kerouac

I know that one of the principal worries of visitors at this time of year is how long they will have to wait to see the "attractions" of the city since the lines can be endless, giving everybody all that much more time to be pickpocketed.

Well, some of you know that I go to the places that don't interest anybody, so I rarely have to wait in line. This morning I decided to visit the rose garden at Bagatelle because it seemed like absolutely the best time to do it -- in two days the rose garden is going to be closed for the day for the international rose competition, so it must be the prime moment to go, right? Well, that did not turn out to be the case, because the roses are so late this year. I really cannot imagine how they are going to judge the roses.

Nevertheless, I had a very nice time, and the 2 Japanese visitors and I had this huge garden all to ourselves. (Well, the gardeners were hard at work, too, but they did not bother me.)

If you get tired of the crowds in the center of the city, I heartily recommend a visit to this lovely place, even if the roses are not at their prime. On June 13th, entrance to the garden will even be free of charge due to the rose garden section being inaccessible (not that you would miss anything).

Of course, if you are coming in two or three weeks, it will be absolutely spectacular. Anyway, here is my report: http://tinyurl.com/qdofzn9

amwosu

Thanks!
Ann Marie

Nikki

I visited one time in March, when nothing was blooming but the peacocks. So in these pictures the gardens look positively lush.

Carlux

We went several years ago just before the competition and the roses were wonderful. Greatly enjoyed it. Our roses here in the Dordogne are in full bloom.

cigalechanta

The roses were in bloom one year when I was there, Lovely.
As I recall there was a charming café.

kerouac

Yes, the café is very popular when the weather is nice.

PalenQ

another superb photo collection of an off-the-path for many tourists site. Incroyable!

opaldog

Really wonderful photos! We'll be in Paris the first week of October. Do you know what would be growing at that point in the year? It looks like a nice park to visit for an off the beaten track stroll.

kerouac

There's always something still in bloom -- even some roses, since they bloom several times until it gets cold.

Christina

Nice flower shots. They have a well-known Chopin Festival in that park every summer in July, which I've attended a couple times. It's in that building you can see on some of those photos (l'orangerie).

This year it is from June 15th to July 14th. They have some good pianists in that program. It can make for a nice excursion to go out and see the park a bit before the candlelight concerts which are around 8:45 pm. I never have a car so have always used the bus from Porte Maillot. I think there was some issue with that late at night, maybe I had to leave a bit early, not sure. THis is the program
http://www.frederic-chopin.com/

TDudette

Cool, kerouac. I didn't read others' comments but could the "woody things" be cypress knee? Or knee of whatever tree is there--I've only heard of cypress.

Nlingenfel

Thanks, really enjoy all your posts.

gardendiva

Just beautiful. Thank you for sharing your day.

YankyGal

Well, despite the roses not being in full bloom, your photos were lovely. You took some great shots of worker bees!

Thanks for the report, k.

kerouac

I am happy whenever I see a lot of bees after all of those alarming reports.

welltraveledbrit

I was at a concert at Orangerie in the gardens a few weeks ago with friends and only one Chinese rose was in bloom! It's a lovely place and an easy walk from the metro, I enjoyed your report.