Discover historic parks and explore hidden Parisian gardens

3 Hours

For more than 200 years the Palais Royal has been at the avant-garde of French society. Home to cardinals, princes and kings, the complex of buildings that surrounds a formal garden is a green haven in the center of the Paris. We follow in the steps of philosophers, revolutionaries, and entertainers who strolled the gardens and arcades of this exceptional site.

The garden arcades inspired the development of the 19th-century Passages—covered streets designed for easy shopping. We visit the elegant Passage Vivienne, the Passage de Panoramas, and the Passage Jouffroy.

We recommend pairing this tour with our tour of the Louvre museum

3 Hours

The Marais is one of the oldest and best-preserved neighborhoods of Paris. Our tour focuses on the historic gardens located behind the facades of the 17th and 18th century townhouses. We begin at the Place des Vosges, the first royal square of its kind in the city and later home to author Victor Hugo. We learn about the square as an example of Renaissance city planning and explore its importance for the building of town houses, such as the Hôtel de Sully, whose still extant garden includes an orangery. We continue to explore urban gardens along the Rue de Rosiers, the heart of the Jewish quarter, including the recently opened Jardin des Rosiers-Joseph-Migneret. We conclude at the National Archives located in the 18th century townhouse, the Hôtel Soubise, now surrounded by gardens designed during the First Empire.

We recommend pairing this tour with any one of our art museum tours in the Marais.

3 Hours

Beloved by residents and students on the Left Bank, the 25-acre garden is an early example of the French formal garden and includes an orangery and orchard. Queen Marie de Medici commissioned the garden on what was then a suburban site, introducing the latest innovations from Italy, including fountains and a grotto that can still be seen today. While will discover some of the 125 sculptures, many dedicated to the queens of France.

3 Hours

The Tuileries is the oldest public garden in Paris. Founded in 1564 by Queen Catherine de Medici, it became the model for the French formal garden style. Our tour begins at the Carrousel Gardens at the Louvre, strolling the length of the park and ending at the Champs d’Elysée. 

We discuss the career of André LeNôtre who was born and raised in this garden and renovated the site in the 17th century. We discover how contemporary landscape architects - Jaques Wirtz, Louis Benech and Pascal Cribier - renovated this historic site in the 1990s.

We recommend pairing this tour with either our Orangerie museum tour or our Hôtel de la Marine tour.

3 Hours

The Parc Monceau is one of the most stunning examples of the picturesque-style gardens that survived the French Revolution. Commissioned by Louis XVI’s cousin, the Duc de Chartres, the garden’s winding paths and wide lawns are interspersed with fake ruins and a miniature pyramid that served as an ice house. In the 19th century, Claude Monet painted here in what was one the first public parks redesigned during the Second Empire. Today’s strollers enjoy the many remarkable trees and sculptures dedicated to writers and musicians, including Chopin and Maupassant.

We recommend pairing this tour with either our Nissim de Camondo Museum tour or our Jaquemart André Museum tour.

3 Hours

Explore the fascinating history of French banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn as we tour his splendid gardens and former home, both recently restored and reopened to the public.

In 1895, Kahn bought an hôtel particulier in the nearby suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and over the next thirty years created his garden. Kahn planned a ‘jardin à scenes,’ four interconnected areas that would reveal great periods of garden history and reference his youth in Alsace.

3 Hours

This walking tour brings us to the intersection of landscape design and urban renewal. Starting at the Butte Chaumont, we explore one of the greatest examples of the picturesque in 19th-century Paris. The 62-acre, crescent-shaped park, a former site of medieval gallows and gypsum quarry, now boasts bridges, hidden grottos, and a stunning rock formation.

Next we move to La Villette, the result of an international competition by the City of Paris to develop a modern park on the site of the former meat-packing district. The Park is now home to the Cité de la Musique (Christian de Portzamparc), a temporary exhibition hall, and Jean Nouvel’s Paris Symphony Orchestra building.

3 Hours

There are approximately 450 gardens in Paris. We can curate tours to the following venues upon request:

Kitchen Gardens: The roof top permaculture gardens at the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville and Galeries Lafayette.

Botanical Gardens: Gardens of particular botanical interest include the Jardin des Plantes or the Serres d’Auteuil.

Modern Gardens: Promenade Plantée (precursor to the High Line in New York City); the Parc de Bercy, located at the former wine center of Paris; Gilles Clement’s Jardin en Movement, one of the first sustainable gardens at the Parc André Citroen.