A warm-weather oasis that offers the simplest of pleasures, the Luxembourg Gardens provide ample green space for sun-soaking and people-watching, plus there are plenty of activities to keep kids entertained. When the city bustle becomes too overwhelming, meander around the paths and formal gardens, or just relax with a picnic. Kids can float sailboats at the Grand Basin, ride ponies or take a spin on the merry-go-round, or catch a puppet show at the on-site Theatre des Marionettes. Adults might delight in the on-site Musee du Luxembourg, the first French museum that was opened to the public. Though with 106 sculptures to its name, including a replica of the Statue of Liberty, the Luxembourg Gardens could easily be considered an open-air museum itself. The Gardens also have sports courts, including basketball and baseball, but travelers say the best way to unwind here is to just kick back and admire the surrounding scenery. You'll find Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th arrondissement, just a short walk from both the Odéon and Notre-Dame des Champs metro stops. You can tour the garden for free but there is a fee to enter the Musee du Luxembourg. For more information, visit the Paris Visitors Bureau website.

On sunny days, Parisians head for the Luxembourg Garden, built by Marie de' Medici in 1611 and modeled after the Boboli Gardens in her native Florence. In addition to the magnificent Medici Fountain, there are more than 100 statues arranged around the garden’s 20 hectares, which encompass both formal French and English gardens. Here you’ll find chess players, puppeteers, children sailing tiny boats on the octagonal pool and sometimes a free concert in the gazebo. By Sara Tucker, AFAR Contributor

This was the first French garden to be influenced by the Italian Baroque. The gardens, and the palace, were begun in 1612. The Luxembourg has long been seen as a quintessential Parisian space and remains very popular. It was designed for anoter Medici princess, Marie de Medici, who became Queen of France. Like the Boboli garden where Marie had spent her youth, the Luxembourg plan has two axes at right angles. Jacques Boyceau superintended the layout. Today, as in the seventeenth century, it is a good place to savour the cosmopolitan atmosphere of a rich palace garden. It has changed over the centuries but, judging from Evelyn's description, the character of the garden is not so different. During a period of neglect, some of Watteau's romantic garden scenes were painted here. The Medici Fountain was moved from its original position and does not do justice to the famous name. There are some public park facilities, including tennis courts and children's play areas, and over a hundred sculptures, including statues of Stendhal, Chopin, Montesquieu, Phidias, Baudelaire, Delacroix and Blanche of Castile. The parterres on the fringe of the Luxembourg have been laid out in an informal 'Anglo-Chinois' manner. The Luxembourg Palace is now used by the French Senate.

Elegant, serene, and immaculate, the Luxembourg Garden is to Paris what the Central Park is to New York City, only a lot calmer and a lot more formal. It was once a hangout reserved for royalty andthe spot of the main romantic plot for Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserable. There is no place in Paris more peaceful and relaxing. Take in the statues of France’s prominent women, the Medici Fountain, or just the grassy lawns. Sail boats with your boys in the central water basin or daydream at the cafe while music is freely performed for you. There is a large fenced in playground for children, and a vintage carousel; take your children there. Take many, many pictures. Bring a book to read and find a permitted spot on the grass to sit down on, or a bench under a shady tree.Woo your beloved with a delicious picnic lunch among a row of blooming flowers. Come on in Stroll. Relax. Jardin Du Luxembourg tourist attraction added in Paris 4 Day Trip Itinerary

Everything that is charming, unique, and befuddling about Parisian parks can be found in the Luxembourg Gardens: cookie-cutter trees, ironed-and-pressed walkways, sculpted flower beds, and immaculate emerald lawns meant for admiring, not necessarily for lounging. The tree- and bench-lined paths are a marvelous reprieve from the bustle of the two neighborhoods it borders: the Quartier Latin and St-Germain-des-Prés. Beautifully austere during the winter months, the garden grows intoxicating as spring brings blooming beds of daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths, and the circular pool teems with wooden sailboats nudged along by children. The park's northern boundary is dominated by the Palais du Luxembourg, which houses the Sénat, one of two chambers that make up the Parliament. The original inspiration for the gardens came from Marie de Medici, nostalgic for the Boboli Gardens of her native Florence; she is commemorated by the Fontaine de Medicis.

The Jardin du Luxembourg is the largest public park located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The garden is largely devoted to a green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and centered on a large octagonal basin of water, with a central jet of water, in which children sail model boats. The garden is famed for its calm atmosphere. Surrounding the basin on the raised balustrade terraces are a series of statues of former French queens, saints, and copies after the Antique. In the southwest corner, there is an orchard of apple and pear trees and the théâtre des marionettes. The gardens include a large fenced-in playground for young children and their parents and a vintage carousel. In addition, free musical performances are presented in a gazebo on the grounds and there is a small cafe restaurant nearby, under the trees, with both indoor and outdoor seating from which many people enjoy the music over a glass of wine.