Tuileries Garden

After you’ve stopped to enjoy a leisurely lunch at the perfect cafe La Terasse de Pomone (run by the adorable Bernagou Family), be sure to go and watch the colorful spectacle that is sailing in Jardin de Tuileries. Children and adults alike will be smiling as they watch the boats, captured by the wind, head towards the edges of the fountains, in hopes of being within reach of the wooden sticks of their captains. The Tuileries Gardens are a public area located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Dreamed up by Catherine de Medicis in 1564, it finally became a public park after the French Revolution in 1789. You are sure to be walking through the Tuileries on your way to or from the Louvre, Angelina’s Cafe, the Orangerie or the Musee d’Orsay. When you see the carts full of the multi-colored boats, make sure you rent one to fully appreciate the beauty of your location.

Not everyone has the chance to attend runway shows from some of the world’s most prestigious designers but that doesn’t mean you can’t live the Fashion Week experience while you’re in Paris. It’s easy to sneak a peek at the fashion crowd as they descend upon large-scale venues like the Grand Palais or the Jardin des Tuileries. All it takes is a bit of advanced research and good timing, Milling around Colette, the city’s premier high fashion and concept store, will likely get you a celeb sighting or two. Photo: Lindsey Tramuta

birdwatching in Paris at a beautiful November morning...

Paris in Autumn makes for a terrific visit. The weather may be brisk, but the tourists are few. Pack your boots, your coat, your umbrella and bien sur a lovely scarf. You’ll be all set to stroll the boulevards, shop on rue Saint Honore, or better yet, kick up some leaves at Les Tuileries Garden near the Louvre.

Paris is dramatic. It’s that fine combination of history and current times melding in the old but beautiful architecture to the stylish and beautiful people. I found this dynamic to be the greatest of pleasures especially in the Tuileries Garden near the Louvre. Here people watching was at its best among the carefully manicured lawns dotted with the artwork of history and modern daily life.

Paris has to be one of the greatest places to take a seat, sit back, relax, and enjoy. I know, in a city filled with incredible sites and things to do, you’d think sitting and doing nothing would not be at the top of the list. But I think you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you did not do exactly this...nothing...but in a great spot...with others doing nothing. The Tuileries Garden, between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde, presents itself as such a spot. The sheer idleness of so many simply enjoying time lounging on the grass with a loved one, reading on a bench next to a lovely sculpture, skimming a boat atop the fountain water, grabbing a drink from a vendor, strolling across pebbled walkways to another destination, all lend themselves to a memorable morning or afternoon in Paris.

One of my favorite walks is to duck into the Jardin des Tuileries at night. Hardly anyone around, just wonderful imagined stories set against the backdrop lights of Paris

During the summer months while camera-toting travelers are lining up and winding around the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the iconic glass pyramid of the Louvre, most Parisians are packing up and forming their own lines at the train stations, escaping the crowds and beginning their own long-awaited vacations. This should not deter you from planning a trip to Paris in the months of July or August as there are plenty of ways you too can escape the tourist frenzy and experience a city with so much more to offer than twinkling monuments. The Jardin des Tuileries situated directly between the Champs Elysee and the Mona Lisa, may be well-tread by travelers during the day, but its dusty tree-lined paths and flowing fountains are a perfect retreat in the evening hours for those looking to relax. The garden itself is beautiful, but with the addition of this immense, glowing ferris wheel, it turns magical. The Fete de Tuileries, a French carnival that runs from late June to mid August, adds a charming touch to an already exquisite park. Tucked away to one side, giggling children are steering their bumper-cars and chasing each other through fun-houses, while dare-devil teens are catapulting through the air on the more mature amusement offerings. Yet this can all be seen and barely heard from a green lounge chair in the gardens. Put your feet up and gaze at the lights, the ones the tourists seem to miss as they focus on the lines ahead of them. This is Paris in the summertime.

The Jardin des Tuileries is a popular park for kids, second only to Luxembourg Gardens. Why? A kids’ trampoline playground is located near the park’s southern edge. But what gets kids really excited are the wooden boats, more wildly known as toy schooners by the pond that sits near the Louvre. The wooden boats sail across the ponds with just the push of a stick and are not battery-operated. Sailing the boats on the ponds is a Parisian pastime like no other. The Luxembourg Gardens offers 56 acres of formal gardens, child-friendly lawns, playgrounds, a puppet theater, carousels, old-fashioned swings, ponies—kids can easily be distracted for hours here. For either park, be sure to pack a lunch while visiting the gardens then plan to hop over for an afternoon visit to the Louvre. FYI: Visit the Louvre on an admission-free day then you can spend the rest of day at the park. This way you can spend less than 20USD for a whole family day outing. Jardin des Tuileries Open | 7:30am - 7pm daily; April, May and Sept; till 9pm;summer, till 11pm

One of my favorite captured memories from France! Wandering around in the rain after leaving the Louvre, I came across this man renting colorful sailboats that you push around with a stick. Only a few people braved the rain to set sail a boat. It made this experience all the more fun because we were fighting together against rain and wind to keep our boats sailing across the pond. The boats were such a bright spot of color against the dreary rainy day!

Starting at the end of June, and coinciding with the famous summer sales, a carnival goes up in the Tuileries. This summer I wandered through the gardens and watched as they slowly put the ferris wheel in place. I love the incomplete view in this photo. If you’re there, definitely take a ride. You can see all of Paris, and it’s worth the classic shot with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

I love strolling through the Tuileries and seeing everyone from locals to tourists stop and enjoy the setting. It’s a perfect place to read a book, meet a lover, or enjoy a picnic.

The Tuileries Gardens were open to the public in 1667, giving birth to the art of flâner (strolling) the ambling version of sitting at a café for hours on end. After the Revolution Baron Haussmann razed the narrow streets of the capital and built wide boulevards that rebels couldn’t barricade and Parisians could stroll, encouraging healthy walks and local gossip. His Grandes Boulevards are not the only place for a leisurely walk; exploring the city’s large parks provides an intimate peek into French life while walking along the old Left Bank expressway that was converted into the Berges de la Seine in spring ’13 is a discovery for everyone. The best way to flâner is to head out the door, without a map or an itinerary and simply get lost.

The French know how to Garden ! This is a great escape in the middle of the city. Come to rest your weary feet, read a book, grab a cafe au lait and enjoy the spectacular view of the most beautiful city in the world !

I can never pass up a good carousel, even on a chilly November evening in Paris, France. The carousel in the Jardin des Tuileries is one of approximately thirty-five (some sources said twenty) permanent carousels in Paris. We could glimpse the lights of the giant ferris wheel at the Place de la Concorde in the distance as our horses rose and fell to the cadence of the organ music. Over the Christmas season, twenty additional carousels are set up throughout the city for all residents to enjoy. During that period, the carousels are free. We came across the carousel when we were walking toward the Christmas Market on the Avenue des Champs Elysees. The Market opens in mid-November and stretches down the broad avenue. The market itself, while festive and busy, was a bit of a disappointment. I was looking for French arts and craft. Almost everything was imported.

A man takes a walk through the beautiful Tuileries Gardens towards the Louvre. One thing I love to frequent in Paris are their parks. Despite the busyness of the city, the large gardens offer a nice break from it all.

Commissioned by Catherine de Medicis in 1559, this vast expanse of prime Paris real estate is, to put it simply, currently composed of grass, gravel, flower beds, fountains, meticulously trimmed trees, a kiddie park, various walk-up eateries, a carousel and statues of very serious looking people. The garden itself is named for the workshops (tuileries) that used to occupy the land. Fun fact: The primary purpose of these workshops was to make roof tiles for buildings. My favorite leisure activity while in the City of Lights is to linger within the Tuileries’ Jardin du Carrousel and maw on a big, crusty baguette, spread with a generous layer of stinky, unpasteurized French cheese. I adore the Jardin because it’s made up of a series of long, grassy “alleys,” which are separated by row after row of tall, manicured hedges that fan out like ripples from the front wings of the Louvre. Even though I have to share the Tuileries with approximately 1,425, 270 visitors on any given day, the Jardin du Carrousel feels like my own little secret hideaway. It’s surprisingly vacant, and the tall hedges shield me completely from the hustle and bustle of the main promenade, which is only feet away but feels nonexistent. I half expect Queen Catherine herself to come strolling through the bushes in her 16th century finery, and ask me to tea. A girl can dream, anyway.

One of the best things to do in Paris is absorb the local culture and practice “joie de vivre.” I love taking a book or coffee to a park like the Tuileries and spending an hour soaking up the city’s beautiful atmosphere.