The gardens of Paris in October: the best season to sit down
The leaves turn copper, the paths empty out and the green chairs stay outside. October is the month when Paris gardens are at their best.
People associate Paris gardens with spring, and that is a mistake. In April they are lovely but overrun; in October they are lovelier still, and you can find a free chair at any hour. The chestnut and plane trees turn copper, the light is low and golden from mid-afternoon, and the gravel paths crunch under the leaves.
The Jardin du Luxembourg remains the most Parisian of them all. People come for the green chairs everyone moves around at will, for the Medici fountain in the shade of the plane trees, and for the orchard on the rue d’Assas side, where old varieties of apples and pears are labelled one by one. On an October Saturday, it is the place to watch Paris live while doing nothing at all.
The Tuileries have a different charm: that of perspective. From the octagonal pond, the line of clipped trees runs towards the Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe, and the autumn colours draw the city like an engraving. It is also the most practical garden if you are staying near the Louvre: you cross it to go everywhere.
For a less expected Paris, head up to the Buttes-Chaumont in the north-east. The park was designed as a mountain landscape, with cliffs, a waterfall and a small temple perched above a lake. Its sloping lawns are among the few in Paris where you may lie down, and the view of Montmartre at sunset is worth the climb.
Parc Monceau, finally, is the garden for short walks. Its gilded gates, its colonnade by the water and its mock ruins make it a stage set, ten minutes on foot from the grands boulevards. You can cross it in twenty minutes, and that is often enough.
Two practical tips. Garden opening hours follow the sun: they close earlier as the days get shorter, and the clocks going back on the last Sunday of October brings closing time forward again. The keepers blow a whistle a quarter of an hour before. And bring an extra layer: in the shade of the big trees it is always two or three degrees cooler than in the street.
In every apartment we note the nearest garden and the walking route to it. It is often the best way to start a day: a takeaway coffee, a green chair, and twenty minutes watching the city wake up.
A question about this during your stay? We answer before you arrive.
Book
