Gardens Festival 2026: Paris’s secret garden-refuge opens its doors for a rare, one-off visit.

On the occasion of the 2026 Garden Festival, the Parisian Biodiversity Observatory is opening its garden sanctuary to the public on September 26 and 27, in the 5th arrondissement. A pond, wild plants, botany and naturalist drawing are on the agenda for this weekend dedicated to Parisian biodiversity.

The Garden Festival returns to Paris on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, 2026. Over two days, parks, squares, community gardens, and several spaces usually off-limits open up for visitors to see the city’s nature in a new light. Gardeners, arborists and biodiversity specialists offer free workshops, demonstrations, and conversations across different districts.

The event is also a chance to discover the trades behind maintaining and protecting Paris’s green spaces. Re-potting, plant identification, horticultural tips, wildlife watching, activities, or guided tours offer approachable ways to explore the big questions about nature in the city. The activities vary by location and surroundings, giving you plenty of discoveries throughout the weekend.

The Garden Festival also invites people to notice a sometimes-walking biodiversity: wild plants, insects, birds, and species thriving in urban ponds. Paris plans to step up awareness around these subjects as part of its Biodiversity Plan 2025-2030, which envisions more free activities, inventories, and events that help the general public better understand urban wildlife and flora.

An exceptionally open sanctuary garden in the 5th arrondissement

Here's a visit that's a bit off the beaten path. Situated in the Square Capitan, just beside the Arènes de Lutèce, the garden refuge of the Parisian Biodiversity Observatory will exceptionally open its doors during the Garden Festival, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. all weekend.

Here, there’s no grand family celebration or endless hands-on workshops: visitors mainly come to observe and learn to recognize the living world. A small pond, in particular, lets you discover the biodiversity that thrives in this kind of habitat. Adults can go further with introductory courses in botany, wild plant identification, or botanical drawing and painting.