Seniors Relax in the Jardin du Luxembourg

The Jardin du Luxembourg was one of my favorite places to just unwind during my academic year as a student at the Sorbonne. Located close to the Sorbonne, on the ‘Boul’ Mich,  (Blvd St. Michel), I spent many hours sitting on benches in the Jardin du Luxembourg or just strolling in the park. The garden is famous for its calm atmosphere and it sure worked for me.  At the center of the park is an octagonal pond, known as the Grand Bassin where senior visitors can watch children sailing their small sail boats.

Popular Park with Lots of Statues

The Jardin du Luxembourg is the second largest park in Paris with 55 acres and is the garden of the French Senate, which is housed in the Luxembourg Palace, constructed Between 1615 and 1627.  Scattered throughout the garden are over a hundred statues, monuments, and fountains.

Senior visitors will enjoy some of the most beautiful flowers in the city as they stroll through the jardin. This video focuses on just “chilling out” in the garden.  Warning…you have to pay to sit in one of those chairs, however, the benches are free. There is a very famous marionette stage called Guignol in the garden where children flock to the scene. All Parisian kids know Guignol.
 

Seniors Discover the Quartier Latin

The garden is located in the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter) just across from the Pantheon. Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Marie Curie and Louis Braille and a host of other famous French are buried in vaults in the Pantheon.  Walking through the Latin Quarter, senior visitors will pass many famous stores dedicated to student supplies.  Stroll into one of them, like Gibert Joseph, and look around at all the  many books and articles used by the students who attend  the Sorbonne.

Highlights and Life of the Garden

I leave you with another neat video.  I can describe with many words but these scenes bring the garden to life.  Notice the trees, the flowers, the fountains, the chairs and benches, the people, the atmosphere.  It’s a magical place.

Les Tuileries Garden between the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre  is another “must” in Paris.  When you take your senior citizen trip to Paris, take in both parks, sit and just “people watch” with a cool drink in hand.  This can provide seniors with truly wonderful memories of Paris.

My travel “hero” is Rick Steves.  He was recently interviewed on TV and was asked the neatest place he had ever visited.  He replied without hesitation…Paris. I wholeheartedly agree.  Of course I’m a little biased.  I lived there for a year as a student with my family and have been back dozens of times.  You will love Paris as well.  jeb