Fodor's Expert Review Jardin des Tuileries
This quintessential French garden, with its verdant lawns, rows of manicured trees, and gravel paths, was designed by André Le Nôtre for Louis XIV. After the king moved his court to Versailles in 1682, the Tuileries became the place for stylish Parisians to stroll. (Ironically, the name derives from the decidedly unstylish factories that once occupied this area: they produced tuiles, or roof tiles, fired in kilns called tuileries.) Monet and Renoir captured the garden with paint and brush. It's no wonder the Impressionists loved it—the gray, austere light of Paris's famously overcast days make the green trees appear even greener.
The garden still serves as a setting for one of the city's loveliest walks. Laid out before you is a vista of must-see monuments, with the Louvre at one end and the Place de la Concorde at the other. The Eiffel Tower looms in the distance on the other side of the Seine, along with the Musée d'Orsay, accessible by a footbridge... READ MORE
This quintessential French garden, with its verdant lawns, rows of manicured trees, and gravel paths, was designed by André Le Nôtre for Louis XIV. After the king moved his court to Versailles in 1682, the Tuileries became the place for stylish Parisians to stroll. (Ironically, the name derives from the decidedly unstylish factories that once occupied this area: they produced tuiles, or roof tiles, fired in kilns called tuileries.) Monet and Renoir captured the garden with paint and brush. It's no wonder the Impressionists loved it—the gray, austere light of Paris's famously overcast days make the green trees appear even greener.
The garden still serves as a setting for one of the city's loveliest walks. Laid out before you is a vista of must-see monuments, with the Louvre at one end and the Place de la Concorde at the other. The Eiffel Tower looms in the distance on the other side of the Seine, along with the Musée d'Orsay, accessible by a footbridge in the center of the garden.
Begin exploring the garden at the Louvre end, with the Arc du Carrousel, a stone-and-marble arch commissioned by Napoléon to showcase the bronze horses he stole from St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. The horses were eventually returned and replaced here with a statue of a quadriga, a four-horse chariot. On the Place de la Concorde end, twin buildings bookend the garden. On the Seine side, the former royal greenhouse is now the exceptional Musée de l'Orangerie, home to the largest display of Monet's lovely Water Lilies series, as well as a sizable collection of early 20th-century paintings, including many Impressionist works. On the opposite end is the Jeu de Paume, which hosts some of the city's best photography exhibitions.
Note that the Tuileries is one of the best places in Paris to take kids if they're itching to run around. There's a carousel, trampolines, and, in summer, a funfair. If you're hungry, look for carts serving gelato from Amorino or sandwiches from the chain bakery Paul at the eastern end near the Louvre. Within the gated part of the gardens are four cafés with terraces. Pavillon des Tuileries near Place de la Concorde is a good place to stop for late-afternoon tea or an apéritif.
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