Luxembourg Garden

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that the Jardin du Luxembourg is one of my favorite spots in Paris. I fell in love with this garden when I was a college student. Back then, I rented a room at the Foyer International des Etudiantes on Boulevard Saint-Michel, on the east side of the garden. I studied at the Alliance Française on Boulevard Raspail, on the west side of the garden. Every morning and every afternoon, I walked through the Jardin du Luxembourg on my way to and from class. It was the most wonderful “communte” anyone could imagine.

There seems to be something for everyone at the Jardin du Luxembourg. I tried to capture some of the sights in this post. Enjoy!

At the northeast corner of the garden sits a music pavilion where free concerts take place nearly every day – a schedule is posted at the pavilion. Nearby, a food kiosk provides beverages and light fare in an enchanted shady setting.

Planting beds overflow with colorful and fragrant varieties of blue and white flowers, which is the color scheme of the garden this year. Everyone who knows me, knows that I love blue and white.

If George Seurat were painting today, I imagine he would capture this beautiful woman in her chapeau.

Not sure where to go? Sign posts strategically placed throughout the garden will point you in the right direction.

Children select sail boats to play in the water. It’s fun to watch them amuse themselves by running around the pond, pushing their boats into a light breeze.

All of them seem to honor the unspoken rule of pushing only their own boat. Every once in a while, a child accidently interferes with another child’s boat. When this happens, the error is quickly corrected by another child.

Even the most petit Parisians partake in this fun activity. The little boy in the photo above didn’t quite comprehend that he could fall into the water. Under the watchful eye of his father, he made his best effort to set his boat to sail.

An artist captures a view of the Pantheon on her canvas. Her friends admire her work and visit with one another while she paints.

Men spend the afternoon engrossed in competitive, yet friendly games of chess.