The Paris Botanical Garden, known in French as the Jardin des Plantes, began its story in 1626. It was originally created as a royal medicinal garden by the doctor of King Louis XIII. Over the centuries, it has grown into a sprawling green space filled with more than 10,000 different plant species from around the world. Visitors can wander along tree-lined paths and discover a stunning variety of flowers, shrubs, and ancient trees throughout the gardens.
Within the garden grounds is La Ménagerie, a charming small zoo established in the late 18th century. This historic zoo is one of the oldest in the world and is home to rare animals such as red pandas, flamingos, and reptiles. It offers an opportunity for visitors of all ages to observe and learn about animals in a peaceful, leafy setting.
The Jardin des Plantes is also the location of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. This institution features the impressive Grande Galerie de l'Evolution, where thousands of animal specimens from around the globe are displayed in artful, lifelike arrangements. The museum also houses the Galerie de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie Comparée, filling its halls with fascinating skeletons of dinosaurs, prehistoric creatures, and various animals, inviting curiosity about the natural world and its evolution.
Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardin_des_plantes
The northwest corner of the Bois de Boulogne is occupied by the oldest operating amusement park in the world, the Jardin d'Acclimatation, which is mainly known for offering a wide range of amusements which are appropriate even for very small children. They have miniature roller-coasters for children as small as three years, and the usual range of pony rides etc.
If you were a city planner in one of the great cities of our Earth and you discovered that a railroad right-of-way had been abandoned and would never be used again what might you do? Perhaps if you knew your stuff you'd convert it into a 4 mile long park, about half of which is elevated above street level on the old rail viaduct. This long narrow park pretty much allows the visitor to walk in carfree bliss from Place de Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes.
Castel Béranger is an apartment building that was the first entirely art nouveau building in Paris, insulted at the time as "Castel Derangé". Its richly decorated facade won a city competition in 1898. It contains 36 apartments, all of which are still privately owned and not open to the public.
Tourists cross this park with the large fountain on the way to the Place du Trocadéro viewpoint to the Eiffel Tower.
The largest French museum of Jewish art and history
Since 2021 the 18th-century former Bourse de Commerce building has been the Paris home of the art collection of the French business magnate François Pinault, showing a rotating selection of contemporary artworks either newly commissioned or taken from his collection.
The ancient medieval fortress and prison of the city's island, site of some remarkable medieval royal architecture and the scene of Marie Antoinette's imprisonment in the period leading to her execution in 1793; lots of revolutionary associations.
Recently reconstructed, the Paris branch of the National Maritime Museum, one of the three museums in the Palais du Chaillot, cannot accommodate any full-size ships, but has a wide range of smaller artifacts, artworks and models, covering both the Navy and commercial shipping.
For a taste of the French countryside, a visit to Bercy Village brings to life the spirit of market shopping inside Paris.
Housed in a 15th-century abbey, alongside 1st century Gallo-Roman baths, the museum has an extensive collection of medieval art and artifacts. Highlights include the medieval "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries, a papal golden rose, and the original heads from the facade of Notre Dame.
The massive parish church of the Les Halles area is a notable example of late Gothic interspersed with Renaissance details (including the entire front façade), as it was only completed in the 17th century. Its unique form results from a combination of relatively short length and impressive height of over 30 metres inside. The latter allows room not only for an array of stained glass windows and paintings, but also France's largest church organ of 8,000 pipes. The sculpture Écoute, depicting an oversized human head, was placed in front of the church's southern facade and has become a favourite photo spot.
Contained within two historic houses (hotels), the museum explores the history of Paris through objects in over 140 separate rooms.
The oldest church in Paris, founded in the year 542 by King Childebert. The church as it exists today dates mainly from the 11th century, the period in which it became the center of a powerful Benedictine abbey. The Revolution witnessed the suppression of the abbey in 1794, when most of the monastic buildings were put to the torch. Earlier, 318 priests had been hacked to death nearby by a mob on 3 September 1792. The church underwent significant restoration in the 19th century, ensuring the preservation of the building, which by that date represented a fascinating mix of styles: 6th century marble columns placed alongside Gothic vaults and supported by Romanesque arches. Famous burials within the church include René Descartes (philosopher), Nicolas Boileau (poet) and King John Casimir of Poland, who had become (in 1669, before his death) abbot of the church's monastery.
The foundation opened its doors in May 2003. It preserves Henri Cartier-Bresson and Martine Franck’s archives. Exhibition of photographs, paintings, sculptings, and illustrations.