Tuileries Garden, Paris

About the Tuileries Garden

The Tuileries Garden is a 25.5-hectare park in the 1st arrondissement, stretching from the Louvre to the Place de la Concorde. Queen Catherine de' Medici founded it in 1564 as the garden of her new Tuileries Palace. The name comes from the tile works, the tuileries, that once stood here. A Florentine gardener laid it out in the Italian style.

In 1664–1672 André Le Nôtre, who would go on to create the gardens of Versailles, redesigned it entirely. He laid out the wide central avenue, the terraces and ponds, and planned a vista that would continue as the Champs-Élysées. In 1667, at the request of the writer Charles Perrault, author of Sleeping Beauty, the Tuileries opened to the townspeople, the first royal garden open to the public.

What to see in the garden

• The Grande Allée — the main axis from the Louvre to Concorde.
• The Grand Bassin Rond — a fountain ringed by green chairs.
• The Octagonal Basin — 60 metres across.
• Statues by Maillol and Rodin — among the lawns and groves.
• The Musée de l'Orangerie — Claude Monet's Water Lilies.
• The Arc du Carrousel — a pink triumphal arch by the Louvre.

Avenues, terraces and ponds

Le Nôtre designed the garden to be admired from above, from the palace and terraces. The Grande Allée runs from the Louvre, flanked by smooth lawns, beds edged with low box hedges and groves of chestnuts and limes. Since 2021 elms have been replanted along the avenue to restore its historic look.

Near the Louvre lies the Grand Bassin Rond, and by the Place de la Concorde the Octagonal Basin, 60 metres across and framed by horseshoe ramps. The Terrasse du Bord-de-l'Eau runs along the Seine and the Terrasse des Feuillants along Rue de Rivoli to the north, both with views over the garden, the river and the Eiffel Tower.

An open-air sculpture museum

The Tuileries are a true open-air sculpture museum. Back in the 18th century Coysevox's equestrian groups Fame and Mercury were placed at the western entrance; those there now are copies, with the originals in the Louvre. Marble statues by Coustou and other royal-era sculptors stand throughout the garden.

In 1964–1965 the culture minister André Malraux placed bronze figures by Aristide Maillol in the Carrousel garden and on the lawns. In 1998 works by Rodin, Henry Moore and Jean Dubuffet arrived, followed by contemporary artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Roy Lichtenstein. Spotting new sculptures makes any walk here more fun.

The Orangerie, the Jeu de Paume and the Arc du Carrousel

Two museums stand on the garden's western terraces. The Orangerie, once a winter greenhouse for orange trees, has shown Claude Monet's eight huge Water Lilies panels in two oval rooms since 1927. The Jeu de Paume, built as a real-tennis court, hosts photography and contemporary art exhibitions.

At the eastern edge, before the Louvre, stands the pink Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, built under Napoleon on the model of Roman arches. The Tuileries Palace itself once stood behind it; it was cleared in 1883, joining the garden to the square before the Louvre. From here the whole great axis of Paris opens up: Arc du Carrousel, Concorde obelisk, Arc de Triomphe.

Stories from the past

On 1 December 1783 the first free flight of a manned hydrogen balloon took off from the Tuileries: the physicist Jacques Charles and Nicolas Robert rose into the sky before a huge crowd and landed safely about 50 kilometres from Paris.

The garden has always been a place of celebration, with concerts, fireworks and banquets, and in the 19th century puppet theatres, donkey rides and little boats on the ponds. In 2024 the Olympic cauldron, shaped as a hot-air balloon in tribute to the first aeronauts, floated above the Grand Bassin Rond, rising into the sky each evening.

Tips for your visit

The garden is a natural part of a longer walk: Louvre, Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Élysées. You can cross it end to end in 20 minutes, but allow an hour to sit by a pond and look at the statues.

If you plan to visit the Orangerie, buy tickets ahead on the official website: the Water Lilies rooms are small and queues are long in season. The footbridge over the Seine takes you straight to the Musée d'Orsay.

Entry is free, with paid toilets, cafés and kiosks inside. The best light for photos is in the morning from the Louvre end and at sunset from the terrace by Concorde.

Places in Paris: compare and choose

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Musée de l'Orangerie

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Musée d'Orsay

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How to do it right

• Free entry.
• Chairs are free.
• Book the Orangerie.
• Sunset from the terrace.

Questions