Jardins and Palais du Luxembourg : Tennis courts, pétanque pitches, a basketball hoop, pony rides and puppet shows add to the fun. At weekends in summer, the octagonal pond in front of the palace is surrounded by smartly dressed Parisian children bearing batons to guide the progress of their sailing boats.Fronting rue de Vaugirard, the Palais du luxembourg was designed by Salomon de Brosse in the early 17th century for Queen Mary de Medicis, the florentine wife of Henry IV. Today, the palace houses the French Senate.

Address : main entrance corner of bd St. Michel and rue de Medicis, 6th. Open daily, dawn-dusk.