Mr NYC in Paris: Luxembourg Gardens

Perhaps my single favorite place in all of Paris is the Luxembourg Gardens. Its name is deceptively -- it is in fact a park, a very large one, and it is perhaps the most amazingly manicured park I've ever visited anywhere in the world.

The Luxembourg Gardens, while quintessentially French, was actually the brainchild of an Italian -- Queen Marie de Medici, widow of French King IV. She built this, along with the Luxembourg palace, in the 17th century, and today the palace is where the French Senate meets. 

The highlight of my visit, and for so many others, is the huge pool where you can rent a toy sailboat and float it for half-an-hour. It's so much fun, so innocent and pure, that it was the highlight on my trip. I strongly suggest visiting every time you go to Paris.