Tuesday, 6 December 2016 By Chant Wagner

Scents of the Luxembourg Garden in Paris during the Fall // Part I {Scented Paths & Fragrant Addresses} {Paris Street Photography}

Vue du théâtre des marionnettes du Luxembourg © CHANT WAGNER 2016

Scents of the Luxembourg Garden in Paris during the Fall

On a sunny October afternoon, trees - and below them - flâneurs, were bathed in golden light, so much so that the Luxembourg garden paths evoked crowded beaches in August.

Created in 1612 by Marie de Medici, the Jardin du Luxembourg is part and parcel, not only of the familiar landscape of Paris, but of the mythology of the French capital city...

To a Parisian, it is like a finishing school for childhood. In recent, modern history, generations of children have climbed on the wooden horses of the Garnier carousel since the 19th century after it was built by Paris Opera's architect Charles Garnier in 1879 ; they are still trying to snag iron rings with a wooden stick in a repeated show of dexterity, looking sometimes a bit puzzled as to why they need to do it - because, it's the tradition. Boats have been floating on the great, central basin since 1881, thanks to the same children armed with perches pushing them to the breezes; countless children have gone to watch the Guignol puppet shows at the Théâtre des Marionnettes du Luxembourg, since 1933.

Among the more mature demographic groups, avid readers have opened then shut their books in the sun or the shade of the trees of the Luxembourg garden comfortably ensconced in celadon-green chairs.

Still more wizened visitors like to visit just to take a stroll under the trees. Nowadays, they are often seen carrying Norwegian walking sticks as a way to exercise gently as they progress slowly and methodically along ages-old itineraries.

The air is immediately cooler as you enter the realm of manicured nature inhabited by book lovers, friends having a picnic impromptu on a bench, couples paired on « bottle-green » benches, parents and their, in turn, screaming and whispering children. The smells of the park are numerous - and sometimes exquisite. It's your only chance of filling up on greener oxygen if you're in the heart of Paris.

Here is an olfactory and visual stroll through the place from October to December. The aromas of the earth are most vivid when it's not too cold and when leaves are still carpeting the ground. By wintertime, you need to imagine them more.