Parc de Belleville
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The 22 best parks and gardens in Paris

Want to escape the humming central boulevards? Pack a picnic and head to one of these picturesque parks in Paris

Rémi Morvan
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The French capital is well known for being built-up, polluted and, in warm weather, ever so slightly stuffy. That means a bit of fresh air can be a very good thing here, especially when a heatwave strikes. You can’t get out of town super-fast (and the sea is hours away), but for a 105-square-kilometre city crammed inside a ring road, Paris has a disproportionate number of brilliant parks and gardens to kick back and relax in. 

Whether you’re after a riverside stroll, chilled picnic spots, outdoor yoga or aerobics classes, or somewhere that’s particularly rich in flora and fauna, there’s a green space for you on this list. The City of Light may well boast all manner of magical things to do, but these Paris parks must rank among the city’s most marvellous sights. Why not take a look and explore for yourself? Here are the best parks in Paris. 

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Rémi Morvan is a journalist at Time Out Paris. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Paris’s best parks

  • Attractions
  • Parks and gardens
  • Buttes-Chaumont

What’s it good for? Picnics, views over the 19th, aperitifs at buzzing park bar Rosa Bonheur.

Tell me more? More approachable than both the Tuileries and Jardin du Luxembourg, which can feel a little formal, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is worth making the trip for. "Trip? What do you mean trip?" Well, it's set high up in Belleville, so although that does mean a 30-minute walk from Gare du Nord, it also means you're unlikely to be elbowing tourists for space. Plus it's huge. Numerous pathways wind their way past the lakes, trees, waterfalls and rocky cliffs – yep, thanks to this man-made beauty on the site of a former quarry Paris has a few cliffs to its name. Climb up to Temple de la Sybille (you can't miss it) for extra special views.

Closest metro: Botzaris/Buttes Chaumont

2. Jardin du Palais-Royal

If the hustle and bustle of the Louvre and the arcades of the Palais-Royal are overwhelming, take a break in the garden. This two-hectare space boasts a central pond surrounded by four double rows of lime and chestnut trees, along with around 500 other trees and flower beds redesigned in the 1990s by American landscape architect Mark Rudkin. As for sculptures, you can’t miss the iconic and controversial Colonnes de Buren, and Adolphe Thabard’s Snake Charmer, Paul Lemoyne’s Shepherd and Goat, and Pol Bury’s fountain with spheres. It’s like a small outdoor exhibition. 

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  • Attractions
  • Public spaces
  • Le Marais

The garden at the National Archives? It’s a real hit. Planted at the start of the 18th century in the heart of the Marais, it wasn’t fully opened to the public until 2011, after a complete makeover by landscape gardener Louis Benech. And what a transformation: the majestic ‘Parisian quadrilateral’ covers 8,000 square metres, featuring French-style flowerbeds, patches of lawn to chill out on, and a whole lot of very nice plants. 

  • Attractions
  • Parks and gardens
  • Le Marais

Welcome to the VIP section. The Place des Vosges, a sculptural square 140 metres on each side, was one of the five royal squares before the Revolution. Adorned with its distinctive red houses, it hosts the most Parisian of Parisian gardens. Though the space isn’t the biggest (finding a spot on the grass is as competitive as real estate in the area), this park is seriously peaceful, with its fountains, flower beds, and symmetrical rows of trees. It’s the perfect park to relax in between visiting galleries or before grabbing a drink at the trendy Serpent à Plumes restaurant/bar/club.

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  • Attractions
  • Parks and gardens
  • 5e arrondissement

Ready for cute zoo animals, exotic smells, plants and trees of all stripes? Paris’s enchanting botanical garden contains more than 10,000 species and includes tropical greenhouses and rose, winter and Alpine gardens. Founded by Louis XIII’s doctor as the royal medicinal garden in 1626, it opened to the public in 1640. The formal garden is like something out of Alice in Wonderland. There’s also the Ménagerie (a small zoo) and a plaque on the old laboratory which declares that Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity here in 1896.

  • Attractions
  • Belleville

Every now and then, take a look at the horizon while relaxing on the tiered lawns of Parc de Belleville: there’s no doubt that Belleville Park offers one of the most spectacular views of Paris. It’s a panorama best enjoyed at sunset from the top of the belvedere (ah, those open-air events of the 2010s): the Pantheon, Notre Dame, Montparnasse, Concorde, and the Grand Palais. During the sunny days, the atmosphere is quite family-friendly, but as the day progresses, lively gatherings take over the grassy areas, carried by the carefree spirit that has always radiated from the Belleville hill.

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  • Attractions
  • 14e arrondissement

The most colourful of the capital's many parks, Montsouris was laid out for Baron Haussmann by Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand. It includes a series of sweeping, gently sloping lawns, an artificial lake and cascades. On the opening day in 1878 the lake inexplicably emptied, and the engineer responsible committed suicide.

8. Jardin de l’hôtel de Sens

On the banks of the Seine, in the heart of the historic Marais, the Forney Library is located in the Hôtel de Sens and houses an astounding collection of books specialising in fashion, decorative arts, crafts, and their techniques. While the building itself, reminiscent of Hogwarts, is worth a visit, its small garden is also impressive, featuring meticulously trimmed French-style boxwood hedges and reader-friendly benches. For history buffs, take a close look at the main entrance facade: you’ll find a cannonball embedded in the wall, fired during the Revolution of 1830.

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  • Attractions
  • Parks and gardens
  • 1er arrondissement

Ready to feel like a royal? Between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde, the alleyways of these gardens have been a chic promenade ever since they opened to the public in the 16th century. Landscape architect André Le Nôtre created this prototypical French park with terraces and a central vista running down the Grand Axe through circular and hexagonal ponds. The gardens are also dotted with beautiful statues – including copies of ancient works like Coysevox’s winged horses, and more modern ones like Dubuffet’s Le Bel Costumé.

  • Attractions
  • Parks and gardens
  • 8e arrondissement

Found in the 8th district, Parc Monceau is one of the most elegant and largest green spaces in the area, covering 8.25 hectares. Encircled by a lush barrier of greenery, the park is filled with a variety of architectural whimsies, thanks to its various extravagant owners. You’ll find a river, a naumachia, a pond surrounded by Corinthian columns, grottos, a greenhouse, a winter garden, and a rotunda similar to the one in Stalingrad. For a dose of art, visit the nearby Cernuschi Museum, renovated in 2021, which boasts an impressive collection of Asian art.

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