Luxembourg Gardens
Created by Marie de’ Medici in 1612, the «Luco» is probably the best known garden in Paris. It is a true romantic place, where the love story between Cosette and Marius started, in the book Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. However, it is not just a romantic garden. The alley leading to the Medici Fountain is the perfect place to sit down and enjoy reading a good book. The Jardin du Luxembourg is also popular among kids, particulary for its pond, on which they enjoy spending afternoons with their model boats.
FREE ENTRANCE
Address: Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris
Opening Hours: Changing throughout the year, depending on the duration of daylight. The Gardens are opened from 7.30 and 8.15 AM and close between 4.30 and 9.30 PM.
Access: RER B Luxembourg station, Metro 4 Saint-Sulpice station, Metro Line 12 Rennes station, or Metro Line 10 Cluny- La Sorbonne station.
Website: Luxembourg Gardens
Parc Monceau
Maybe less known, but beautiful as well, the Parc Monceau hides many nice surprises. Its rotunda, its colonnade, its pyramid, its arch or its bridge, will bring you back, during few minutes, or even hours, to its glorious era of the 18th and 19th centuries. Immortalized on Monet’s paintings, it is one of the most beautiful verdant spaces in Paris.
FREE ENTRANCE
Address: 35 boulevard Courcelles, 75008 Paris
Opening Hours: Every day from 7AM to 9PM (10PM during summer).
Access: Metro 2 Monceau station.
Website: Parc Monceau
Tuileries Gardens
Idealy positionned between the Champs-Élysées and the Louvre Museum, the Tuileries Gardens are one of the best known relaxing places in the French capital city, very appreciated by both parisians and tourists. You will enjoy there multiple pieces of art, statues and sculptures, from the lest 4 centuries. If you want to feel free like a bird, and if you are not afraid of heights, you can contemplate those beautiful gardens, as well as a big part of Paris, from the Ferris wheel, which is located just a few meters away from the Tuileries Gardens.
FREE ENTRANCE
Address: Place de la Concorde, 75001 Paris
Opening Hours: Every day, from 7.30AM to 7.30PM (from 7AM to 9PM between March and September).
Access: Metro Line 1, Metro Line 8 or Metro Line 12 Concorde station.
Website: Tuileries Gardens
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
The Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is a public English-style garden, offering unique landscapes in Paris. If you go there for the first time, you may be surprised to see, in this park in the northern part of Paris, waterfalls, cliffs, torrents and even a cavern! It also hosts one of the richest ecosystems in Paris, where more than 40 bird species live together. If you enjoy jogging, you might be happy to know that this is one of the favourite parks among parisian runners.
FREE ENTRANCE
Address: 1 rue Botzaris, 75019 Paris
Opening Hours: Every day, from 7AM to 9PM (the park is opened 24/7 during summer).
Access: Metro 7 bis Buttes Chaumont station, Metro 2 Colonel Fabien station, or Metro Line 11 Place des Fêtes station.
Website: Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes is the largest botanical garden in Paris. Open to the public, it is a dreamy place for those who like flowers. It is difficult to find words to define the beauty of this place, particulary in Spring, when most of the plants and trees are blooming. The Jardin des Plantes is pretty large, there are many places where you can stop and admire the different gardens. If you are not in a hurry, go to please your eyes and mind by visiting the greenhouses, the menagerie and the National Museum of Natural History, also located within the Jardin des Plantes.
FREE ENTRANCE
Address: 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris
Opening Hours: Every day from 7.30AM (8AM between November and February) to 8PM (5.30PM between November and February).
Access: RER C, Metro 5 and Metro 10 Gare d’Austerlitz station, or Metro Line 7 Jussieu station.
Website: Jardin des Plantes
Parc de Bagatelle
Here is a real Garden of Eden in the middle of the Bois de Boulogne, well, at the edge of the Bois de Boulogne to be fully precise, on the side of Neuilly. Its castle, the famous Folie d’Artois, its waterfall, its rose garden and all its other gardens, will allow you to enjoy an amazing walk in the Parc de Bagatelle. Here again, Spring brings magnificent colors to this place, you should really go and contemplate that. And if you’re lucky, you may see one of the beautiful peacocks living there.
FREE ENTRANCE
Address: Route de Sèvres à Neuilly, 75016 Paris
Opening Hours: Every day between 9.30AM and 8PM (closes at 6.30PM between October and March).
Access: Metro 1 Pont de Neuilly station, RER C Avenue Foch station, or Metro 2 Porte Dauphine station.
Website: Parc de Bagatelle
Square des Batignolles
English garden created by Baron Haussmann,(the one who has his own Boulevard in Paris, and who, while we’re at it, revolutionized the architecture of the city) on the orders of Napoléon III, the Square des Batignolles will surprise you with its style, so charming. It is one of the most enjoyable parks of the French capital, very popular between parisian families. It is a perfect adventure playground for children, who can also enjoy the carousels located nearby.
FREE ENTRANCE
Address: 144 bis rue Cardinet, 75017 Paris
Opening Hours: Every day from 8AM to 9.30PM (8.30PM between September and April).
Access: Metro Line 13 Brochant station.
Website: Square des Batignolles
Parc Montsouris
The Parc Montsouris is the biggest green place of the south of the French capital city. It was also carried out on the orders of Baron Haussmann around 1870, this park is more classical than the last 2 we just described. Its lake and its lawns make an ideal scene if you want to relax and/or read a book for a few minutes, the worst that can happen to you would be to get disturbed by one of the multiple bird species living in the park.
FREE ENTRANCE
Address: 2 rue Gazan, 75014 Paris
Opening Hours: Every day, 24/7.
Access: RER B Cité Universitaire station, Metro Line 4 Porte d’Orléans, located a bit further.
Website: Parc Montsouris
Parc Georges Brassens
If you are looking for a real change of scene in Paris, the Parc Georges Brassens may then be what you need. With its bell tower, its vineyard, its hives and its vegetable garden, you will feel like you are in the country. Did you know that this park holds the name of Georges Brassens, a famous French singer and musician from the 50’s-70’s, not because he enjoyed spending his afternoons in this place, it was built after his death, but because he lived just few meters away from there?
FREE ENTRANCE
Address: 2 place Jacques Marette, 75015 Paris
Opening Hours: From 8AM to 9.30PM (8.30PM between September and April) from Monday to Friday, and from 9AM to 9.30PM (8.30PM between September and April) on weekends.
Access: Metro 13 Porte de Vanves station.
Website: Parc Georges Brassens
Jardin d’Acclimatation
Last but not least, let’s talk about the Jardin d’Acclimatation. Located on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, on the Porte de Neuilly side, it is a well-known place from parisians. It is a mix between a botanical garden, a zoo and an amusement park, and therefore pleases a large audience, from the youngest to the oldest. You can ride there a roller coaster, go for a cruise on the Enchanted River, watch your children riding poneys, and even have fun watching a real brown bear. It is the only garden from our list which is not free to visit, but for 3,50€, it’s really worth it.
ENTRY TICKET: 3,50 €
Address: Rue du Bois de Boulogne, 75116 Paris
Opening Hours: Every day, from 10 AM to 8PM. ATTENTION, THE JARDIN D’ACCLIMATATION WILL BE CLOSED BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 4TH 2017 AND THE 1ST OF MAY 2018.
Access: Metro Line 1 Les Sablons station.
Website: Jardin d’Acclimatation