The Jardin du Luxembourg is a 224,500 m² (22.5 hectares) public park and the largest in the city, located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. Luxembourg is the garden of the French Senate, which is itself housed in the Luxembourg Palace.
These gardens include a large fenced-in playground that young children and their parents can go to. There is a puppet theatre and a merry-go-round. On occasion, pony rides are also available. In addition, free musical performances are presented in a gazebo on the grounds and there is an anonymous, inexpensive restaurant nearby, under the trees, with both indoor and outdoor seating from which many people enjoy the music over a glass of wine.
The garden is famed for its calm atmosphere. On the little pond children play with miniature boats. Surrounding the pond are a series of statues of former French queens.
The École nationale supérieure des Mines de Paris and the Odéon theatre stand next to the Luxembourg Garden.
Open hours depend on the month: opening between 7:30 and 8:15 am; closing between 4:45 and 9:45 pm.
The garden contains just over a hundred statues, monuments, and fountains, scattered throughout the grounds. Surrounding the central green space are about 20 standing figures of historical French queens and female saints, all on pedestals, including statues of Jeanne III of Navarre, Blanche of Castile, Anne of Austria, Louise of Savoy, and Anne of France.
Other sculptured work includes:
At the southern tip of the Jardin du Luxembourg, technically the Jardin Marco Polo, stands the 1874 "Fountain of the Observatory", also known as the "Fontaine des Quatre-du-Parties-World" or the "Carpeaux Fountain". It was installed as part of the development of the Avenue de l'Observatoire by Gabriel Davioud in 1867.
The bronze fountain represents the work of four sculptors: Louis Vuillemot carved the garlands and festoons around the pedestal, Pierre Legrain carved the armillary with interior globe and zodiac band; the animalier Emmanuel Fremiet designed the eight horses, marine turtles and spouting fish. Most importantly Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux sculpted the four nude women supporting the globe, representing Africa, America, Asia, and Europe.