Tuileries Gardens (Jardin des Tuileries)
The Tuileries Gardens are bounded by the Louvre to the east, the Seine on the south, the Place de la Concorde to the west, and the Rue de Rivoli on the north. This wide courtyard expanse is a part of the historical axis or triumphal way that includes the Champs Élysées and provides an unbroken view to the Arc de Triomphe. The name is derived from the tile kilns or tuileries that were on the site chosen by Catherine de Médicis, widow of Henry II, for building the Palace of the Tuileries in 1564. A great deal of history is associated with the Gardens from the time of Louis XIV, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to the reconstruction of the Palace as a part of Napoleon III’s visionary plan and modernization of the city of Paris. Although the Louvre-Tuileries complex was completed during the Second Empire, it was destroyed by fire in the 1871 Paris Commune. Pieces of the ruins were sold as cheap souvenirs, and only a few medieval walls were left standing. The Tuileries today are peaceful gardens of classical beauty that form one of the largest parks in the heart of the city and provide a popular recreation area for visitors and residents of Paris.
The formal landscaping of parterres, or symmetrical rows of trees, flower beds, and gravel pathways, follows the original pattern laid out in 1664 by Andre Le Notre, the gardener for King Louis XIV and the designer of the Versailles park. In addition to two large fountains and smaller ponds, the grounds form an open-air museum, filled with traditional and modern sculpture by Marly, Van Cleve, Coustou, and Le Paultre. Some of the most impressive statues are the 18 bronze figures by Maillol, placed within a small section of the park, the Jardin du Carroussel, from 1964 – 1965. There are also a few cafes with outdoor terraces, typical of Parisian life, which provide tourists and city dwellers a place to socialize in spring and summer. Artists and art students come here to paint, writers to create, and people to meet. Kids can enjoy pony rides, a carousel, the small fair in July and August, feed the fish, or rent small sailboats to cross the large fountains.
The Musée du Jeu de Paume, located in the northwest corner of the Gardens, was constructed in 1861 by Napoleon III as a building to house a court for tennis, the game of paume or palm (French terminology often used for tennis). During WWII, it was referred to as a museum of looted art, since it housed more than 22,000 pieces of art confiscated from the Jews by the Nazis from 1940 to 1944. Artwork, antiques, jewelry, and furniture belonging to French Jews such as the Rothschild’s, the Kann’s, and Seligmann’s were kept in a warehouse, displayed in exhibitions, and sold or given to high-ranking Nazi officials. After 1986, much of the artwork had been transferred to the Musée d’Orsay, and the Jeu de Paume today displays contemporary art in rotating exhibitions. (Hours: Tuesday – 12 Noon to 9:30 p.m., Wednesday to Friday – Noon to 7 p.m., Saturday & Sunday – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
The smaller Musée de l’Orangerie in the Tuileries Gardens features Monet’s Les Nympheas, two rooms of six paintings given by the artist to the French Republic after WWI, as well as some Renoir, Cézanne, Magritte, and others. (Open daily except Tuesday – 9:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.) (Note: Admission charge to both museums).