PARIS ROYAL GARDENS TOUR – 8K

On this running tour, runners will venture through the impressive Jardin des Tuileries and past the world famous Musée du Louvre. The elegant and formal Jardin des Tuileries with ornamental ponds, dozens of statues, and chestnut trees, was laid out by André Le Nôtre, Louis XIV’s garden architect. The Louvre Museum is mostly known for housing the Mona Lisa but long before it was a museum of art, the spectacular Louvre was a Royal Palace, constantly growing in size under a succession of French Kings.

Crossing the two banks on the Île de la Cité runners are greeted by the breathtaking view of Notre-Dame Cathedral. This Gothic marvel is one of the enduring symbols of Paris and runners will have the chance to hear all about the cathedral and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

Next up as we enter the Latin Quarter, are the Panthéon, the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Palais du Luxembourg. The impressive ghostly Panthéon is a neo-classical church built by Louis XV as a shrine to Ste Geneviève, but soon changed to a mausoleum housing the remains of some of the most notable French citizens. Inside the Panthéon are the remains of Voltaire, Rousseau, Resistance leader Jean Moulin, Marie and Pierre Curie, Victor Hugo and Emile Zola. The sophisticated Jardin du Luxembourg, with its flowers and the deep shade of the romantic Fontaine de Médicis, is sheltered by the wonderful Palais du Luxembourg, now the seat of the French Senate, built by Marie de Médicis (widow of Henry IV) to remind her of her native Florence.

This 8 km tour is also the amazing opportunity to experience main Parisian sights such as the Obélisque, the Pont Neuf, the Hôtel de Ville, the Odéon Theatre, the musée d’Orsay and the Palais Bourbon.