Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CostandHours:
€5,freeonfirstSunofthemonth,coveredbyMuseumPass,Wed-Mon
9:30-17:00, closed Tue, last entry 30 minutes before closing, 6 Rue de Furstenberg, Mo: St.
Germaindes-Prés, tel. 01 44 41 86 50,
www.musee-delacroix.fr
.
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Luxembourg Garden (Jardin du Luxembourg)
Paris' most beautiful, interesting, and enjoyable garden/park/recreational area, le Jardin du
Luxembourg, is a great place to watch Parisians at rest and play. This 60-acre garden, dot-
ted with fountains and statues, is the property of the French Senate, which meets here in the
Luxembourg Palace.
Luxembourg Garden has special rules governing its use (for example, where cards can
be played, where dogs can be walked, where joggers can run, and when and where music
can be played). The brilliant flower beds are changed three times a year, and the boxed trees
are brought out of the
orangerie
in May. Children enjoy the rentable toy sailboats. The park
hosts marionette shows several times weekly (Les Guignols, Wed 15:30, Sat-Sun 11:00 and
15:30). Pony rides are available from April through October. (Meanwhile, the French CIA
plots espionage in their underground offices beneath the park.)
Challenge the card and chess players to a game (near the tennis courts), or find a free
chair near the main pond and take a well-deserved break.
Cost and Hours:
Free, daily dawn until dusk, Mo: Odéon, RER: Luxembourg.
Nearby:
ThegrandNeoclassical-domedPanthéon,nowamausoleumhousingthetombs
of great French notables, is three blocks away (see below).
Other Parks:
If you enjoy Luxembourg Garden and want to see more green spaces, you
couldvisitthemoreelegant
ParcMonceau
(Mo:Monceau),thecolorful
JardindesPlantes
(Mo: Jussieu orGare d'Austerlitz, RER: Gare d'Austerlitz), orthe hilly and bigger
Parc des
Buttes-Chaumont
(Mo: Buttes-Chaumont).
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Panthéon
This state-capitol-style Neoclassical monument celebrates France's illustrious history and
people, balances Foucault's pendulum, and is the final home of many French VIPs.
Cost and Hours:
€8.50, under 18 free, covered by Museum Pass, daily 10:00-18:30 in
summer, until 18:00 in winter, last entry 45 minutes before closing, Mo: Cardinal Lemoine.
Ask about occasional English tours or call ahead for schedule; tel. 01 44 32 18 00,
Visiting the Panthéon:
Inside the vast building (360' by 280' by 270') are monuments
tracing the celebrated struggles of the French people: a beheaded St. Denis (painting on left
wall of nave), St. Geneviève saving the fledgling city from Attila the Hun, and scenes of
Joan of Arc (left transept).
