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Paris, France: The Ugly Side of Luxembourg Gardens
Paris, France: The Ugly Side of Luxembourg Gardens
After touring around the Tour Montparnasse and hunting for ghosts around the Catacombs of Paris, the seemingly practical thing to do is to take a short stroll around the illustrious Luxembourg Gardens (Jardin du Luxembourg), which is only less than a mile from these two places. Located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, the name Luxembourg comes from the Latin Mons Lucotitius, the name of the hill where the garden is located. It’s so popular, and so overpopulated with people and tourists, it’s hard to imagine how “ugly” the place can be. What I’ve found out is that, despite all its features, and famed corners with beautiful garden greeneries, there’s somewhat of a slightly ugly side to it that only happens during rainy times.
After touring around the Tour Montparnasse and hunting for ghosts around the Catacombs of Paris, the seemingly practical thing to do is to take a short stroll around the illustrious Luxembourg Gardens (Jardin du Luxembourg), which is only less than a mile from these two places. Located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, the name Luxembourg comes from the Latin Mons Lucotitius, the name of the hill where the garden is located. It’s so popular, and so overpopulated with people and tourists, it’s hard to imagine how “ugly” the place can be. What I’ve found out is that, despite all its features, and famed corners with beautiful garden greeneries, there’s somewhat of a slightly ugly side to it that only happens during rainy times.
I know it’s
hard to comprehend the idea of “ugly”, especially since the gardens, which
cover at least 25 hectares of land, and split into French and English gardens
here in the Luxembourg
Gardens are really amazing; but, I found it ugly,
because the time that I was there, it was damp, dirty, and leafless. I
know, it’s shallow and a bit too much to use “ugly” as a description, but the
filtered dream state of how I felt it should have looked is quite different
from how it is realistically. The imposing geometric forest, large pond, and a
greenhouse, not to mention, the gardens, were covered with gray afternoon rain
that I was left thwarted with anxiety and waiting.
No chance
to take photos of the apples, orchids, roses, and maybe the statues? I
didn’t miss seeing the monumental Medici fountain, the Orangerie and the
Pavillon Davioud, but I was not able to take a good look at it, and much more
take photos or videos, because the rain was so generous that week that
everything and everyone on plain sight looked drenched. I heard that on a sunny
day, there are many activities and facilities for everyone, even children, to
enjoy. There are cultural programmes, exhibitions, and festivals that are held
here, but sadly, the rainout was so intense, all that’s left to do was to stand
and wait and leave. Yes, in that order.
So, maybe I
am exaggerating a tad bit, because I was able to take photos, actually. Videos,
not so much. But in any case, if you are interested to see how it looks like
when it’s raining, here are they. It isn’t too ugly, or dull, or dim, but maybe
because the place is just being its Parisian way, very appealing (still). So,
let’s all enjoy it at the comfort of our dry laptops haha! :-)
Address: 75006
Paris, France
Construction started: 1612
Phone: +33 1 42 34 20 00
Did you know: The Luxembourg Gardens were created in 1612 by Queen Marie de Medici, inspired by the famous gardens in Florence.
Construction started: 1612
Phone: +33 1 42 34 20 00
Did you know: The Luxembourg Gardens were created in 1612 by Queen Marie de Medici, inspired by the famous gardens in Florence.
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