Paris - Luxembourg Palace - 6me

Plate XLVII - The Luxembourg Palace and Gardens...

I arrived here in the late afternoon unaware that the day was going to be a full hour longer than the one before – it was the end of daylight savings, something the September visitor to Paris needs to be aware of. My enduring memory of the day however is how delicious an al-fresco strawberry filled brioche, bought at a nearby patisserie, tasted in gardens of the palace, close to the Medici Fountain. I always find the open air enhances the enjoyment of food, and the air in these gardens proved no exception.

The palace is today the seat of the French senate, and welcomes visitors. The gardens are a popular place for families to spend a day outdoors in the city. Beautifully landscaped, with a twenty five hectare garden of parterres of lawn and gravel, there is also a large pond, popular for sailing miniature yachts and sail boats, an activity that has been seen here for centuries.

Built for Marie de Medicis, mother of Louis XIII the palace is named for the original hôtel on the site formerly owned by the duc de Piney-Luxembourg. Of Italian origin, Marie de Medicis had the palace modelled by her architect Salomon de Brosse after the Pitti Palace in Florence. Little of its original interior and decoration remains today - the series of twenty-four commissioned canvasses by Peter Paul Rubens, known as his Medici Cycle may be seen in the Louvre Museum. Do not miss them as I almost did.

The palace was a museum in 1750 (a forerunner of the Louvre) and was then briefly used as a prison during the Revolution, prison space being at a premium. During the German occupation of Paris in World War Two, Hermann Goering installed himself here exposing the site to potential danger, but at the war’s close, thanks to von Choltitz’ decision to surrender, the palace was safe.

A second smaller palace known as the Petit-Luxembourg is also in these beautiful grounds.