Jardin du Luxembourg
Jardin du Luxembourg features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Paris. Give it roughly ~90 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type garden
- Suggested visit ~90 min
- Paris Paris guide
About Jardin du Luxembourg
Paris's most beloved park, built for Marie de Médicis in 1612, with its famous octagonal pool, model sailboats, beekeeping school, orchard, and the French Senate in the adjoining palace.
The Jardin du Luxembourg is the most beloved park in Paris, the green heart of the Left Bank, and the place where Parisians go to read, play pétanque, sail toy boats, and simply sit in the green metal chairs that are among the great icons of Parisian urban life. It covers 23 hectares between the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, laid out for Marie de Médicis in 1612 in a French formal style with Italian Renaissance elements, echoing the Florentine gardens of her Medici childhood.
The centrepiece is the octagonal Grand Bassin, where children and adults have sailed model sailboats since the 19th century. The park also contains an orchard (250 apple and pear trees, the apples sold in autumn), beehives managed by a beekeeping school (founded 1856), puppet theatre, pétanque courts, and a celebrated collection of 20th-century sculpture. The Palais du Luxembourg, which borders the north side of the garden, was built for Marie de Médicis and now serves as the seat of the French Senate.
Did you know? The Jardin du Luxembourg was nearly cut in half by Haussmann's 1865 road-building plans, it was saved by a massive public outcry from the people of the Latin Quarter.
How long is a visit to Jardin du Luxembourg?
Set aside roughly ~90 min for Jardin du Luxembourg. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Jardin du Luxembourg worth your time?
Jardin du Luxembourg is among the 44 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Paris, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Paris
Hear the story of Jardin du Luxembourg
Preview the Paris tour free in the Gingerguide app.