged to have said that Paris is worth a mass. He begins what may be called the "politique" approach to religion. In 1598, he granted the Edict of Nantes, which granted political toleration to French Huguenots. In 1610, he was assassinated by a disgruntled Catholic. Henry IV
LOUIS XIII, 1601–43, king of France (1610–43). He succeeded his father, Henry IV, under the regency of his mother, Marie de' Medici at the age of nine. He married Anne of Austria in 1615 at the age of 14. Even after being declared of age in 1614, at the age of 13, he was excluded from affairs of state by his domineering mother. In 1617 he caused the assassination of her minister Concino Concini, with the aid of his own favorite, Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes. His mother Marie de' Medici was forced into retirement. He was a weak king who was always under the influence of his advisors. Alexander Dumas novels about the Three Musketeers deal with this time period. He was reconciled to her in 1622 and entrusted (1624) the government to her protégé, Cardinal Richelieu. In 1630, urged by his mother to discharge Richelieu, he instead sent his mother again into exile. Melancholy and retiring by nature, Louis thenceforth gave full support to Richelieu and his successor, Cardinal Mazarin. Richelieu strengthened royal authority and centralized government control. Louis's reign was remarkable for the establishment of the French Academy and for the work of St. Francis of Sales and St. Vincent de Paul in religion, René Descartes in philosophy, and Pierre Corneille in literature. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0830395.html Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, duc de (Cardinal Richelieu), 1585–1642, French prelate and statesman, chief minister of King Louis XIII, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Consecrated bishop of Luçon (1607), he was a delegate of the clergy to the States-General (1614). In 1616, through the favor of the king's mother, Marie de' Medici, he became a secretary of state. He went into exile with Marie after the king freed himself from her influence with the aid of the duc de Luynes. The death (1621) of Luynes and the reconciliation of Louis XIII and Marie restored Richelieu to favor. In 1622 he was made cardinal, and he became chief minister in 1624. The growing jealousy of Marie and the great nobles endangered his position, and in 1630 Marie supported a conspiracy against Richelieu. She was unable to win the king's support, however, and was exiled. Richelieu then had full control of the government. His domestic policy aimed at consolidating and centralizing royal authority, which had as its corollary the destruction of the power of the Huguenots and the great nobles. The Huguenots were humbled by the capture of La Rochelle (1628); the peace of Alais (1629) ended their special political privileges—without, however, denying them religious toleration. Conspiracies of the nobles, who invariably found a figurehead in the king's brother Gaston d'Orléans, were rigorously suppressed. In foreign affairs, Richelieu reacted against Marie de' Medici's pro-Hapsburg diplomacy in favor of the traditional French anti-Spanish and anti-Austrian policy. To this end he strengthened the army and the navy, made alliances with the Netherlands and the German Protestant states, and subsidized Gustavus II of Sweden against the Holy Roman Emperor in the Thirty Years War. In 1635 he formed an active alliance with Sweden and Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, and France entered the Thirty Years War. Although Richelieu died before the peace was signed (1648; see Westphalia, Peace of), the terms agreed to were in general conformity to his aims. In France, the war resulted in heavy taxation; this, combined with Richelieu's poor management of finances, depleted the treasury and caused dissatisfaction with his rule. Overseas, however, he encouraged commercial capitalism, organizing companies to trade in the Indies and Canada. He was a patron of the arts and the founder of the French Academy. Among his literary works are his memoirs (1650) and the Testament politique (1688, tr. 1961). http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0841830.html Mazarin, Jules , 1602–61, French statesman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, b. Italy. His original name was Giulio Mazarini. After serving in the papal army and diplomatic service and as nuncio at the French court (1634–36), he entered the service of France and made himself valuable to King Louis XIII's chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu, who brought him into the council of state. Although he had received only minor orders and had never been ordained a priest, he was raised to cardinal upon the recommendation of Louis XIII (1641). After the deaths of Richelieu (1642) and Louis XIII (1643), Mazarin was the principal minister of the regent Anne of Austria. The theory that Mazarin was secretly married to the widowed queen has been widely credited. He won favorable terms for France in the Peace of Westphalia (1648), but his attempts to raise money through taxation and his centralizing policy provoked the troubles of the Fronde (1648–53), during which he was several times forced to leave France. After the defeat of the Fronde, Mazarin was securely in control of France. By clever diplomacy he strengthened the crown and negotiated the favorable Peace of the Pyrenees at the end of the war with Spain (1659). http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0832373.html 1617 Louis
XIII crowned at the age of 17
1624 1638 Birth of the future Louis XIV 1642 Cardinal Richelieu dies. Cardinal Mazarin assumes control of France. 1643 Louis XIII dies. Louis XIII wife, Anne of Austria, chairs a regency for her four year old son, Louis XIV, with Mazarin continuing to run the country until his death in 1661.. 1643-1715 Louis XIV becomes king with Mazarin as principal minister until his death in 1661 when Louis XIV assumes personal control at the age of twenty-three. 1682
Royal court moves to
Versailles
1715 Louis XIV
http://www.france.com/culture/history/grandsiecle.html 
Versailles is an exception to our
list, since it is not really a Museum nor it is in Paris. It is, however, the
best day-trip you could make while in Paris. Louis XIV built this palace in just
40 years to make it the residence of the court and the capital of France.
Its gigantic proportions (the western facade is nearly 2,000 feet wide) and the masterpieces of French artists and craftsmen were used by Louis XIV to showcase the power of the French Monarchy. Among the finest examples of this architectural splendor, do not miss the Galerie des Glaces (Gallery of Mirrors), the Salon d'Apollon, the Royal Chapel and the Petit Appartement. Take the time to visit the park (over 200 acres) in which you'll find the Grand Trianon, Louis XIV's summer private residence and the Petit Trianon, built by Louis XV and which became Marie-Antoinette's favorite retreat. http://www.france.com/top10/museums/versailles.html Louis XIV and the Arts Although he had a series of mistresses, Louis XIV finally came under the influence of Mme de Maintenon, whom he married morganatically (1684) after the queen's death. A great supporter of the arts, Louis patronized the foremost writers and artists of his time, including Molière, Jean Racine, Jean de La Fontaine, and Charles Le Brun. The architect Jules Mansart supervised the building of the lavish palace of Versailles. Because of the brilliance of his court, Louis was called “Le Roi Soleil” [the Sun King] and “Le Grand Monarque.” He was succeeded by his great-grandson, Louis XV. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0859355.html Louis XIV Wars War of Devolution 1667–68 Dutch War of 1672–78 War of the League of Augsburg or War of the Grand Alliance, 1688–97 War of the Spanish Succession, 1701–14 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685 "After 1665, Louis XIV was persuaded by his Roman Catholic advisers to embark on a policy of persecuting the Protestants. By a series of edicts that narrowly interpreted the Edict of Nantes, he reduced it to a scrap of paper. Finally, in 1685, he declared that the majority of Protestants had been converted to Catholicism and that the edict of 1598, having thus become superfluous, was revoked. No French Protestants were allowed to leave the country; those who openly remained Protestants were promised the right of private worship and freedom from molestation, but the promise was not kept. Thousands fled abroad to escape the system of dragonnades, and several provinces were virtually depopulated. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes weakened the French economy by driving out a highly skilled and industrious segment of the nation, and its ruthless application increased the detestation in which England and the Protestant German states held the French king. Its object—to make France a Catholic state—was fulfilled on paper only, for many secretly remained faithful to Protestantism, while the prestige of the Roman Catholic Church suffered as a result of Louis's intolerance." http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0834814.html
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