Page 56 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

54  INTRODUCING P ARIS

Exploring Gardens, Parks and Squares
Paris is dotted with many areas of parkland, intimate gardens Marcel Proust, who once played
and attractive tree-lined squares. Each is a reminder of the here as a child.
French capital’s illustrious past. Many squares were formed A haven of peace in a busy
district is the Jardin du Palais-
during Napoleon III’s transformation of the city, creating a Royal, built by Cardinal Richelieu
pleasant environment for Parisians to live in (see pp36–7). in the 17th century. An elegant
This aim has been preserved right up to the present day. arcade encloses the garden. The
Paris’s parks and gardens have their own character; some 19th-century Parc Monceau, in
are ideal for a stroll, others for romance, while some provide the English picturesque style,
space for sporting activities such as a game of boules. has follies and grottoes. The flat
Jardins des Invalides and the
landscaped Champ-de-Mars
were the grounds of the Hôtel
des Invalides and the Ecole
Militaire. They were the site of
the Paris Universal Exhi bition,
whose reminder is the Eiffel
Tower (pp196–7).
An attractive public garden
is attached to the lovely Hôtel
Biron, home of the Musée
Rodin. The 17th-century
botanical garden Jardin des
Plantes is famous for its ancient
Engraving of the Jardin du Palais-Royal (1645) trees, flowers, alpine garden,
hothouses and small zoo.
the bronze nudes by Aristide
Historic Gardens
Maillol (1861–1944).
The oldest public gardens in The Jardin du Luxembourg
Paris were made for queens of also has the traditional formal 19th-Century Parks
and Squares
France – the Jardin des Tuileries plan – straight paths, clipped
for Catherine de Médicis in the lawns, Classical sculpture and a The great 19th-century parks
16th century, and the Jardin superb 17th-century fountain. It and squares owe much to
du Luxembourg for Marie de is shadier and more intimate Napoleon III’s long exile in
Médicis in the 17th century. The than the Tuileries, with lots of London before he came to
Tuileries form the beginning of seats, pony rides and puppet power. The unregimented
the axis running from the Arc de shows to amuse the children. planting and rolling lawns of
Triomphe du Carrousel through The Jardins des Champs- Hyde Park and the leafy squares
the Arc de Triomphe (pp212–13) Elysées, also by Le Nôtre, were of Mayfair inspired him to bring
to La Défense (p248). These reshaped in the English style trees, fresh air and park benches
gardens retain the formality during the 19th century. The to what was then Europe’s most
devised by landscape architect gardens have Belle Époque congested and dirty capital.
André Le Nôtre, originally for pavilions, three theatres Under his direction, landscape
the Palace of Versailles. Many (L’Espace Pierre Cardin, Théâtre gardener Adolphe Alphand
of the Jardin des Tuileries’ Marigny and the Théâtre du turned two woods at opposite
original sculptures survive, as Rond-Point), smart restaurants – ends of the city, the Bois de
well as modern pieces, notably and the ghost of the novelist Boulogne (known as the “Bois”)
Follies and Rotundas Egyptian
pyramid
Dramatic features of Paris’s parks and gardens
are the many follies and rotundas. Every age of
garden design has produced these ornaments.
The huge Gloriette de Buffon in the Jardin des
Plantes was erected as a memorial to the great
naturalist (p168). It is the oldest metal structure
in Paris. The pyramid in the Parc Monceau, the
oriental temple in the Bois de Boulogne, and
the 19th-century temple of love in the Bois de
Vincennes reflect a more sentimental age. In
contrast are the stark, painted-concrete
Sculpture in the Jardin du Luxembourg follies that grace the Parc de la Villette. Parc Monceau

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