The Palais Royal Garden, established in 1633 for Cardinal Richelieu, is a peaceful jewel nestled in Paris’s 1st arrondissement. This approximately 2‑hectare French-style landscaped park is framed by prestigious arcades – Galerie de Valois, Montpensier, Beaujolais, and du Jardin – featuring luxury shops, art galleries, and historic cafés.

Today, the garden offers a tranquil retreat where Parisians stroll under rows of lime and chestnut trees, read beneath shaded canopies, or enjoy the gentle spray of the central fountain. Among its highlights are Daniel Buren’s black-and-white striped columns ("Les Deux Plateaux"), controversial at first in 1986 but now synonymous with the site. Pol Bury’s contemporary fountain adds a sparkling touch to the setting.

Under the arcades, the Grand Véfour, Paris’s oldest restaurant, evokes the era when the site was a hub of social life: cafés, theaters (like the Comédie‑Française), bookstores, and shops crowded the area from the 18th century on. Manicured pathways, floral beds, and marble statues (e.g. The Snake Charmer, The Shepherd and the Goat) showcase classical French elegance.

A small bronze time‑canon installed in 1786 would fire at noon to set the city’s clock, its base bearing the Latin inscription Horas non numero nisi serenas ("I count only the happy hours"). Though stolen, a replica occasionally fires for visitors.

Today, visitors range from tourists seeking aesthetic beauty, families joining treasure hunts via the Paris Region Adventures app, students on classic metal chairs, to workers taking lunch breaks. The atmosphere is serene and refined, sometimes enriched by temporary exhibits — such as Fabrice Hyber’s "Hommes de Bessines" sculptures in the fountain.

Practical info: access is free and open daily 8 am–10:30 pm in summer, until 8:30 pm in winter. The garden is wheelchair accessible and features benches, nearby restrooms, and limited Wi‑Fi, with multilingual staff.

Anecdote: In the Old Regime, Cardinal Mazarin held miniature hunts here, and Louis XIV rode horses within. During the Revolution, Camille Desmoulins delivered his rousing speech on July 12, 1789 — a prelude to the storming of the Bastille.

In short, the Palais Royal Garden is a must‑visit spot to reconnect with Paris — melding heritage, contemporary art, and refined greenery in harmonious repose.