France Paris The Palais du Luxembourg

The Palais du Luxembourg was built at the beginning of XVIIth century, for Marie de Médicis, who requests to Clément Métezeau the plan of a residence reminding Florentine palaces. Rubens decorated the big picture gallery.The Palais du Luxembourg in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, north of the Jardin du Luxembourg, is where the French Senate meets. The formal Luxembourg Garden (French: Jardin du Luxembourg) presents a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and provided with large basins of water where children sail model boats. In the southwest corner, there is an orchard of apple and pear trees and the théâtre des marionettes (puppet theatre).In the nineteenth century the palace was extensively remodeled, with a new garden façade by Alphonse de Gisors (1836-1841), and a cycle of paintings (1845-1847) by Eugène Delacroix that was added to the library.A real Parisian favorite, the Jardin du Luxembourg is a magnificent, harmonious 25-hectare green oasis on Paris' fashionable Left Bank. The formal gardens are populated with many statues (including one of Sainte-Gèneviève, patron saint of Paris), fountains and beautiful flowers.