Where To Catch A Rest in Paris

In good weather, the Experienced Traveler plans her day around the gracious green spaces of Paris. Only a society that cares about comfort would design durable tipped-back chairs. Most Paris gardens feature fountains and shade. What's not to like... Located across the Rue de Rivoli from the Louvre, The Palais Royal Gardens were the playground of the young Louis XIV and later, a scenic hangout for gamblers and prostitutes. (Metro: Palais Royal)

After an uplifting tour of the Old Masters at the Louvre, step outside into the Jardin des Tuileries. Once the private gardens of cheery Catherine de' Medici's Tuileries palace, they were opened to the public after the public burned the palace in a fit of French mayhem during the Paris Commune of 1871. (Metro Palais Royal, Tuileries or Concord)

If you're on the Left Bank near the Pantheon, Odeon or St. Germain, and you're saving your euros for Hermes, have a sandwich in the Luxembourg Gardens. Hemingway reportedly caught pigeons for his dinner in the Lux. If you're a fan of Bemelman's Madeline books, you'll recognize the "sailboat pond". Carry your chair to the edge of the pond and watch for little girls in straw hats. (Metro: Odeon, Cluny, St. Sulpice, Rennes or N.D. des Champs)

This brief account doesn't begin to touch on the small neighborhood gardens. When the Experienced Traveler finds them, she ducks inside for a shady rest and a look round. A little Garden etiquette; if it's busy at lunchtime, you may be asked to surrender your "feet chair" for someone elses derriere.

Have a favourite shady Parisian spot to share? Let us know!