With Spring comes the gardens

Most Parisians will tell you, "it's been long in coming."

Spring that is. Winter was brutal and it had tenaciously hung on, but now as you walk around the city, traces of color abound, with the promise of much more to come.

There are over 400 public "green spaces" in Paris; a garden is never far away, offering a calm break from the bustle of the city. These gardens and parks add much to what makes Paris joy to walk around and absorb.

Over one fourth of the total area of the city is dedicated to parks, gardens and woods, making Paris one of the greenest cities in Europe.

Paris Gardens and Parks come in all styles and sizes, from the formal and royal gardens of theTuileries and the Luxembourg to the sprawling greens of the Champ de Mars and the Les Invalidesand the smaller ones that just seem to pop up all around town, like the Square Georges Cain.

On the Eastern and Western edges of Paris are the great woods, or bois (bwaa). On the west is the Bois de Boulogne and on the east is the Bois de Vincennes. These two great green lungs offer convenient and accessible spaces to run, walk, ride bikes, picnic, ride horses and simply enjoy the outdoors.

Traditionally, lawns were for looking at, not for sitting on, which was considered quite un-aristocratic. Recently, all parks with lawns over a certain size have been made open for public use.

However, there are times you will see signs sayiing, "Pelouse Interdite", or, "Pelouse au Repose", which means, 'Lawn Not Allowed' or "Lawn at Rest", basically, "Keep off the Grass".

So this spring if you are in Paris, stop in a park and give yourself a rest.