Top 20 Parks in Paris

1. Palais-Royal Garden

Located a few metres from the Louvre Museum, the Palais-Royal Garden was created at the request of Cardinal de Richelieu in 1633. The Palais-Royal and its garden served as the royal residence during the construction of the Château de Versailles.

The garden covers 2 hectares and combines contemporary works of art, such as Buren's famous columns and Bury's mobile fountains, with the trees that shade the garden paths.

How to get there?

Blue route: Get off at stop 3 Musée du Louvre

 

2. Square du Vert-Galant

The Square du Vert-Galant is a green space located in the centre of the capital. Its impressive flora and fauna enabled it to obtain the "Ecological Green Space" label in 2007.

This square was erected in homage to Henri IV and his many mistresses. Nowadays, this green space is one of the most popular places for romantic strolls where lovers admire the sunset over the Seine and enjoy a magnificent view of the Louvre Museum and the Hôtel de la Monnaie.

How to get there?

Blue route: Get off at stop n°4 Notre-Dame - Quartier Latin

 

3. The Archives Nationales garden

The Archives Nationales public garden is located in the 3rd arrondissement, in the famous Marais district. Surrounded by prestigious hotels, this quiet and romantic space covers 8,000 m².

Visitors can stroll through the gardens of the Rohan, Assy, Breteuil, Fontenay and Jaucourt hotels. The Archives Nationales garden includes a river, privet hedges, umbrella pines and perennial beds. All these pesticide-free spaces have made it possible to install a beehive on the roof of the Chamson building.

How to get there?

Blue route: Get off at stop n°4 Notre-Dame - Quartier Latin

 

4. Luxembourg Garden

Created in 1612 at the request of Marie de Médicis, the Luxembourg Garden is an integral part of the capital's history. Emblematic monuments such as the Senate, the Davioud Pavilion, the great Medici fountain and the Orangery can be found here.

Located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the garden covers nearly 23 hectares. It is composed of French and English gardens which are centred around a large basin.

This green space is home to 106 statues spread throughout the park. There is also an orchard with various varieties of apples, greenhouses, a rose garden, remarkable trees and a collection of orchids at the foot of the Senate. This institution has been managing and maintaining the garden in a 100% organic way since the 1990s.

The garden offers various activities for both children and adults. Children can have fun on the merry-go-rounds, on the slides, with the remote-controlled boats on the pond or with the puppets. For adults, there are places to play chess, tennis or bridge.

How to get there?

Blue route: Get off at stop n°4 Notre-Dame - Quartier Latin

 

5. Jardin des Plantes

Created four centuries ago, the Jardin des Plantes is a park, a botanical garden and also the main site of the National Museum of Natural History.

Its 2.5 hectares offer pathways filled with statues, various varieties of plants from all over the world as well as remarkable and historic trees such as an old pistachio tree that has been there for more than 315 years.

How to get there?

Blue route: Get off at stop 4 Notre-Dame - Quartier Latin

 

6. Tuileries Gardens

Considered the oldest green space in Paris, the Tuileries Gardens are located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde. The garden was designed by Catherine de Medici in the 16th century to be admired from the palace she had built in 1564. The Tuileries Palace disappeared over time. The name of the garden comes from the tile factories present there.

Classified as a Historic Monument and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the garden was designed by the greatest landscape gardeners such as André Le Nôtre, the king's gardener in 1664, and its style is still preserved today. This 23-hectare garden is a pleasure and walking garden with more than 2,800 trees, flowerbeds and ancient and contemporary sculptures.

How to get there?

Blue route: Get off at stop n°6 Concorde

 

7. Trocadero Garden

Located opposite the Eiffel Tower, the Trocadero Garden is probably one of the most famous gardens in the world. Designed in 1937, it offers 94,000 m² of green space with a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower.

The famous Warsaw Fountain is located in the centre of the garden. Sculptures adorn the garden: the bull's head, the golden horses, the Crossing Man and the Becqué Woman.

How to get there?

Blue route: Get off at stop n°8 Trocadéro

 

8. Parc du Champ-de-Mars

The Parc du Champ-de-Mars is one of the largest green spaces in Paris with its 24.5 hectares. Opened in 1780, this open park is freely accessible day and night and stretches between the École Militaire (1773) and the Eiffel Tower. The park is home to many remarkable trees and offers the most beautiful view of the capital's flagship monument.

The park has been a major venue for important national events, including the Universal Exhibitions. Nowadays, the park attracts Parisians and tourists to picnic, play music, admire the glittering Eiffel Tower or watch the fireworks on 14 July.

How to get there?

Blue route: Get off at stop n°9 Tour Eiffel

 

9. Esplanade des Invalides

The Esplanade des Invalides is a vast green space with a surface area of 32,800 m² and is 500 metres long. The Esplanade links the main building of the Hôtel des Invalides to the Alexandre III bridge over the Seine.

Created at the beginning of the 18th century, this space offers magnificent views of some of the most beautiful monuments in Paris.

How to get there?

Blue route: Get off at stop n°10 Pont Alexandre III - Invalides

 

10. Parc Monceau

Located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the Parc Monceau was designed in the 18th century by the Duke of Chartres. This 8-hectare park is considered one of the most elegant gardens in the capital and one of the most flowery. Imposing wrought iron gates with gold accents mark the entrance to the park.

The Parc Monceau is rich in decorative elements: statues in honour of the great writers and musicians of the Second Empire such as Chopin, Maupassant and de Musset. The park is also home to an Italian-style bridge, a Renaissance arcade, spectacular trees, a waterfall, a grotto, a pyramid and a Naumachie, an astonishing basin lined with columns.

 

11. Parc Clichy-Batignolles - Martin Luther King

Located in the 17th arrondissement, the Parc Clichy-Batignolles - Martin Luther King was developed on former SNCF land, in this case on the grounds of the former Batignolles station.

This space was designed in 2007 by the landscape architect Jacqueline Osty. It has undergone numerous extensions to become a park and now covers 6.5 hectares. In 2008, it was named Parc Clichy-Batignolles - Martin Luther King in honour of the civil rights activist who died 40 years earlier.

The park has a water garden with aquatic plants: irises, water lilies. Visitors will be able to enjoy a variety of environments adapted to relaxation as well as walks or sports with a skate park and a basketball court.

 

12. Parc André-Citroën

Located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, the Parc André-Citroën is one of the capital's most recent parks. Inaugurated in 1992, the park is named after the former car factory that used to be located there.

Covering more than 14 hectares on the banks of the Seine, the park is divided into three parts: the large central park, the Jardin Noir and the Jardin Blanc. It is home to large trees, rare plants, two gigantic greenhouses and a playground.

The park is also home to the Generali Paris balloon, which allows visitors to fly over 150 metres to see Paris from above.

 

13. Georges Brassens Park

Located in the 15th arrondissement on the site of the former Vaugirard slaughterhouses, the Georges Brassens Park is named after the famous French singer and poet who lived for a long time in the rue des Morillons opposite the park.

Opened in 1985, the park covers more than 8.7 hectares. Visitors can discover a river, a belvedere, statues, a bridge, vines, numerous floral species, a garden of medicinal and aromatic plants and a beehive.

Children can enjoy the playground and swings, pony rides and a puppet theatre.

The Monfort Theatre, located in the park, offers dance, circus and theatre performances. Finally, the large antique and second-hand book market attracts fans of old books every weekend in the Halles.

 

14. Parc Montsouris

Located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, the Parc Montsouris was designed by Baron Haussmann during the second half of the 19th century on former quarries that were disused by order of Napoleon III and inaugurated in 1869.

With a surface area of 15 hectares, this English-style park is one of the largest green spaces within the city. The park is home to nearly 1,400 trees, most of which are over a hundred years old. You can find original trees such as a Chinese umbrella tree or a Kaki.

The park is also very popular for its lake and the many species of birds that can be observed, along with the Paris weather observatory and the Mire du Sud stele which marks the location of the Paris meridian.

 

15. Parc de Bercy

The Parc de Bercy is located in the 12th arrondissement between the Gare de Lyon and the Cour de Saint-Émilion. Built on the site of the city's former wine warehouses, on the banks of the Seine, the park has retained some aspects of its past, such as a vineyard and rails with the circulation of tanker wagons of the time.

This green space covers 14 hectares and is divided into three gardens. The Romantic Garden, which is located near the old wine storehouses, has ponds, a belvedere and weeping willows. The flower beds area is home to the gardening centre and its educational garden. The meadow is dotted with wild flowers and children can enjoy the merry-go-round and ice cream stands.

 

16. Belleville Park

Located in the 20th arrondissement, the Belleville Park covers 4.5 hectares. Founded on the hill of the same name in 1988, this hillock offers a magnificent panoramic view of Paris from its belvedere.

The park is still home to 140 vines, witnesses to the wine-growing past of the old village. Alongside the vines, we can find perennial and climbing plants as well as rose bushes.

The Parc de Belleville is home to one of the largest cascading fountains in Paris, which runs down the slopes of the hill. Finally, children can enjoy the playground and the slides.

 

17. Parc des Buttes-Chaumont

Located in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is one of the largest parks in the capital with 25 hectares. Its steep hillock offers an inimitable view of Paris, mainly of the Montmartre district.

Inaugurated during the Universal Exhibition of 1867, the park is located on the site of former quarries that were developed with a lake and its island, grottoes, artificial waterfalls, a suspension bridge. The park also has a wide variety of exotic trees that are home to bird colonies.

 

18. Parc de la Villette

The Parc de la Villette is located in the north-east of Paris and runs alongside the Ourcq canal. This park is a mixture of modern architecture and nature.

The park is surrounded by cultural and entertainment venues such as the Cité des sciences, the Géode, the Zénith de Paris, the Musée de la musique and the Philharmonie de Paris.

Events are organised in the park: the Jazz à la Villette festival, shows, concerts and exhibitions. A few steps from the park, the Bassin de la Villette hosts the giant swimming area of Paris Plages.

 

19. Bois de Boulogne

To the west, the Bois de Boulogne is an 850-hectare area. This former hunting ground of the kings of France includes the Jardin d'Acclimatation, the Parc de Bagatelle, the Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil and the Pré Catelan.

The Parc de Bagatelle was conceived in 1775 following a bet between Marie-Antoinette and her brother-in-law, the Comte d'Artois. The garden welcomes visitors in a romantic setting: small bridges, water mirrors, grottoes, artificial waterfalls, a 19th century Chinese pagoda. An impressive rose garden houses more than 10,000 roses of 1,200 species.

The Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil was designed in 1761 under the reign of Louis XV. The garden and its 5 main greenhouses host an impressive collection of rare and tropical plants from all over the world and remarkable trees, a palmarium and an aviary.

 

20. Bois de Vincennes

At the eastern end of Paris, the Bois de Vincennes covers 955 hectares. This green space is home to the Paris Zoological Park, farms, an arboretum, a forest, the Château de Vincennes and the Parc Floral de Paris.

Created in 1969, on the occasion of the third edition of the Floralies Internationales, the Parc Floral de Paris extends over 35 hectares. It is renowned for its floral collections of more than 3,000 species of exceptional natural plants in a setting that is constantly changing.

Every summer, free events such as the Paris Jazz Festival, the Pestacles (music festival) and the Classique au Vert festival are organised there.

Once you've had a look at the parks in Paris and are ready to continue your visit, check out our selection of activities to do with children in Paris during the summer holidays.