Tuileries Garden

The ground was a clay pit with tile kilns, tuileries, until Catherine de Medici built a palace here in 1564; Andre Le Notre redesigned the garden in 1664, before his work at Versailles, imposing the central axis, terraces and geometry that survive. That axis continues west through the Concorde obelisk and the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond, forming the historic axis of Paris. The palace burned in the Commune of 1871 and was demolished, so the garden now runs straight into the Louvre. Two ponds hold the same movable chairs as the Luxembourg, and sculpture by Maillol, Giacometti and Rodin stands among the trees.

What you actually see

• Le Notre's axis - the central line running west toward the Arc de Triomphe.
• The round and octagonal ponds - basins with movable chairs around them.
• The sculpture - Maillol, Rodin and modern works among the plantings.
• The missing palace - open ground where the Tuileries palace stood until 1871.

When to go

April to October; a funfair runs along the northern side in summer. The garden is a through-route between the Louvre and Concorde and is busy at all hours in season.

Honest expectations

The gravel is dusty and hard walking. Shade is limited in the formal sections. The summer funfair changes the character of the northern half considerably.

Nearby

The Louvre lies east; the Orangerie is at the western corner.