Can anyone recommend a park or garden in Paris that you would never miss on a visit? I really enjoy Luxembourg Gardens, Parc Floral in Bois de Vincennes, Jardin des Plantes and The Tuileries and would like to add to the list when I return to Paris in September.

Also other than Parc Floral in Bois de Vincennes, at which I saw a Red Squirrel, I have not seen any squirrels in the parks in Central Paris…is there a reason for that?

Squirrels are just not as common in Paris. I think the flying rats might drive them off.

Bagatelle is not to be missed during rose season, generally in June (although it was early last year due to a brief heat wave in the spring). You might get the second bloom of the season in September, less spectacular of course.

Parc Monceau and Parc St-Cloud.

kerouac - I was thinking the Bagatelle too, but of course you got there before me.

Not a park but I really enjoy the gardens at the Rodin museum.

I make it a point to spend part of my first day in Paris at the Luxembourg Gardens. Besides the beauty and tranquility, it is good to be in the sun and outdoors on your first day.

Helps the body adjust to the time zone differences.

I make it a point to spend part of my first day in Paris at the Luxembourg Gardens. Besides the beauty and tranquility, it is good to be in the sun and outdoors on your first day.>>

Rastaguy, it was heaving with people when we wandered in there last week. not just families and couples but also lots of fitness fanatics going though their routines, and some cops with their uzies. NOT very restful, IMHO.

that was about 5pm - early morning might be better.

An absolute must in the spring is Parc de Sceaux to the south of Paris, easily accessible by train. There is a Japanese cherry tree grove which is an unforgettable mass of pink blossoms. You might like to see my photos on http://www.aussieinfrance.com/2012/03/spring-in-paris/. The rose garden at Hay-les-Roses is also worth a visit in May and June. But in September, with the leaves changing colour, you might like to go to Rambouillet forest to the west of Paris or château de Chantilly.

The "best park" might also depend on how hot or cold summer has been in terms of vegetation and flowers. If summer has been cold in Paris (as have been Paris summers for the last 4 or 5 years), the flowers will still be great. If we get a hot summer for once, things will be drier and yellower. In terms of "late season," the Parc de Belleville is one of the best looking parks, but the Buttes Chaumont also has a lot of charm.

You might want to get the book <u>Parcs et Jardins de Paris ... à pied</u> which offers 20 walks in Paris going from garden to parks in all sections of Paris.

I thought the Square de Batignolles (17th arr) was very pretty, nicely landscaped, being enjoyed by French families and lots of birdies...
http://www.lebestofparis.com/for-kid...es-batignolles
http://dailyphotoparis.blogspot.com/...tignolles.html

I too love the garden at Sceaux but my all-time favorite to date is the Potager du Roi in Versailles, near the palace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potager_du_roi
http://www.potager-du-roi.fr/ensp/de...ager/index.htm

Not a big garden, but the courtyard garden at the Musee Carnavalet if beautiful and a very lovely spot to relax on a bench.

oops. Should be is, not if. Anyway, it's in the Marais and a lovely spot to take a break -- whether you go into the museum or not. The museum's great too.

i LOVE ALL of the Bois de Boulogne that includes
the Jardin D' Acclimation,the Bagatelle,The fabulous expensive Pre Catalan, The Grand Cascade (roumered that it's where Frenchmen meet their mistresses (not that I could tell and the little lake that a b oat takes you across to
the Chalet des Isles, a lovely restaurant but I was there years ago when it was very simple and inexpensive.

Thanks everyone,I have been searching the web for information and images on these parks and I have not found one bad suggestion.

In addition to most of those above, we love the Parc Andre Citroen and the Parc Montsouris, both away from the usual tourist sites. And the Palais Royale and Place des Vosges, which are not.

There is a wonderful Eric Rohmer film (part of a trilogy but I'm not at home to give you the title) in which a young woman strings along her suitor by meeting him in a different park each week. We haven't replicated their tour of the parks, but it is getting within our reach. It includes Parc de la Villete, where is probably next on our list and Buttes Chaumont.