Luxembourg Gardens, Paris

About the Luxembourg Gardens

The Jardin du Luxembourg is a 23-hectare park in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Its story began in 1612, when Marie de' Medici, widow of Henry IV, built a palace here modelled on the Pitti Palace in Florence where she grew up, and had a garden laid out in the Italian manner. Today the palace houses the French Senate, which also owns the gardens, so Parisians sometimes call them the Senate Garden.

Locals fondly call it 'le Luco'. It's one of the calmest places in the city: Sorbonne students read on the lawns, retirees play chess and pétanque, children sail toy boats, and everyone else sits in the green metal chairs, which you can move wherever you like.

What to see in the gardens

• The Luxembourg Palace — Marie de' Medici's residence, now the Senate.
• The Grand Bassin — an octagonal pond with a fountain and sailboats.
• The Medici Fountain — a 17th-century grotto under plane trees.
• The Queens of France — twenty statues on the terraces.
• The Statue of Liberty — Bartholdi's first model.
• Puppet theatre and playground — for children.

The palace and the Grand Bassin

At the heart of the gardens stands the domed Luxembourg Palace with a formal French parterre before it. The architect Salomon de Brosse built the palace, while Florentine craftsmen the queen brought with her laid out the garden. Its size later grew and shrank: under the Directory it was enlarged to 40 hectares, and under Napoleon III a new street cut part of it off.

In front of the palace lies the Grand Bassin, an octagonal pond with a central fountain. For over a century children have sailed wooden sailboats here, nudging them with sticks, and you can hire one right by the water. Statues of queens and saints line the balustraded terraces around it.

The Medici Fountain

In the eastern part, shaded by plane trees, hides the Medici Fountain, an Italian Renaissance grotto made for the queen by the Florentine fountain maker Tommaso Francini. It fell into ruin in the 18th century, and in 1811, on Napoleon's orders, it was restored by Jean-François Chalgrin, architect of the Arc de Triomphe.

A long tree-lined pool stretches before the grotto, and in its niche the giant Polyphemus lies in wait for the lovers Acis and Galatea. On the back is the small Leda Fountain with a bas-relief, moved here from a nearby street. It's one of the most romantic spots in Paris.

The statues

The gardens hold over a hundred statues, monuments and fountains. Around the central parterre, the terraces carry twenty figures of queens and famous women of France commissioned by King Louis-Philippe, among them Marie de' Medici herself, Anne of Brittany and Mary, Queen of Scots.

Look along the paths for other works too: Frédéric Bartholdi's first model of the Statue of Liberty, monuments to writers and artists such as George Sand, Verlaine, Baudelaire and Watteau, and Bourdelle's Beethoven. To the south the gardens continue as the Observatory avenue with the Carpeaux Fountain, where four women hold up a globe.

For children and relaxing

The Luxembourg Gardens are among the best places in Paris for a walk with children. In the south-west there's a large fenced playground, a puppet theatre with Guignol shows, a carousel and pony rides. Toy boats on the Grand Bassin delight toddlers and adults alike.

For adults there are tennis courts, pétanque pitches, chess tables, an orchard of apple and pear trees and beehives. In the orangery by the palace, the Musée du Luxembourg hosts temporary exhibitions: it opened back in 1694 and is considered France's first public museum.

Tips for your visit

Bring a croissant or baguette from a nearby bakery and picnic in the green chairs by the pond, just as Parisians do. You can't sit on most lawns except in marked areas, so watch for the signs.

Combine the gardens with a walk through the Latin Quarter, the Sorbonne and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Saint-Sulpice church and the Odéon theatre are steps from the north gates, and the diagonal path by the Medici Fountain frames the dome of the Panthéon.

Entry is free at every gate; toilets are paid and found in several spots. Cafés and ice-cream kiosks operate inside the gardens.

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How to do it right

• Free entry.
• Closes at dusk.
• Grab chairs early.
• Toy boats for kids.

Questions