Quiet Corners of the 6th: Courtyards and Painters' Gardens, a Self-Guided Paris Walk
2h. 1.9 miles. From Place de Furstenberg to Jardin botanique de la faculte de pharmacie.
Saint-Germain gets crowded, but calm hides one door away. This walk strings together the 6th's secret side: a painter's garden, an ivy courtyard in the fine arts school, medieval passages, and a botanical garden almost nobody knows.
The local move
Parisians treat these courtyards as shortcuts and reading rooms. Bring a book or a coffee, pick a bench, and stay twenty minutes; the point of this walk is to stop, not to finish it.
Best time to go
Weekday mornings; the school courtyard and the pharmacy garden only open on weekdays.
When to avoid it
Weekends if you want the full route: two of the stops close, and Luxembourg fills by noon.
The stops
Musee Eugene-Delacroix
The painter's last home on the hidden place de Furstenberg, with his studio and a private garden he loved.
Tip: Closed Tuesdays. The garden alone justifies the small ticket; it is one of the quietest spots on the Left Bank.
Cour du Murier, Ecole des Beaux-Arts
An ivy-clad courtyard with a mulberry tree inside the fine arts school where Ingres and Moreau taught.
Tip: Walk in through 14 rue Bonaparte on weekdays during school hours and look confident; visitors wander the courtyards quietly all the time.
Passage Dauphine
A cobbled, plant-filled passage cutting between rue Dauphine and rue Mazarine, with a tea room hidden inside.
Tip: Enter at 30 rue Dauphine. Open daily, and almost always empty.
Cour de Rohan
A chain of three Renaissance courtyards off the medieval cour du Commerce-Saint-Andre. Balzac set scenes here.
Tip: The gate at rue du Jardinet is sometimes locked; if so, peek from the cour du Commerce side by Un Dimanche a Paris.
Jardin du Luxembourg, the quiet corners
Everyone knows the Luxembourg; few find its calm western alleys along rue Guynemer, or the orchard rows in the southwest corner.
Tip: Grab a green chair and drag it under the trees near the beekeeping school; the crowds stay by the pond.
Musee Zadkine
The sculptor's studio-house at the end of a leafy lane, with a small free sculpture garden.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Ten minutes is enough, and the garden benches are the reward.
Jardin botanique de la faculte de pharmacie
The pharmacy faculty's own botanical garden, planted with medicinal species, and possibly the least-known garden in central Paris.
Tip: Weekdays only, roughly 9am to 7pm, through the faculty entrance at 4 avenue de l'Observatoire.
About these walks
This is one of the free self-guided Paris walks written by the Chic Trip team, locals who plan and book full Paris trips for American travelers. Get our free insider Paris guide at chic-trip.com/free-paris-guide, or have us plan your whole trip at chic-trip.com/paris-travel-planner.
