The Jardin de Luxembourg, super close to all of our hotels, is probably the most beautiful of all of Paris’ public gardens – it’s huge, with fountains and ponds, incredible colourful flower beds, over 100 statues, a restaurant, a puppet show theatre, playgrounds for kids (and adults), beehives, tennis courts, an orangery…

The problem is, how do you find everything? How do you find and get to the statue of a herd of deer listening to the approaching hunt that you may have seen on Instagram? Where’s the bust of Rimbaud? The bandstand? The place to play boules? The fontaine Medicis fountain?

The answer is What3Words, an extremely useful and free app for smartphones that we’ve already mentioned on the blog for its almost magical way of simplifying getting to where you want to go.

What3Words has divided the entire world into 3m x 3m squares. Each square has a name, or rather three words separated by a full stop. For example, lawful.relate.referral is the address for the homage to Delacroix in Paris (in the Jardin du Luxembourg!) You can type these three words into the app, or use the voice recognition and just say them, which is super handy, and the app understands speech really well.

Once you’ve defined where you want to get to, you decide how you’ll get there, for example by using your favourite GPS app. Just click ‘navigate’ and whose Waze, Google Maps, Citymapper or whatever app you prefer, and the related app will open and plan your it journey.

Google Maps and Citymapper let you choose between driving your car, taking public transport or walking, but What3Words also has a compass that will show you the direction to take and the number of metres to go, so that you can walk to your destination.

This is particularly useful if, for example, you are at once of the entrances to the Jardin du Luxembourg and you want to get to the mini Statue de la Liberté (beam.pursuit.sponge). It’s much better than checking a map – just say or type the three words into the app, choose the compass and you’ll be there in the blink of an eye!

So here’s our non-exhaustive selection of things to see in the Jardin du Luxembourg!

Let’s start at the entrance just next to the Senate – home.refuses.planet – because the gorgeous Medicis Fountain is nearby – showdown.visions.tripped.

Next we pass by a lovely statue of a Greek actor, with the Pantheon as a backdrop – flags.standing.captures.

A bandstand isn’t far – cars.cardinal.snapping – and it’s opposite a sweet little restaurant with a lovely terrace, called La Terrasse de Madame – offshore.quirky.traders. Go check out their delicious-looking Instagram page. #yum

If you go some step close by you’ll be able to admire the pond just behind the Senate – reacting.bluntly.having – and of course the gorgeous flowerbeds that surround it. The flowers are changed regularly, making it beautiful at any time of year (and also a sort of paradise for bees! More about them later).

For a great view west down an alley of huge trees, go here – pace.famed.crispy – and if you’re looking for the tennis courts, they’re just here – aquatic.protest.system.

Ahhh, here’s the statue of the deer we mentioned, at tallest.asleep.valid! It’s not far from the Monument to Ferdinand Fabre by Laurent Marqueste – neat.notes.singing – and the bust of Baudelaire by Pierre-Félix Fix-Masseau – weaned.destined.pets – which is actually a lot more recent than the others (it dates from 1936, whereas the others are from around 1880).

Did you know that there are beehives in the Jardin du Luxembourg? And that beekeeping lessons are available? The school was founded in 1856, the beehives are at outlast.simple.throats and there’s more info in French here.

If you want to play some traditional French boules, go to pure.credit.recital, but the kids will probably prefer going down the slide at denser.toward.avocado, seeing a puppet show at echo.yards.combines (Wednesdays, and weekends at 11am, 3pm et 4.15pm. Programme here) or testing out the old-school swings at chose.orchids.special.

If you want to marvel at one of our favourite buildings in all of Paris, the Institute of Art and Archeology associated with the Sorbonne is just next to the garden, here – composers.observes.passions.

Designed by Paul Bigot, it was built around 1925, and was listed as a protected historical monument in 1996. It’s almost like something from New York!

And to finish off, we head for the southernmost tip of the gardens – at victory.singers.inhales – to check out another wonder: the magnificent Fontaine de l’Observatoire, also called la Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde, which is 150 years old and still just as impressive! The view of the observatory also reminds us that here we are on the Paris meridian that lost the contest to be be the world’s 0° line (to Greenwich, of course)…

That’s just a short selection of the wonderful things that await you in the Jardin du Luxembourg, and thanks to What3Words you’ll be able to find them all with ease!

If you already have the smartphone app, open this link on your phone to see a list and map of all the places mentioned. Simple!

Also, you might like to know that all our blog articles about exhibitions or restaurants include the What3Words address so you can get to your destination without any problem. Try it out together with Citymapper to find the best way to get across town!

And enjoy exploring the Jardin du Luxembourg! 🙂