Discover the Best Parks in Paris
With exceptional museums, glamorous shops, and tantalizing restaurants, it’s easy to forget that one of the best ways to enjoy Paris is outdoors. The city is filled with historic parks, gardens, and green spaces where travelers can relax like a local.
From the manicured perfection of Jardin du Luxembourg—ever popular with locals and tourists alike—to the urban wonders of Promenade Plantée, Parisian parks will leave you in awe. This is where to find the best parks in Paris.
Jardin du Luxembourg
The city’s most popular park, the , offers a snapshot of Parisian life. Couples stroll through the chestnut groves. Children chase wooden sailing boats around the octagonal pond and laugh at the antics of engaging marionettes.
Old men play rapid-fire chess with cherished pieces at weathered tables. Students pore over books between lectures. Office workers snatch some sunshine, lounging in iconic sage-green metal chairs. Musicians strike up in the bandstand, joggers loop past stately statues, and friends meet to make plans for the future.
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
Buttes Chaumont is one of the city’s largest green spaces, featuring landscaped slopes that hide grottoes, waterfalls, a lake, and even an island topped with a temple to Sibylle. Once a gypsum quarry and rubbish dump, it was transformed by Baron Haussmann before the 1867 Exposition Universelle. The tracks of the abandoned 19th-century Petite Ceinture railway line, which once encircled Paris, run through the park.
This park is favored by locals, who come here to practice tai chi, enjoy a puppet show with kids, or simply relax with friends while savoring a bottle of wine during sunset.
Parc Monceau
Marked by a neoclassical rotunda at its main boulevard Courcelles entrance, beautiful Parc Monceau sprawls over 8.2 lush hectares. Laid out in 1778–79 in an English style with winding paths, ponds, and flower beds, the park features various distinctive elements including a bridge modeled after Venice’s Rialto and a Corinthian colonnade. There are play areas and a carousel for children.
While strolling through the park, look out for statues depicting composers Frédéric Chopin and Charles-François Gounod, as well as writer Guy de Maupassant. Notably, in 1797, André-Jacques Garnerin made history by landing the world’s first parachute jump from a hot-air balloon in this park.
Jardin des Tuileries
Filled with fountains, ponds, and sculptures, the formal 28-hectare Tuileries Garden, located just west of the Jardin du Carrousel, was laid out in its present form in 1664 by André Le Nôtre, the architect of the gardens at Versailles. Quickly, the Tuileries became the most fashionable spot in Paris for showcasing one’s finery, now part of the Banks of the Seine UNESCO World Heritage site.
This historic site extends westward towards the av des Champs-Élysées leading to the Arc de Triomphe, ultimately reaching the Grande Arche in the La Défense district. At the gardens’ far western end, visitors can explore two museums: the Musée de l’Orangerie and the Jeu de Paume.
Promenade Plantée
The disused 19th-century Vincennes railway viaduct was transformed in 1993 into the world’s first elevated park, filled with an aromatic array of cherry trees, maples, rose trellises, bamboo corridors, and lavender. Elevated three stories above ground, it provides a unique aerial view of the city. Along the first, northwestern section, above av Daumesnil, art-gallery workshops beneath the arches form the Viaduc des Arts. Staircases provide access, although lifts frequently malfunction.
Officially named Coulée Verte Renée-Dumont, this park offers stunning views and unique experiences. Continuing southeast, watch for the spectacular art deco-style police station at the start of rue de Rambouillet, which was built in 1991 and features a dozen identical telamones inspired by Michelangelo’s Dying Slave.
The viaduct later descends to street level at Jardin de Reuilly (1.5km); it’s possible to follow it all the way (4.5km) to the Bois de Vincennes. This latter section can also be navigated by bike or inline skates. Additionally, a 1.7km stretch of the former Petite Ceinture, a steam railway line, intersects the promenade just 200m north of square Charles Péguy.
Parc de la Villette
Covering 55 hectares, this extensive city park combines culture, playgrounds, and landscaped urban spaces at the intersection of the Ourcq and St-Denis canals. Its avant-garde layout features the colossal, mirror-like sphere of the Géoide cinema alongside bright-red cubical pavilions, known as folies. Among its themed gardens are the Jardin du Dragon (Dragon Garden) with a giant dragon tongue slide, Jardin des Dunes (Dunes Garden), and Jardin des Miroirs (Mirror Garden).
Events are held in the historic Grande Halle (formerly a slaughterhouse), Le Zénith, Cabaret Sauvage, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse, and the Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris complex.
Château de Versailles Gardens & Park
While on the outskirts of Paris, Versailles remains one of the most iconic green spaces near the French capital. The section of the vast gardens nearest the palace, laid out between 1661 and 1700 in the formal French style, is famous for its geometrically-aligned terraces, flower beds, tree-lined paths, ponds, and fountains. The 400-odd statues of marble, bronze, and lead were crafted by the era’s most talented sculptors. The English-style Jardins du Petit Trianon offer a more pastoral experience with meandering paths.
The gardens’ largest fountains include the 17th-century Bassin de Neptune, a dazzling array of 99 spouting gushers situated 300m north of the palace, whose straight side borders a small pond adorned with a winged dragon (Grille du Dragon). On the same days as the Grandes Eaux Musicales fountain displays, the Bassin de Neptune flows for ten minutes.
At the eastern end of the Grand Canal, the Bassin d’Apollon, constructed in 1688, features Apollo’s chariot, drawn by rearing horses, emerging from the center.
Jardin des Plantes
Founded in 1626 as a medicinal herb garden for Louis XIII, Paris’ 24-hectare botanic gardens are a wonderful escape from the urban concrete, visually defined by the double alley of plane trees that runs the park’s length. It’s an idyllic spot to stroll around, enjoy a picnic (watch out for the automatic sprinklers!), and relax amidst nature. Three museums from the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle and a small zoo, La Ménagerie, add to its appeal.
Additional attractions include peony and rose gardens, an alpine garden, and the gardens of the École de Botanique, frequently visited by students and passionate horticulturists. The stunning glass-and-metal Grandes Serres, consisting of four greenhouses, have been in operation since 1714; several of Henri Rousseau’s jungle paintings, sometimes displayed in the Muséum d’Orsay, were inspired by his visits here.
Bois de Boulogne
On the western edge of Paris, just beyond the 16e, the 845-hectare Bois de Boulogne showcases an informal layout inspired by London’s Hyde Park.
In the south, two horse-racing tracks reside, the Hippodrome de Longchamp for flat races and the Hippodrome d’Auteuil for steeplechases. The woods also host the Stade Roland Garros, the home of the French Open. However, it’s important to be cautious as the Bois de Boulogne, particularly along the allée de Longchamp, can attract individuals looking for illegal activity.
Bois de Vincennes
In the southeastern corner of Paris, Bois de Vincennes encompasses around 995 hectares. Originally royal hunting grounds, this woodland was annexed by the army following the Revolution and subsequently donated to the city in 1860 by Napoléon III. This oasis provides a great escape from the Parisian hustle, also featuring a genuine royal château, Château de Vincennes, complete with massive fortifications and a moat.
Moreover, Paris’ largest and most advanced zoo, the Parc Zoologique de Paris, is located here, along with the stunning Parc Floral de Paris, which features exciting playgrounds for older children. The park also boasts a serene lake where visitors can rent boats and picnic on the ample green lawns.
