Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and châteaux open for visit.

The building was originally constructed as the Collège des Quatre-Nations by Cardinal Mazarin, as a school for students from new provinces attached to France under Louis XIV.

The Institut de France was established on 25 October 1795, by the National Convention.

[2] On 1 January 2018, Xavier Darcos took office as the Institut de France's chancellor.

The chancellor acts as the institute's secretary general, whilst the organisation itself is placed under the protection of the president of the republic.