Garden of Luxembourg

The Orangerie

 

As a memento to this lavish past, the Médicis fountain, attributed to Salomon de Brosse, was erected in 1861 along the rue de Médicis. Its pediment with Marie de Médicis' coat of arms supported by allegories of rivers and large bowls, contributes to making this a highly sought-after spot by tourists in the hot summer days. The Chartreux lands, seized under the Revolution were annexed to this garden which enabled Chalgrin to link it to the Observatoire by a green space.

 

From this viewpoint, the Observatoire fountain by Davioud, Carpeaux and Frémiet which depicts the four parts of the world, stands out as a result of its power and elegance.

 

In 1835, Gisors created an orangery not far from Petit Luxembourg which during the period between 1886 and the construction of the Musée national d'art moderne (National Museum of Modern Art) (1937) was used as an exhibition space by artists and made a major contribution to creating the reputation of the "pompiers" group of artists which included Bouguereau and Rochegrosse.

 

The Palais du Luxembourg started in 1615 for Marie de Médicis was enlarged around 1835 by A. de Gisors who constructed a new facade on the garden side.

 

The pond and the statues

 

 

The pond is surrounded by a formal garden whilst bordering the rue Guynemer and rue Auguste Comte, the landscaped garden evokes the horticultural anglomania which reined in France at the end of the Ancien Régime and the XIXth century.

The content of the floral displays is designed to take account of the successive flowering periods of the various species and is constantly renewed.

 

The large number of statues in the Jardin de Luxembourg make it an open air museum of XIXth sculpture. A gallery of queens and illustrious women around the pond, the Delacoix monument by Dalou in front of the Petit Luxembourg.

 

A favourite place for strolling since the XVIIIth century, the garden has succeeded in retaining its charm and is still extremely popular. People plays boules, chess and bridge.

There is also a beekeeping school with an aviary containing around twenty hives and a puppet theatre.

 

Address :

boulevard Saint-Michel
75014 - PARIS

Locate on the map :

Metro : Odéon
RER : Luxembourg