The Gardens, a Haven of Greenery
At the heart of the Marais district in Paris, the heritage site of the National Archives combines architectural and landscape beauty. It offers visitors a peaceful haven of greenery. Originally designed by André Le Nôtre, gardener to the Sun King, these gardens were restored in 2008 and have been open to the public since 2011.
The gardens of the Paris site were created by adding the garden of the Hôtel de Rohan to those of the small private mansions lining Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. The French State acquired these spaces during the 19th and 20th centuries.
In the heart of Paris, the historic site of the National Archives thus offers an island of calm and freshness. With 10,000 m² of gardens, it includes about 300 plant species and features several landscaped areas:
• the garden of the Hôtel de Rohan,
• the garden of the hôtels d’Assy and de Breteuil,
• the garden of the Hôtel de Fontenay,
• the garden of the Hôtel de Jaucourt,
• the lane called Ruelle de la Roche.
In 2011, landscape designer Louis Benech worked on enhancing these gardens. He created floral compositions and planted vegetative partitions between the hôtels along Rue des Francs-Bourgeois to give coherence to the space and redefine the boundaries of the former properties within the “Quadrilateral.”
10 000
m² of gardens
300
plant species
A highlight!
The garden of the Hôtel d’Assy has preserved its basin and artificial stream dating from 1848, and it is home to Paris’s only Himalayan chestnut tree (Aesculus indica), a specimen about 150 years old.
