Paris is commonly understood to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with its wide boulevards and pretty mansard roofs. But there’s another element that keeps the City of Lights and Love firmly at the top of that list, and that is the sheer number of green spaces in the city. Most cities have parks of varying levels of green, and Paris has that too, but more importantly, it also has beautiful, lush gardens that are the perfect way to while away a morning or an afternoon. These are some of the best of these gardens.
Tuileries Garden
Formerly the gardens of the Tuileries Palace, the Tuileries Garden was named after the tile-making factories (tuile means ‘tile’ in French) that originally occupied the area, which stands in what is now Paris’ 1st arrondissement, between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde.
The garden was commissioned by former French queen Catherine de Medici in the early 17th Century, to be built in the Italian Renaissance style, with elaborate features such as a grotto and a labyrinth, as well as more practical features like kitchen gardens.
However, after ascending the throne in the mid-17th Century, King Louis XIV commissioned architect André Le Nôtre to transform the gardens into a jardin a la française, a style he had perfected at the Chateau de Versailles. It is this version of the gardens that visitors today will see when they visit.
Visitors may opt to join one of the walking tours that run from March to December each year, or else explore the gardens many features in their own time. Some notable features include the gardens two ponds, statues by Auguste Rodin, as well as the Musee de l’Orangerie, which is the permanent home of eight of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies murals, amongst other works by Amadeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and more.
Visitors in the summer will be able to join in the Fete des Tuileries, a two-month long funfair on the grounds of the gardens. Visitors in winter won’t lose out though—the garden also hosts a Christmas market from mid-November till just after New Years.
Luxembourg Gardens
Another former palace garden, the Luxembourg Gardens were the creation of the former French queen Marie de Medici, a distant relative of Catherine de Medici. Inspired by the Boboli Gardens in her native Florence, the Queen’s design was influenced by the Italian Baroque style, which is clear in the clean and orderly lines of the garden. The gardens is split into French gardens and English gardens, with a large pond and a geometric ‘forest’ in between.
Today, the Palace is home to the French Senate, but the gardens are public access, which is evident in the number of seats, benches and tables situated all around the park that practically invite you to have a seat and take a break. La Grande Épicerie, the food hall of department store Le Bon Marché, is close by and offers great selections of food and drink you can pick up before heading to the gardens.
Before you leave, make sure to spend some time exploring the gardens, which are home to fountains like the monumental Medici fountain, more than a 100 statues of figures such as Chopin and Marie de Medici herself, as well as a mini replica of the Lady Liberty and works by Auguste Rodin and Aime-Jules Dalou, the Davioud Pavillion and a beautiful Orangerie.
Jardin des Serres d’Auteuil
Located in the southern edge of the Bois de Bologne park in the 16th arrondissement, the Jardin des Serres d’Auteuil is one of four botanical gardens in the park. Founded by King Louis XV, the gardens are a large complex of greenhouses that house rare plants and trees, as well as a beautiful aviary.
Visitors to the gardens can opt to amble around on their own, or take a guided tour which are conducted year-round. In the summer, weekends in the gardens are backdropped by classical music, courtesy of the Festival Classique au Vert, a classical music festival that features a wide range of pieces from various eras and styles.
Trocadero Gardens
Created for the 1937 World Exposition, the Trocadero Gardens sits on the site of the former Palais Trocadero, right in front of the Eiffel Tower. These gardens are relatively new compared to others, but that doesn’t lessen its value.
The pièce de résistance are the Warsaw Fountains, 20 water cannons that lead up to the Eiffel Tower in a stunning display of hydrodynamics. In the evenings, a light show is projected onto the spray, dazzling visitors and passers-by alike. The gardens are also home to two of the city’s most well-known statues, L’Homme (‘The Man’)by Pierre Traverse, and the matching La Femme (‘The Woman’) by Daniel Bacqué, which lean against stone pedestals on the side of the fountains closest to the Palais de Chaillot.
In summer, the greens offer locals and tourists a beautiful space to picnic, take a walk and simply relax in the heart of the French capital. In winter, it is overtaken by a Christmas market on either side of the fountains, selling sweet treats and holiday trinkets.
Versailles Gardens
The French are terribly fond of palaces and chateaus, and none of them are quite complete without a garden that is at least as equally beautiful as the main building. It’s no surprise then, that almost all the gardens in this list are former palace gardens, and this next one is arguable the most famous of the lot.
Though the Versailles Gardens are technically not in Paris, located just outside the city limits, they deserve a spot due to their status as both a garden, and as a heritage site, given its role in the French Revolution and its place on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 1979.
It was in this space that André Le Nôtre would perfect the French formal garden style, creating a masterpiece of flora, foliage and water. The meticulously manicured lawns and parterres are beautiful in their own right, but also serve as a lovely background to the Grand Canal. Still using most of the original hydraulics, the Grand Canal is a magnificent display of water from late spring to early autumn, when the museum administration sponsors Les Grandes Eaux, and all the fountains are fully in play.
Visitors to the gardens should also consider visiting the palace itself to marvel at the famous Hall of Mirrors and restored apartments, as well as a visit to the Hameau de la Reine, the little faux village built for Marie-Antoinette that remains mostly intact to this day.
