Palais du Luxembourg

St-Germain & Les Invalides


At the northern end of the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Palais du Luxembourg was built in the 1620s for Marie de Médici, Henri IV’s consort, to assuage her longing for the Pitti Palace in Florence. Since 1958, the palace has been home to the Sénat (French Senate).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby St-Germain & Les Invalides attractions

1. Fontaine des Médicis

0.09 MILES

East of the Palais du Luxembourg within the Jardin du Luxembourg is the ornate, Italianate Fontaine des Médicis, built in 1630. During Baron Haussmann’s…

2. Jardin du Luxembourg

0.11 MILES

This famous inner-city oasis of formal terraces, chestnut groves and lush lawns has a special place in Parisians' hearts. 

3. Grand Bassin

0.16 MILES

All ages love the octagonal Grand Bassin, an elegant ornamental pond where proud parents watch their children tear with sticks after 1920s toy sailboats…

4. Orangery

0.16 MILES

Behind the Musée du Luxembourg, within the Jardin du Luxembourg, in the palace’s vintage orangerie (orangery), an elegant building filled with aromatic…

5. Musée du Luxembourg

0.18 MILES

This elegant museum plays host to prestigious temporary art exhibitions. Admission prices vary; it's free for under-16s. Online bookings cost €1.50 extra…

6. Le Bateau Ivre

0.19 MILES

Arthur Rimbaud's 1871 poem Le Bateau Ivre (The Drunken Boat), depicting a fantastical and frightening sea voyage of a sinking boat from the first-person…

7. Église St-Sulpice

0.21 MILES

In 1646 work started on the twin-towered Church of St Sulpicius, lined inside with 21 side chapels, and it took six architects 150 years to finish. It's…

8. Georges Danton Statue

0.23 MILES

On Carrefour de l’Odéon, a statue of Georges Danton, a leader of the Revolution and later one of its guillotined victims, stands head intact.