AVTAR MOTA
Paris, France today has more than 421 municipal parks and gardens, covering more than three thousand hectares .Accordingly, it is difficult to choose the most beautiful garden in Paris. However, what sets the Luxembourg Gardens apart is their design, central location, the apiary inside, the orchards, the city’s largest puppet theatre, chess tables, tennis court, basketball court, pony rides, carousel, and even occasional concerts, the sculptures, the well-known Medici Fountain, tree-lined promenades, ponds, fountains, a profusion of flowers in every season, the children’s playground, the tiny sailboats and the royal palace within which lies the art museum. Established in 1750, the Musée du Luxembourg is an art museum housed in the beautiful Luxembourg Palace within the Luxembourg Gardens. It was the first French museum to open to the general public and it started with just 100 paintings out of which 24 were portraits of Medicis. The museum now hosts two exhibitions a year. Choice themes are the Renaissance in Europe, the relationship between art and power, as well as the role of Paris in arts. The spaces have been completely redesigned by architect Shigeru Ban to accommodate the Angelina restaurant and tea room as well as educational workshops. And entry to the gardens is free.
Nestled in the heart of Paris city on the left bank of the River Seine ( between the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain-des-Prés), Luxembourg Gardens or Jardin du Luxembourg is one of the most beautiful parks in Paris. Known for its beautiful gardens that are spread across nearly 60 acres, this park is a favourite among locals and tourists alike. It’s close to landmarks like the Montparnasse Tower, the Latin Quarter, Marie Curie’s former laboratory, the Catacombs, and the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre. Also within walking distance, one can visit Notre Dame Cathedral, the famous Pont Neuf bridge on River Seine, and also the Louvre Museum. Down one green alley of the Luxembourg Gardens, you can even catch a view of the Panthéon, the patriotic monument to France’s glory and burial crypt for French legends like Victor Hugo and Voltaire. The École nationale supérieure des Mines de Paris and the Odéon theatre stand next to the Luxembourg Garden.
The Gardens came about as a result of Henri IV’s assassination in 1610. His wife, Marie de Medicis, could not continue living in the Louvre ( presently the Louvre Museum ) with his memory. She had the Palais du Luxembourg and the surrounding gardens built to replicate her childhood home, Florence’s Palazzo Pitti. The Luxembourg Gardens were completed in 1625, but did not reach their present dimensions until 1790. Designed by Marie de Medici, work on the Luxembourg Garden was started in 1612 after the land was purchased from the Duke of Luxembourg who gave the garden its name. She expanded the Luxembourg Garden several years later, this time with the help of a landscape designer who’d worked on the Tuileries Gardens. It’s been updated and restored over the years, but the Italian influence remains with stone planters, terraces, parterres and more. Marie de Medici (1575-1642), daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, married Henry IV of France in 1600 and bore him many children, including Louis XIII (1601-43) and Henrietta Maria (1609-69), Charles I’s Queen. After Henry IV’s assassination in 1610, she ruled as regent to the young ( minor ) Louis XIII.
During and after the regency, Marie de Médicis played a major role in the development of Parisian artistic life by focusing on the construction and furnishing of the Luxembourg Palace. The Luxembourg Palace inside the garden is currently owned by the French Senate. Looking quite like a country chateau in the middle of the city, the Palais de Luxembourg fits its landscape. The massive building is symmetrical and regal and was built by Marie de Medici along with the gardens. Like the Boboli Gardens of Florence, Luxembourg Gardens also have a grotto, shaded walkways, symmetrical flower beds and plenty of man-made accents to complement the greenery. This artificial grotto is also called a nymphaeum since nymphs are known to be fond of grottos. The grotto known as Marie de’ Medici Fountain, is appropriately shaded by trees and presents a cool ambience in summer. A long basin of water bordered by flower-filled stone urns leads towards a wall-like sculpture of mythical and allegorical figures.
With 106 sculptures scattered throughout the gardens, strolling through it will feel like a visit to an expansive open-air museum. Some of these include a collection of statues of the Queens of France like Marie de Medici, Anne of France, Margaret of Provence, Duchess of Normandy, the monument to Delacroix, the bust of Beethoven, the bust of Baudelaire, Sainte Genevieve, George Sand, and many others. And then Paris has its version of the Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty looks right at home here in Paris on a pedestal surrounded by greenery. Classical statues from Roman and Greek mythology are everywhere. One can see Venus, the goddess Diana with a deer at her side, and Vulcan, the god of fire, holding his helmet and hammer. Add to this, there are nymphs, cherubs, satyrs, and one weird tangle of human forms showing Silenus, the foster father of the god of wine, naked and drunk, being helped onto his donkey. The Jardin du Luxembourg contains the city’s largest puppet theatre at the Théâtre des Marionnettes.
The gardens are split into French gardens and English gardens. Between the two, lies a geometric forest and a large pond. There is also an orchard with a variety of old and forgotten apples, an apiary to learn about beekeeping and greenhouses with a collection of breathtaking orchids and a rose garden. There are many activities and facilities for children such as puppets, rides and slides. Adults, whether they are Parisians or tourists, can play chess, tennis, and bridge or remote control boats. The cultural programmes in the gardens are characterized by free photography exhibitions on the garden railings and by concerts on the bandstand.
They are a few kiosks which serve food and drinks and seated restaurants in the gardens.The gardens are featured prominently in many literary works like Victor Hugo’s novel ‘Les Misérables’, Henry James ‘s novel ‘The Ambassadors’ and in William Faulkner’s novel ‘Sanctuary’ . The gardens also feature in some popular French TV serials . Further, some prominent artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Rousseau and Eliseu Visconti have also painted this beautiful garden. Luxembourg Gardens was named one of the 60 greatest places in the world .
Avtar Mota is a columnist and writer
