Rendez-vous aux Jardins 2025: guided tour and water games at the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud (92)

Did you know? The Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, which belonged to Philippe d'Orléans, the brother of Louis XIV, lost its château during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. Fortunately, the 460-hectare site has been preserved as a fine example of classical garden design, with its terraces, perspectives, green carpets, bosquets, green rooms, fountains and basins.

The bas-parc stretches along the Seine, below the château's terrace, from the Pont de Saint-Cloud to the Pont de Sèvres. Here you can admire the grand cascade, the upper section of which is almost 90 meters long, a skilful 17th-century composition by Antoine Le Pautre, later enlarged by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, and the neighbouring grand jet, over 30 meters high. They are precious testimonies to the traditional techniques used by fountain-makers.

The Domaine de Saint Cloud, a huge park with many fountains near Paris
The Domaine de Saint-Cloud is the magnificent park of the now-defunct Château de Saint-Cloud. Even today, this magical place remains synonymous with festivities in the daily lives of local residents and Paris lovers alike. This historic 460-hectare park, classified as a Remarkable Garden, offers a variety of events throughout the year. [Read more]

The grand-parc was partly cut through by the railway line under Louis-Philippe, then by the freeway in the late 1930s. Most of the park has retained the layout of the avenues and wooded squares designedby Le Nôtre in the 17th century. To the west, the wooded areas of La Brosse and the Plaine des Quatre Cèdres have a wilder, more rural feel. North of the freeway, in the Parc de Villeneuve, attached to the estate in 1852, the pond, in its natural green setting, contrasts with the well-tended garden surrounding the Escadrille La Fayette memorial .

Since 1823, the Trocadéro garden has occupied the former Montretout hill. A private garden designed for the entertainment and education of Charles X's grandchildren, it was conceived as a veritable"living herbarium". The Rendez-vous aux Jardins is a golden opportunity to discover it from top to bottom, on the first weekend in June!