Luxembourg Gardens As it was another beautiful Paris day we decided to go to the Luxenbourg Gardens which is a 2.4 kilometre walk from our apartment. In 1611, Marie de' Medici, the widow of Henry IV, and the regent for the King Louis XIII decided to build a palace in imitation of the Pitti Palace in her native Florence. (We visited Pitti Palace in 2011). She directed her gardeners to build a park in the style she had known as a child in Florence. Later monarchs largely neglected the garden. In 1865, during the reconstruction of Paris by Louis Napoleon, the garden under went many changes, as it has continued to experience to present day.
Today the Palace houses the French Senate but the gardens are open to all to enjoy.