Jardin des Tuileries

A royal garden, four centuries old

Commissioned in 1564 by Catherine de' Medici beside her new Tuileries Palace, the garden takes its name from the tile kilns (tuileries) that once stood on the marshy ground by the Seine. A century later, in 1664, André Le Nôtre — the gardener of Versailles — redrew it as the grand jardin à la française you walk today: a central axis of gravel, clipped groves, round basins and long perspectives that line up with the Louvre at one end and, beyond the Concorde, the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe.

When the Tuileries Palace burned during the Commune in 1871 and was later demolished, the garden was opened fully to the public and became one of the first great public parks of Paris. Today it is a listed Jardin remarquable and part of the Louvre's UNESCO-listed banks of the Seine.

What to see

At the western end, flanking the Concorde, two galleries face each other: the Musée de l'Orangerie, which holds Monet's monumental Water Lilies, and the Jeu de Paume, devoted to photography and the moving image. Scattered through the allées are bronzes by Auguste Rodin and Aristide Maillol and, around the round basins, contemporary sculptures — an open-air museum you can cross for free.

The great round pond in front of the Louvre and the octagonal basin near the Concorde are ringed by the garden's famous green metal chairs, free to pull up to the water. In summer the Fête des Tuileries funfair sets up along the northern terrace, with a big wheel that lifts you over the rooftops of the 1st.

Good to know before you go

The garden is free and open every day, from around 7:00 AM in summer with later closing in June–August. It is largely step-free along the main allées, and gates open onto Rue de Rivoli, the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. Kiosks and a couple of café-terraces sit along the central path.