The Jardin du Luxembourg (the Luxembourg Gardens)

The Jardin du Luxembourg is my garden park away from home.  Since in the States I garden outside all spring, summer and fall, and in my glass porch in winter, I am in need of green and flowers while in Paris.  Our apartment has little direct light, so flowers don't do so well there. Cities, by their very nature, don't have much green stuff on the streets (trees if one is lucky).

We live a 5 minute walk from the J du L, a huge park (about 57 acres) that is also an arboretum.  While perhaps the most planted tree is the chestnut (it has a lovely scent when it flowers in the spring), there are trees from many parts of the world including southern magnolias, sequoias and birches from the US:

Sequoias in the Jardin

There are gingkos from Asia, and a large number of orange trees, which in winter stay in the orangery in the Palace du Luxembourg.  Many of the trees have small plaques to identify them.  In the summer the orangery is empty and is used for exhibits of contemporary artists, which I have had a chance to enjoy.

The palace was built by Catherine de Medici in the 1600s and graces one entire side of the park.  That palace now houses the French Senat, and also contains a small museum used for special art exhibits.  The Palace is guarded full time, since it is an important government building.

A view of the Palace of the Jardin du Luxembourg

At one end of the garden is a small orchard where apple and pear trees are experimented with:

I'm not sure why some of the fruit are covered with paper, but that's true for most of trees in the orchard.

There is also a bee hive station.  Two weekends ago, the park hosted an open park day and put on a number of activities including showing off the bees.  I bought honey from their hives.

Bee hive station

The center of the park looks like this:

There is a large pool (complete with ducks, and ducklings due to a duck house in the middle of it), with flower gardens nearby.  It is ringed by balastrades that are one level up and make the pool area appear to be sunken.  Back from the balastrades ringing the pool are statues of the queens of France including Catherine de Medici, but many others including Mary Stewart, who was Queen of Scotland, and while a Scot by birth, was married to the French King, Francis II, which made her a French queen too!

Statue of Catherine de Medici

There are 2 cafes in the park, one of which operates all the time.  There are many side gardens and wonderful statues around the park. 

Among the many other statues is this one, given by its creator, Auguste Bertoldi--it's only its normal size, not the size of the one in New York Harbor. 

Here is one of my favorites statues, that is very classical:

And here's one to remember the students who died in the Resistance in France in WW2:

I am especially fond of fountains.  The two I like best are the ones below, to honor Catherine de Medici, and the second to honor Eugene Delacroix, a famous French painter.  There are also statues for George Sands, other writers and some politicians of note as well.

I fast walk in the Jardin most mornings around 8 am.  Most of my fellow park goers then are runners, who are male, and generally under 40, though an occasional elder male and some young women runners can be found.  There are folks who are passing through the park on their way to work or with children, who are being walked to school.  But for the most part, I'm one of the few of my age and the rare fast walker.  There are also groups of runners, especially some of (the young and handsome) engineering fire and explosives brigade of the French Army who serve as the firemen of Paris (who all wear shirts that say "Sapeurs Pompiers de Paris"), and sometimes school kids with their teachers directing them.  Here is the gate where I generally enter the park:

I'm sure glad that the Jardin Du Luxembourg is the park that is closest to my place in Paris!