Luxembourg Gardens, Paris

Luxembourg Gardens, Paris

The Jardin du Luxembourg is a formal French garden with lush lawns, tree-lined promenades, terraces, chestnut groves, and ponds over an area of 23 hectares.

The Jardin du Luxembourg is a formal French garden with lush lawns, tree-lined promenades, terraces, chestnut groves, and ponds over an area of 23 hectares. It was created in 1612 at the request of Marie de Médicis as a garden for her residence at the Luxembourg Palace. It is a popular hangout in the heart of Paris for locals and tourists alike.

Laid out by Jacques Boyceau, the Luxembourg Garden has 2 main perpendicular axes which intersect at the Grand Bassin, an octagonal basin of water with a jet. Children as well as members of the Club Nautique du Luco sail model wooden yachts in the pond. Surrounding the basin is an elevated balustraded Italian terrace with the Reines de France et Femmes illustres (Queens of France and Famous Women) series of sculptures, featuring Clotilde, Bathilde, Marie de Medici, Anne of France and other illustrious women.

The north-east part of the Jardin has the famous Medici Fountain, a romantic Baroque fountain from the early 17th century located at the end of a narrow pool. It has a bronze sculpture of Greek mythological figure of Polyphemus, looming over marble statues of lovers Acis and Galatea. It is flanked by allegorical figures depicting the rivers Seine and Rhône. The Fontaine de Léda behind the Medici Fountain has a relief depicting Leda and Zeus disguised as a swan.

While most of the garden is in formal French style with symmetrical beds laid out in geometric plans, the southern part and western part along Rue Guynemer feature free-form English gardens. The southwest corner has an orchard of apple and pear trees, a children's playground, a replica of the Statue of Liberty, basketball court, and the Théâtre des Marionnettes (puppet theatre).

The gardens encompass several buildings, including the ✓Luxembourg Palace where the Senate sits, ✓Petit Luxembourg which is the residence of the President of the Senate, ✓Luxembourg Museum which hosts temporary art exhibitions, ✓orangery built by Alphonse de Gisors on the Delacroix alley, ✓Mines ParisTech School with the Museum of Minerals, and ✓greenhouses with rich horticultural collections, including more than 400 species of orchids.

Extending along the Avenue de l'Observatoire is the Jardin des Grands Explorateurs, at the south end of which is the Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde with Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux's sculptural ensemble depicting the world being carried by 4 female figures representing the continents.