The park is named for the Duke of Luxembourg who sold the land to Marie de Medicis, widow of France's King Henry IV in 1615. Missing her native Florence, Marie had an Italianate palace built on the land with a 50 acre garden surrounding it. Interestingly enough, Marie never lived here. Her son, Louis XIII, had her exiled from France when he found she had been plotting against him. After the French Revolution, the land was made into a public park. Obviously the aristocrats would not be needing it anymore. (This information comes from a wonderful book entitled, Chronicles of Old Paris-Exploring the Historic City of Light by John Baxter.)
There are plenty of chairs and benches. You can be in the sun or shade. There are a few kiosks for buying a drink or toy for your child. There is a lovely cafe under the trees where my sister, daughter-in-law, and I ate last summer.
Thora and I arrived at the Boulevard St. Michel entrance to the gardens after a strenuous uphill walk on a sunny warm day. I find it small comfort when they say uphill walks have downhill returns. I was very relieved to step into the shade at the garden's entrance.
After a short walk the view of the gardens open up and it is breathtaking.
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| Look at what is in the distance on the left side of the picture. |
All were real women except this one, Clemence Isaure, who only exists in stories from the Middle Ages.
My favorite statue right now is the statue of Artemis with her stag. This may change as I explore the Gardens more thoroughly.
Next time I will take the bus to the Luxembourg Gardens so I can more time and energy to check out the parts I haven't seen yet. What you see here is just the beginning.
The Luxembourg Gardens are absolutely breath-taking! All of the different colors and hues are so vibrant and the pictures look like a work of art!
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