Le Petit Trianon was the refuge from the court of Vesailles for Marie Antoinette. It was gifted to…read moreher by her husband, Louis XVI in 1774. We entered Le Petit Trianon and straight away followed the outdoor path to the Temple of Love. We contined on to the Queens Hamlet; a wonderful walkable and lovely stroll that takes you back to another time. There are rustic cottages that guests of the Queen stayed in upon her invitation. Herbs and vegetables grown in the gardens were used for meals. Ilthe property also included a dairy. There are waterways and unique and prized trees planted throughout. We spent more than half of the afternoon exploring this area, so we had run out of time to go inside Le Petit Trianon! Its only opened from 12pm-5:30pm, so it would be best to plan ahead according to what you want to see. There is so much to explore! We enjoyed this more than dealing with the crowds at Versailles. Take the little train one or both ways, ( stops at the grand canal, and Le Grand and Petit Trianon) which was 9 euros when we visited in Feb 2026. Be sure to find out beforehand when the last little train leaves, as we missed it. Its about a 30 minute walk back to the Palace from Le Petit Trianon.

The Chateaux de Trianon (there's a big one and a little one, both lovely) are absolutely worth…read moreseeing. You can rent a golf cart or hop on a mini-train, but if weather permits, the walk is not bad at all. Mom and I came here as part of our day trip to Versailles, and we both loved visiting these little chateaux. While they are both a good bit smaller than Versailles, each is quite grand (in every sense of the word). Mom and I especially enjoyed seeing the furnished rooms and beautiful views from the windows. Warning: the signage is not particularly extensive, so it's easy to get turned around. It's not the end of the world (the gardens are lovely as can be), but do plan for a bit of wandering. Enjoy the peace. Side note: definitely visit the Queen's Hamlet. It's super fun: imagine an interpretation of a small English village, complete with thatched roofs.

We went to the Jardin du Luxeumbourg on a scorching hot July day, and it was still a pleasure to…read morevisit, a beautiful park full of wonders, especially for the children. It reminded me of Rome's Villa Borghese and does in fact have Italian roots. The garden was built by a Medici, back in the 1600s. We were there for a little over an hour, my family, my brother's family, and my friend who lives in Paris. We'd agreed to meet up in the garden, and I figured out when we got there that we'd have to get more specific. We entered from opposite ends and converged at a spectacular central fountain, where dozens of children were racing toy boats using sticks that they thrust in the water. (My children wanted the sticks, and I declined to rent the boats just so they could thrash each other.) We walked around for a bit and ended up at the Ludo Jardin, a large contained playground with lovely equipment and an idyllic atmosphere. There was a small fee for entry, not ideal for a quick visit, but definitely worthwhile. Our three-year-old walked in and went straight for a sprinkler, where he spent the next half hour getting absolutely soaked. Our six-year-old did a little more exploring, though to be honest, I didn't pay close attention to what he was doing. After a while, both boys noticed ice cream for sale and asked for a treat. We indulged them and watched them slather themselves with chocolate ice cream and rainbow popsicle. When it was time to go, our three-year-old objected vigorously, insisting, "I didn't get to play!" He meant that he'd only splashed around in the sprinklers and had a popsicle, and hadn't explored the depths of the playground. I knew the feeling--I'd experienced it myself leaving the d'Orsay earlier that day, all those paintings and whole exhibit halls I'd missed. I do hope we get to come back to the Luxembourg Garden.

One of the reasons we chose the hotel for our April visit to Paris was the proximity to Le Jardin…read moredu Luxembourg -- the Luxembourg Garden. This is one of my favorite places in Paris. Besides the layout and beauty of the Garden itself, it is a wonderful way to experience the softer side of Paris. Despite April overcast and rainy weather, walking through the Park was uplifting as always. Tulips greeted us when we entered through the Gay-Lussac entrance. Once in the Park, we found more flowers and trees in bloom. Beyond Les Voiliers du Luxembourg -- an octagonal fountain for sail boats at the focal center if the Gaeden -- we walked through a canopy formed by rows of chestnut trees. It was great staying within a few blocks of Le Jardin du Luxembourg and visiting daily.

This is the way to live! Fresh air, plenty of exercise and an abundance of art. I'm a huge fan of…read moreclassical sculpture and this was a magical part of my trip to Paris. Most of the sculptures are either Biblical or Greco-Roman themed. There's seating around a giant fountain, a playground for little ones and a few places to buy food.

Cut and pasted from the internet: "The Jardin des Tuileries…read moretakes its name from the tile factories that once stood on the site where Queen Catherine de Médicis had the Tuileries Palace built in 1564, a palace that no longer exists today." Quality/Quantity - A good size park with limited to no shade. But beautifully manicured. Looks like they have many events here; none on our visit. Ambiance - See my few pictures and all the many other pictures on Yelp. 3 restaurants, a book shop, etc. Park hours: From 7am to 11pm in June, July, and August. From the last Sunday in September to the last Sunday in March: 7.30am to 7.30pm. From the last Sunday in March to the last Saturday in September: 7am to 9pm. Service - Self service. Price - Free. Owner Comment - Congrats on all your success.

I left Versailles thinking I'd seen enough of the palace for one lifetime, but that I'd love to…read morecome back and explore the gardens. We went on a hot day and did not have the will to spend much time outside. If I were to do the day over again, I wouldn't waste half an hour in the golf cart line, which was a) fully exposed and b) barely moved the whole time we were there. It would've been nice to have a golf cart, as the grounds are enormous, but I wish we'd just gone down and walked the shadier parts of the garden instead of sacrificing our energy to the punishing sun. The gardens were impressive and genuinely beautiful, palatial in scope and decked out with ornate fountains and manicured greenery. I was hoping to catch the musical fountain show, a popular feature of the gardens, but couldn't figure out when they were active. We did at least see the fountains turn on before we left, and that was pretty cool. We didn't get far into the gardens on the main palace side, as everything was so spread out, but I liked what I saw and wished we'd had a little more time to explore the labyrinthine hedges, which I only saw because they were near the bathroom. We took the rickety little train across the grounds instead, and the ride made me realize how big the place was, and how much of it we were missing. We got off at Petit Trianon and it took a while to walk to a place we could get cabs. Despite some heat exhaustion, this walk was quite pleasant, scenic and well shaded, through a path lined with old, tall trees. We saw a lot of families riding bicycles, and if I were to go back to Versailles, that's what I'd do, just rent bikes and roam around.

We booked a guided tour for visiting Versailles. The…read morecompany sent a van to pick us up ( 7 pp ), and the guide met up with us at the gate. He then led us in, cutting that looooong line of people who arrived by bus. We visited the Gardens first ( beautiful gardens, the old hunting areas...) then led us through the chateau. The crowd is unbelievable, but they made us move along, stopping at the rooms to hear the description. It's so amazing. Then back to the van, and we visited the Grand Trianon, then the Petit Trianon. Here they don't allow the private guides, so we visited on our own. The gardens here are beautiful with flowers and lilac trees and cherry blossoms trees. Then back in the van and back to Paris. The visit lasted about 5-6 hours and we got to see sooo much.

Coulée Verte René-Dumont, what Americans might refer to as "the Paris High Line", is the breath of…read morefresh air you might not even realize you're in need of. It's certainly not the first Paris spot I'd head to for sightseeing, but when you're a couple weeks into your travels the opportunity to get away from things often appeals. This old, elevated railway line provides exactly that experience. If you've been to NYC's High Line you've no doubt conjured an image of something similar here but you'd be wrong. This is similar only in that both are walking promenades above street level. The difference here? Coulée Verte René-Dumont is narrower and markedly less populated. It feels, in fact, like one of Paris' least crowded places. The route itself extends 3 miles in one direction and I explored about half of it. If you've made time to see what some call "Paris' most colorful street" (Rue Crémieux), google maps can easily direct you to the nearest stairway entrance from there. Head up and you might gasp at the serenity of being above it all. You can walk in only one direction from this entry point and the pathway features much greenery, some art, benches, and a view from above of the busy streets below. It's a wonderful getaway when you need to slow down a bit.

Quality/Quantity - Reuse is better than recycling. Good job converting the old railroad tracks to a…read morerelaxing walking and picnic area for locals. Compared to the ones we have in NY, USA; sorry, but no comparison... Ambiance - Approximately half a mile of a relaxing walking path. 50% shaded with trees, but most of the benches had NO shade. Still a nice field trip for my wife and I on our last day in Paris/our last day in France. Service - Self service. Price - Free. Owner Comment - Congrats on all your success.

This is such a cute little carrousel near the Eiffel Tower. There are a lot of carousels in Paris…read more This one's really nice. It's popular but not too busy. You feel like you're surrounded by tourists.

Le Carrousel de la Tour Eiffel just happened to catch my attention while walking in Paris. I asked…read moremy daughter to stop so I could get a photo. It's absolutely beautiful and a historic landmark. Because of this photo I like to photograph carousels now. I enjoy the carousels in Manhattan. I treasure this photo and I definitely would make it a point to return the next visit to Paris. In fact I'd like to photograph more of the carousels in Paris. There are around twenty carousels around Paris. Most from the 1900's when it's considered they reached their Golden Age.

Quality/Quantity - Small local beautiful park, where all the locals were here taking a break. 3 of…read morethe 4 fountains were working. A great place for a snack or lunch break. Ambiance - See pictures. Dog & family friendly. Service - Self service. Price - Free. Owner Comment - Congrats on all your success.

This park and surrounding buildings make feel like you have traveled back to the 17th century…read more Place des Vosges is one of the oldest gardens and public squares in Paris. Originally called Place Royale, it is located in the Marais. The large park and garden is surrounded by elegant buildings erected in 1605. They were once home to Catherine de Medici and Victor Hugo. Today the park is still beautiful and open to the public. It was a great spot to enjoy my pain au chocolate one morning. The buildings now house a couple of 5 star hotels. Wouldn't you wake up like royalty staying here ? There also several art galleries, restaurants and cafés along the ground level with gorgeous interiors and fabulous outdoor dining under the porticos. My favorite shopping spot is in the north west corner- Juliette Has A Gun. I packed a more affordable hotel a couple of blocks away, but passed through here daily. Grabbing breakfast or snacks as heading to other parts of Paris.

We did the monument tour, it was a fun way to go around town and see some sites while getting a…read morehistory lesson from our tour guide. We were here in the Spring of 2024, since we were 90 ish days out from the summer Olympics we didn't get to tour around the Effie Tower area due to the construction in that section. The tour time in total was around 3 hours with a lunch stop in between. Actual time moving was around 45 minutes. We covered around 4.5 miles, well under the 15 kilometers noted on the map at the meet up spot inside Le Peloton Café. Initially we wanted to do the hidden Paris tour the first day we got in town, but instead of booking on line we tried to just show up and see if we could join in person. When we showed up we found out that ride was cancelled since it didn't meet the minimum amount of reservation the day before. So if you're thinking about going in the tour go ahead and book it in advance.

I was staying in Paris for a few days, and a friend recommended Bike About Tours - in particular,…read morethe "Hidden Paris" tour. After meeting at the owner's cozy coffee shop, our fabulous guide Marley got us on some great bikes and took us around some beautiful parts of Paris with some unusual history. The day was gorgeous, the biking was very fun, the tour informative and lively, Marley an absolute joy, all-in-all probably the single best experience I had while I was there. Highly recommend!