Jardin du Luxembourg

The Luxembourg is the largest public park in Paris, and is a parterre or 'formal' garden, meaning that it has very particularly trimmed trees and hedges, and a formal design. The palace itself was built during the reign of Louis XIII for his mother, Marie de Médicis. It has a combination of gravel and grass, with lots of chairs for people to sit around and sunbathe oread or do whatever.
In Paris, there isn't much "personal space", because everything is so small and efficient, and so the public space is very important. Instead of spending leisure time in their own nonexistent backyard, Parisians frequent parks and public areas such as the Luxembourg.




There were plenty of things to occupy children - tennis courts, carousels, pony rides, puppet shows, etc. - while their parents lounged in the sun.

Some teenagers playing.. ball.. (I guess?) outside of the garden's gates.



What up, Grandpa Joe?





GIANT HEAD STATUE!



...it was really huge. It accounted for a large portion of the actual shaded area.

Carousels are key to any good public space.







...as are old men reading newspapers.










There are these really great pools of standing water where one can push miniature sailboats around with long poles. It sounds lame, but it probably would have entertained me, too, as a kid.



petit obélisk








Le Figaro: 30 ANS D'ÉMOTION. Displayed outside of the Luxembourg walls as an invitation to passers-by to regard the world through 30 years of the 'Le Figaro' lens, many of them cover images.
In Paris (and France in general, I believe), there are lots of public art exhibitions. Lots of galleries put photos up outside on material that can survive the weather. Some people just wheat paste them onto walls. More on that later.