Gardens Festival 2026 at Temple Square: workshops, games, and family-friendly tree climbing

The Garden Festival 2026 brings the Temple Square – Élie Wiesel, in Paris's 3rd arrondissement, to life on September 26 and 27. Plant workshops, games, gardening tips, and tree-climbing taster sessions will welcome families all weekend.

The Garden Festival returns to Paris on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September 2026 for a weekend dedicated to urban nature. Gardens, squares, parks and green spaces swing open their doors to families, with hundreds of free activities organized across the city’s districts. It’s a chance to get your hands dirty, and to meet the people who maintain Paris’s green spaces on a daily basis.

For two days, the gardeners and arborists from the City of Paris, associations of community gardens and other nature actors welcome visitors of all ages. Gardening workshops, games, demonstrations, meetups, biodiversity discoveries, or horticultural tips mark this new edition. Several ephemeral villages are set up across Paris, while some community gardens and private spaces also participate in the event. The grand village 2026, for its part, takes up residence at the parc de Choisy, in the 13e arrondissement, on both days from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Beyond a simple stroll, the Garden Festival sheds light on the challenges of greening Paris and preserving biodiversity, while putting you in touch with the professionals who care for the capital’s trees, plants and gardens. It’s a particularly family-friendly outing, with many activities designed for kids to observe, handle, and get involved in gardening.

In the 3rd arrondissement, meet at the Temple Square – Élie Wiesel, at 64 Rue de Bretagne. Created in 1857 by Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand during Haussmann’s grand renovations, this garden sits on a site steeped in history: the Knights Templar once had a precinct here. Since 2017, the square has also borne the name of Elie Wiesel, the writer, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

For the Garden Festival, the city’s gardeners invite families to a notably rich program. Children will get to, among other things, make mini-gardens, discover plants through several games, or even give tree-climbing a try with the city’s arborist-climbers. A chance to examine the trees a little more closely… and sometimes from quite a bit higher up.

The Gardens Festival program at Temple Square – Elie Wiesel

Workshops and Activities:

Repotting plants

Creating mini-gardens

Plant weaving workshop

Crafting paper flowers

Overview of the diversity of orchids and practical cultivation tips

Gardening tips

Gardening demonstrations and exchanges throughout the weekend

Overview of the duties and recruitment of front-desk and security staff, as well as municipal police officers

Games:

Scent discovery with a mystery box that lets you identify different natural elements by touch

Hopscotch around park and garden regulations

Goose Game « Stop Incivilities »

Climbing:

Tree-climbing introduction for children, led by the City of Paris' arborist-climbers, from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

A look at the trade of the arborist climber, its particularities and the equipment used

Note: The climbing activity requires at least a basic level of independence, solid motor coordination, and the ability to follow safety instructions. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

A must-see event in Temple Square!

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