The 10 Best Parks & Outdoors in Paris

One of Paris's most dramatic and beloved parks, featuring a rocky island temple, suspension bridges, a lake, and sweeping city views from the Temple de la Sibylle. Locals come to picnic on the steep grassy slopes, jog the hilly paths, and enjoy the Rosa Bonheur guinguette bar on weekends. It can get very crowded on sunny weekends, so weekday mornings are ideal for a quieter visit.

The most beloved park in Paris, gravel paths, the toy sailboat pond, the Medici Fountain, all wrapped around the Senate's palace. Free and quintessentially Parisian. A friend sends you to just sit and be. No real caveat beyond grabbing the free green chairs before locals do.

Paris's largest green space at nearly 1,000 hectares, encompassing lakes, a medieval château, a Buddhist temple, a velodrome, and the Parc Floral. Rent a rowboat on Lac Daumesnil, visit the Parc Zoologique de Paris, or simply lose yourself on forested trails far from the city buzz. It requires a bit of planning to navigate given its sheer size, and some areas feel remote enough to warrant going with company.

An elevated tree-lined walkway on a former railway viaduct, the leafy 1990s Paris predecessor to New York's High Line. Free, calm, and a lovely escape from the crowds. A friend sends you for a quiet stroll. Caveat: it's a walk, not a 'sight,' and pretty rather than spectacular.

A visionary postmodern park designed by Bernard Tschumi, punctuated by bright red follies and connecting the Cité des Sciences, the Philharmonie, and the Grande Halle. It hosts open-air cinema in summer, major music festivals, and has excellent children's play areas and themed gardens. The park is large and somewhat industrial in feel — it rewards exploration but doesn't have the natural beauty of Buttes-Chaumont nearby.

An elegant 19th-century English-style garden dotted with romantic follies including a Corinthian colonnade, a pyramid, and a Dutch windmill remnant. It's a refined neighborhood park beloved by well-heeled locals, nannies with children, and joggers doing laps around the oval lawn. The park closes at dusk and has limited entry gates, which keeps it pleasantly curated and calm.

Paris's oldest botanical garden, founded in 1626, featuring themed plant collections, a historic rose garden, a natural history museum complex, a small zoo, and a maze. It's a genuinely intellectual and beautiful space that rewards slow exploration, especially the alpine garden and the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution nearby. The zoo section and museum require paid entry, and the garden itself can feel a bit worn in places, but its historic character is irreplaceable.

A small, triangular garden at the very tip of the Île de la Cité, tucked beneath the Pont Neuf and offering some of the most romantic river views in all of Paris. Locals and savvy visitors come here to sit on the stone steps, watch the Seine flow by on both sides, and feel genuinely at the heart of the city. It's tiny and fills up quickly on warm evenings, so arrive early to claim a good spot.

A vast 846-hectare woodland on Paris's western edge with lakes, cycling paths, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Roland-Garros tennis complex, and the Jardin de Bagatelle rose garden. Rent a rowboat on Lac Inférieur, visit the Jardin d'Acclimatation amusement park with children, or cycle the extensive network of paths. Note that certain areas of the park have a well-known nighttime reputation and are best avoided after dark.

A grand formal French garden stretching between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, designed in the 17th century by André Le Nôtre. Rent a toy sailboat to float on the central pond, grab a chair by the fountains, or stroll the long allées lined with sculptures. It sits on one of the most tourist-heavy axes in Paris, so expect crowds and overpriced café chairs near the main paths.