Out of Paris’s 400 parks, the tucked-away Square Georges Cain, an oasis of greenery,  gets my vote for poetic escapes. Maybe it’s the circular design, the gardeners’ decision to fill the center surrounding the statue of Aurore with a sea of orange long-stemmed roses in the spring, or to color coordinate all the other flowers with a pastel palette to complement the archeological relics around the perimeter. The sign at the park’s entrance reads “colors too bright would monopolize the view of the passer by.” Walk in, sit down and I guarantee you’ll feel soothed. There always seems to be an empty bench, just how the neighborhood regulars  like it.

Who was Georges?  Answer: a painter and writer who was a long time curator (1897-1914) at the Carnavalet Museum.

Pieces from the history of Paris dispersed in the square include the remains of the previous Town Hall, Merovingian sarcophagi, and the pediment of the central pavilion of the Tuileries Palace still blackened from the fire that destroyed it.

 

If you intend to visit Musee Picasso or Musee Carnavalet, this is a place to head for afterwards . Your feet will thank you and you’ll have a chance to read your No Worries Paris guide for where-to-next inspiration.

Stay long enough and you might have a chance to hear ” Le Rossignol Electrique’ by Eric Samakh (1990), a small electronic bird that starts singing whenever the wind blows (iffy in the summer).

7 rue Payenne
75003 Paris
District : Le Marais