A Visual Guide to Paris' Best Parks and Gardens

Location: Just west of the Louvre museum, 1st arrondissement. You can also get there from the Musee d'Orsay's "Solferino" footpath over the Seine river.
Metro: Tuileries (Line 1)
Bus: Lines 42, 68, 72, 73, 84, 94

Nearby Sights and Attractions:

• Musee du Louvre
• Musée d'Orsay
• Rue Montorgueil Neighborhood

The Jardin des Tuileries is a formal Paris garden that is stamped with history-- often of the bloody variety. The since-destroyed royal palace at Tuileries was stormed and pillaged during the revolution of 1789 and was later occupied by the last kings of France. In 1871, another revolution led to the arson of the Tuileries. Today, the remaining gardens are a major source of fresh air and greenery, and kids adore the carnival set up here each summer.

Much like the Luxembourg gardens, Tuileries is an Italian-style park marked by the influence of the Medicis family. The gardens are filled with dramatic statuary and perfectly symmetrical shrubbery, reflecting the Renaissance preoccupation with bringing rational design to nature.

The Tuileries gardens stretch west toward Concorde and the Champs-Elysées and are the starting point of the "Triumphant Line": a nearly straight path leading from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe and the Grande Arche de la Defense west of Paris. Pomp abounds here, making for great perspectives.

Jardin des Tuileries Highlights:

• Statuary by Rodin and Maillol can be admired amid elegant flowers and shrubbery just west of the Louvre, near the park entrance and around the "Grand Carré" fountain.
  
  
• Enjoy stunning views of the Seine from the Terrasse du Bord de L'Eau at the south end of the gardens.
  
  
• Dramatic statues are flanked by stairways and greenery near the octogonal basin at the park's central-west end.
  
  
• The Musee de l'Orangerie and the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume hold major exhibits through the year.