The Tuileries Garden is designed in the classic French style and is one of the oldest and most popular places in Paris. It is located in the city center between the Place de la Concorde, Rue de Rivoli, the Louvre and the Seine. The Tuileries Garden is often compared to an open-air theater, where sculptures, plants and various landscape elements play the role of scenery. The Tuileries Garden is a real oasis in the middle of the always noisy Paris. All roads lead to this park, so no matter what historical landmark you visit, you will definitely notice it.
Several centuries ago, the Tuileries Palace stood next to the garden, but it was demolished during the Paris Commune. Nowadays, the Tuileries Garden is one of the largest regular, one might say "French" gardens in Paris, which means strict geometry regarding the outlines of the alleys and tree planting sites. In the 17th century, this style of parks was widespread - people expressed their power over nature through architectural design.
In the 15th century, a section of the Tuileries Garden was located outside the walls of the Louvre and was a suburb of Paris. Clay was mined here for the production of tiles. The French word for tile is "tulle", and this is what the word "Tuileries" is associated with.
The first park on this site appeared in 1564 by the decision of Catherine de Medici, who wanted to have a new palace and a garden for walks around it. There is a suspicion that she planned to grow poisonous plants there to get rid of unwanted people.
In the 17th century, thanks to the efforts of the famous landscape architect André Le Nôtre, the park changed significantly, became accessible to the general public and soon gained popularity. In addition to the rides and cozy pavilions, visitors were surprised by the unusual luxury for those times - public toilets.
In 1871, the park suffered significantly: revolutionaries destroyed the Tuileries Palace and some of the buildings in the park. The new government did not favor the park - after all, Napoleon chose the Tuileries as his residence.
Its revival began only at the end of the 20 century, after the start of a large-scale restoration of the Louvre.
The Tuileries Garden became a source of inspiration for many artists. I will recall only one - Edouard Manet. His painting "Music in the Tuileries Garden" is famous:
The garden has not changed much since Le Nôtre's time. Parisians and visitors to the city love to come here to escape the hustle and bustle and relax. The meadows, flowerbeds and trees are always in perfect condition.
The five wide alleys of the garden are decorated with many sculptures and stone elements. I will show you some of them:
The Orangerie Museum is located in the western part of the Tuileries Garden. Initially, the orangery was intended to grow oranges, but in fact the building is used for exhibitions. The museum displays paintings by famous impressionists and post-impressionists.
In the northwest you will find the Galerie Jeu de Paume, a museum of modern art, although it once housed tennis courts.
Here is also the Arc de Triomphe, built by order of Emperor Napoleon I in honor of the victories of his army.
The park covers 25.5 hectares, is 920 meters long and 325 meters wide. There are over 3,000 plants in the garden, including 1,800 trees.
The exact address of the Tuileries Garden is: 111, rue de Rivoli, 75001, Tuileries Garden. Open every day from 7.00 am. Admission is free.
You can walk to the Tuileries Garden while visiting other Paris attractions such as the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysees.
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