The Tuileries Garden, the whim of Catherine de Medici, is the oldest garden in the city and was the first public garden.

From the twelfth century this vast space had been occupied by factories “tuiles” (a kind of tiles, from which it derives its name) and orchards. In 1564, Catherine de Medici had built there a palace, the Tuileries Palace, surrounded by a large garden Florentine style, which emphasized ornate sculptures fountains, a maze, lots of fruit and ornamental trees, lawns, potted flowers, and even a vineyard garden …

Large lavish receptions and parties were held in these gardens, which by then were the queen’s personal gardens and were surrounded by high walls. In 1594 they planted cypress trees and lots of mulberry trees for silkworm rearing. Stables and cages with birds also had their place in this small paradise.In 1664, Louis XIV, André Le Nôtre commissioned to redesign the garden, opening it to people of high society and was the first public garden in Paris. Its tree-lined avenues, where alternating maple, horse chestnut, cypress and elm, were populated by statues. Tulips and carnations color filled spring and summer. Later came the pond, big pond first round, then two smaller ones and finally the octagonal pond to the west in 1669.

When the court was established in the Palace of Versailles were only made in the Tuileries maintenance. Returning in 1715, trayeron with many statues scattered throughout the garden.

In times of revolution, the palace and gardens were the center of Republican power. A restructuring plan transformed the Italian garden in English: Increasing areas of grass and were replaced by potted trees and shrubs with fragrant flowers … some, thinking it was too fancy, suggested use as a garden. The idea went nowhere but on the contrary, it is thought to embellish it with porches, lectures, Propylaea … After the fall of Robespierre, this project was abandoned.
In the late eighteenth century, the garden will turn to neo-classicism, full of ancient statues restored and taken from the nobility. He planted orange and citrus plants and flowers are sold at auctions, while public access was restricted. Napoleon continued the real plan to collect the Louvre to the Tuileries Palace and built the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, while again the great feasts in the gardens.
In 1862 he built the Jeu de Paume, a sort of space devoted to a game that could be called the predecessor of tennis.

The events of the Commune in 1870 ended up setting fire to the Tuileries Palace, which was never recovered and finally decided to raze. By the end of the century, the gardens regained their public character and developed important social events such as the “Motor” and celebrations of important dates. The World Wars seriously affected the state of the garden, which was gradually restored to its role festive.

The bicentennial of the revolution in 1889 marked the end of the festivities, to consecrate the Tuileries Gardens as a place purely for a walk. The restoration project tried to respect the history of the garden, retaining ponds, vegetation and sculptures, constituting a veritable museum of outdoor art.