Paris 2020 (3 of 12) -- Jardin des Plantes

This garden oasis in Paris is brimming with beauty and history. It's home to several large museum buildings. As well as a thriving small zoological park. I've only seen this wonderland in winter. This year's unseasonable sunny mornings and cool but mild temps gave me a taste of what a glory that famous "Springtime in Paris" season must be at the Jardin des Plantes (JdP).

The hall of comparative anatomy at JdP is an evocative building to explore on a rainy day. Since I had so much sun shine in the mornings this year's trip, I wandered the beautiful gardens, the the company of joggers, students, and little kids with parents and nannies...

 The building below is a museum about the Jardin.

 Spectacular tree...

 Many monuments to the great men of science who have held the post of director of the Natural History Museum...

 This view shows some laboratory buildings from the 1800s that are used as offices today..

 One of many entrances to the Menagerie (zooological park)

 You can see some views inside the Menagerie in in the post from 2017
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2017/02/paris-menagerie-at-jardin-des-plantes.html

Tree lined walkways along the Jardin mall... these wide walkways were once horse carriage lanes...

Approaching the Grand Gallery of Evolution building..

 Two views of the huge greenhouse.... a great place to get out of the cold if you're here in the dead of winter. It's a tropical rainforest inside there...

some views inside the greenhouse... and museum of the jardin... from my 2016 visit with Huggable Koi plush art by my artist friend Bonnie:
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2016/02/huggable-koi-in-france-2016-angouleme.html

Each building along this grassy mall houses a nature-themed collection...

The tropical green house on the grounds is a great escape on a wintry day..

It's not winter inside here!

Koi cousins enjoying life in Paris...

This plaque lets you touch all sorts of tropical trees....

Koi #10 also enjoyed seeing this portrait, based on the first Giraffe specimen .. the painting isn't very accurate, since it was based only the hide of the Giraffe. 

This painting is part of a gallery about the history of the natural history museum...

See more about Huggable Koi here:https://www.etsy.com/shop/HuggableKoi

back to 2020...
View of the carriage lane from the steps of the Grand Gallery building...

 Quad and green house from the Grand Gallery steps...

This year, I couldn't visit one of my favorite buildings there.. the hall of comparative anatomy. It's closed now while the roof is getting renovated. These images my 2016 visit will show you just a few of the exhibits there: http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2016/02/paris-2016-post-in-progress.html

Gallery of Comparative Anatomy at Natural History Museum of Paris...http://www.mnhn.fr/fr/visitez/lieux/galeries-anatomie-comparee-paleontologie

 The collections in all the museums at the JdP are links to past cultures and treasures. The buildings themselves are also historical. They were constructed as state of the art in the late 1800s, survived WWII, and are conserved today. We can enjoy their past splendor, along with modern amenities that protect the collections and keep museum attendees happy, like AC and central heating.