The Jardin Des Tuileries
The Tuileries gardens are the most central in Paris and join the Louvre to the Place De La Concorde and the Champs Elysees.
They were originally the gardens of a royal palace (the Tuileries Palace), but that was destroyed in 1871 when the Communards set fire to it.
The gardens were designed by the same gardener that was responsible for the gardens at Versailles and, just like those in Versailles, they were created in an Italian style.
Location
The Tuilieries are located immediately to the west of the Carrousel du Louvre and, at their own west end is Concorde. The other two sides are flanked by the banks of the Seine (to the south) and the famous Rue de Rivoli at the north.
This central location means that it’s hard to do much sightseeing in Paris without coming across the gardens at some point.
What To See In The Jardin Des Tuileries
Given that you’re going to end up near the Tuileries gardens, is it worth taking the time to investigate them?
The answer is "yes" as the park has the best collection of outdoor art in the whole of Paris.
It has sculptures by Coustou, Rodin, Marly and Van Clerc. And, in the east end of the garden, there's the Aristide Maillol sculpture garden containing numerous statues of the female form.
As well as being a place to see art (and a scenic way to walk from the Louvre to the Champs Elysees) the Jardin Des Tuileries offer a nice setting in which to take a break from sightseeing and just relax for a while.
You can pull up one of the green metal chairs and join the Parisians in sitting around one of the garden's four ponds.
The Future Of The Gardens
In 2003, the fate of the jardin took a surprising turn when there was a proposal to rebuild the palace of the Tuileries. Although, four years later, nothing has been decided, there is significant public and political support for this project.
Part of the reason why is that Paris has a central axis that goes from the Louvre to the Grande Arche De La Defense (via Concorde and the Arc De Triomphe). However, this axis doesn't quite "work" beause the Musee du Louvre isn't quite aligned properly. By rebuilding the Palais des Tuileries, the aesthetics of this axis will be improved.
The Place De La Concorde
Finally, no tourist trip to the Jardin Des Tuileries would be complete without also taking in the famous Egyptian obelisk at Concorde which is one of the three famous Cleopatra's needles.