María de Medicis wanted a piece of her much-missed Tuscany in Paris.
With its 25 hectares, perhaps it is the most popular park in the centre of Paris. Strolling along its avenues you can see chestnut trees, banana trees, lime trees and exotic spices. And in spring you can become entranced by the colours of all the flowers of a great variety of species. It is also full of sculptures, among which you will find several queens of France, a sculpture of Saint Genevieve, patron Saint of Paris and monument in honour of the great romantic painter Delacroix made by Jules Dalou in 1890, alongside whose bust you will see allegoric figures of Art, Time and Glory.
To the east of the palace you will find a long and ornamented lake, the Fontaine de Médicis, built around 1630 in the style of the Italian grottos and it is believed to have been designed by Salomon de Brosse. The mythological figures you will see were added much later in 1866.
In the palace gardens it is easy to come across open-air concerts and you can do different things here. There is a children’s play area, petanque courts and tennis courts.
In 1856 the beehive of the Luxembourg gardens was created. It currently houses some twenty colonies of bees. The Apiculture Society undertakes introductory courses in the science of beekeeping here. Traditionally, the honey from its hives is sold in autumn in the garden’s Orangerie.
The garden is structured around an octagonal central lake attributed to Chalgrin and as well as sitting down at one of its elegant terraces to sunbathe, you can also hire a toy yacht.
Some 200 metres southwest you will find a small theatre that puts on puppet shows.
In this garden nature lovers have the chance of taking arboriculture courses and the gardens have a large variety of trees, particularly fruit trees. It is possible to find more than 600 different species of apple and pear trees. The garden is also a place to relax, however. The chairs beside the large lake are usually occupied by students reading or quietly chatting.
When the good weather comes, the Parisians come en masse to enjoy the terraces and stroll among the chestnut trees of these magnificent gardens.
Make sure you visit them and we recommend you do not miss the opportunity of having a drink in the charming open- café there.
