Tuileries Garden, Paris’ largest public park
The Tuileries Garden is nestled between the Louvre Palace and the Place de la Concorde.
Spanning 28 hectares, it is the largest and most popular of Paris’s public parks, offering a welcome oasis of greenery in the heart of the capital. From its tree-lined avenues and flowerbeds to its scattered sculptures, the garden offers breathtaking views stretching from the Louvre Palace to the Champs-Elysées and, beyond, to the Arc de Triomphe.
The Tuileries Garden is a wonderful place to stroll. Free green metal chairs are available near the octagonal and round ponds, while the outdoor cafés and restaurants offer a shady break under the trees. Seasonal attractions, such as the Ferris wheel on the Rue de Rivoli, delight children during festive periods.
You’ll also find two museums there, the Jeu de Paume Museum and the Orangerie Museum, located on either side of the esplanade that opens onto the Place de la Concorde. Take the time to visit the Orangerie to admire Monet‘s Water Lilies.
Tuileries, a palace built on the site of a tile factory
In 1564, Queen Catherine de Medici commissioned the construction of a palace and garden on the site of a former tile factory (Tuilerie, hence its name).
The landscape architect Bernard Palissy designed the first Tuileries Garden on a geometric plan composed of six main avenues intersected by secondary paths, punctuated by flowerbeds and a labyrinth.
A century later, Louis XIV entrusted André Le Nôtre with the task of redesigning the garden into a masterpiece of French classical art.
Le Nôtre aligned its central axis with the Champs-Élysées and created the round and octagonal basins that we see today.
He added a wealth of fountains and statues to embellish the ornamental flowerbeds and vast open spaces.
Although separated from the Tuileries Palace by a wall, the gardens quickly became a favourite promenade for Parisians until 1682, when Louis XIV permanently moved his court to Versailles.
During the French Revolution, the elegant flowerbeds of the Tuileries Garden gave way to vegetable gardens where beans and potatoes were grown.
It was then left to decay but was restored by Napoleon I at the beginning of the 19th century.
While the garden still exists, the former royal residence that gave it its name has disappeared.
The construction of the Tuileries Palace, begun under the direction of the architect Philibert de l’Orme, was interrupted after his death. Henry IV commissioned the architect Androuet du Cerceau to resume works.
Over the decades, new buildings were added, such as the Marsan and Flore pavilions. Louis XIV connected the Tuileries to the Louvre, thus fulfilling Catherine de Medici’s initial dream of a unified palatial complex.
But the Tuileries Palace fell into disuse when the Sun King took up residence in his newly built Palace of Versailles.
The old palace became the seat of government during the Revolution and later Napoleon’s imperial residence. Alas, insurgents burned it down in 1871 during the Commune de Paris. The Marsan Pavilion was rebuilt, but the Tuileries Palace was demolished in 1882 due to the astronomical cost of its restoration. A few remnants survived, were later moved and preserved in various locations throughout Paris.
Directions: 1st District
Metro: Tuileries, Concorde and Palais-Royal-Musée du Louvre on Line 1
Coordinates: Lat 48.862335 – Long 2.331081
Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Palace in ruins after the Commune Public domain
