Jardin et Palais du Luxembourg
The Luxembourg Palace was built in 1615 by a Queen called Marie de Médicis, just as the Tuileries Palace was built in 1563 by Catherine de Médicis. The Medici were Italian bankers, the richest in the world, and whenever a King of France ran out of money he would marry a Medici. The Luxembourg garden is less formal than the Tuileries, though it has more fountains. There’s a puppet theatre here, though, and a truly splendid supervised playground where you can leave your toddlers in complete safety. The Senate, the Upper House of the French Parliament, sits in the Palace itself. To one side of the Palace is the Orangerie, used as an Art Gallery in the summer when the orange trees are out in the gardens; on the other side is the Fontaine de Médicis, a charming pool with marble sculpture. |