THE WORLD'S BIGGEST MUSEUM
France is the world's biggest open-air museum no matter the weather,
and even though the clouds are slightly threatening today,
nothing in the world would make me give up the pleasure of visiting
one of the most famous gardens in Paris and on the left bank with you.
Of course, I'm talking about Luxembourg Garden.
It all began here in 1612
when Henry IV's widow, Marie de' Medici, decided to move in here.
Back then, there were only fields here.
Come on, follow your guide.
Hail, rain or shine,
it's always sunny in your heart when you're walking round Luxembourg Garden.
I'm meeting Brigitte Carmine. Hello. - Hello, Eric.
It's very nice of you to join us in this rain.
We're at a place with such wonderful history.
First of all, where does the name "Luxembourg" come from?
It comes from the property bought by Marie de' Medici in 1612.
MANAGER OF LUXEMBOURG GARDEN
She bought it from de Piney of Luxembourg.
This name has always stuck, no matter who the owner was.
When she buys it in 1612,
is this French queen, Henry IV's wife, already a widow?
Has Henry IV already been assassinated?
Henry IV was assassinated in 1610 and she became regent.
At that time she has two sons: Louis and Gaston
and Louis will go on to become King Louis XIII.
She knows that she'll have to move out of the Louvre to make way for him,
so she is simply looking for a property.
As it's in the countryside, I imagine there were big trees here.
No, there were fields, it was cultivated countryside.
But the Rue de Vaugirard exists and she'll go on to buy land
along the Rue de Vaugirard both to the east and west,
extending to Rue Notre Dame des Champs,
but she cannot buy land to the south because of Paris's Carthusian monastery.
She has no intention of evicting this monastery,
so, she can only buy property to the east and west.
Even so, she'll go on to increase her land from 8 hectares to 24.
What will become of this garden up to the Revolution?
The major milestone is the French Revolution, of course.
I mentioned the monastery congregation.
They are forced out and their land and property is nationalized.
The garden will be in its full glory when it reaches 48 hectares
and we'll perhaps have the view that Marie de' Medici dreamed of.
That is, from the front of the palace up to the observatory,
we'll have over 1,400 meters of magnificent views.
This is an area of the finest French gardens,
with the view stretching out in straight lines,
and in contrast, everything surrounding the garden
will be in this English style, which, in simple terms,
is represented by winding paths, curves and shrubby flowerbeds.
Does it become a public garden after the Revolution?
Surprisingly, it has always been a public garden of a fashion.
Since its origins, apart from a few rare occasions,
when the owners tried to take over, it has always been open to Parisians.
When it's closed, people soon make it known that they're not happy.
In the end, after the Revolution, this garden was allocated to the Senate.
This is the only owner who will understand
the Parisians' taste for this garden and go along with it.
It's true that we have almost 4,600 chairs
and that's where people admire the garden.
During World War I, there was relentless fighting here in Luxembourg Garden.
There were even trenches.
In some places, you can still find mustard gas
that can be linked back to bombs from World War I.
When you're walking around these places,
you should protect yourself with this safety device
to avoid being contaminated with mustard gas.
That's what I'm doing. I'm putting gloves on, too.
Now you get it, of course!
Nobody ventured down to Luxembourg Garden in 1914 to 1918!
I'm just going to visit the bees
because there have been hives here for years.
Hello, I'm Eric. Are you Michel? - Yes. How are you?
Eric from France 3. I can't see you.
Najim? - Yes, hello.
You're the professional and you're from the beekeeping society.
He is too. He's the technical support for this afternoon's class.
How long have there been classes here? - For over 150 years.
This hive was founded in 1856.
This isn't for kids. - It's an introduction to beekeeping.
How many hives do you have? - Between 250 and 270.
Which is how many bees? What a good question!
Multiply each hive by 50,000.
That's quite a number when you multiply it.
I'm going to protect my face.
That was an oversight. - Yes.
This is an interesting frame
because all the sealed parts
are where the future young bees are raised and are currently metamorphosing.
Translation: when the hole is sealed up, there's a baby bee inside.
Perfect.
You're learning fast.
Who lays the eggs among these tens of thousands of bees in this hive?
The queen. - Just the queen.
In each hive, there's just one queen.
PROFESSIONAL BEEKEEPER
The queen can lay from 1,800 up to a maximum of 3,000 eggs.
Look, one of them is emerging.
He's made it! - There you go.
Welcome to the world, my bee friend.
It's very moving.
You'll be able to watch it on The World's Biggest Museum
on Saturday afternoon on France 3.
Ladies and gents, in a few seconds, the queen.
I've never seen a queen bee.
There she is. - Where?
She's marked, so it's easier to see her.
Incredible! I've never seen the queen before.
Until the Middle Ages, there was no question of it being a queen.
It was a king.
AMATEUR BEEKEEPER
It took the first anatomical consultation with the first microscopes
for people to admit that it wasn't a male, but a female that ruled.
Worse than that, the males are only really useful for fertilization
and, as soon as mid-summer arrives and the flowers disappear,
they are killed.
So, bees have a matriarchal and unequal society.
Well done for showing us bees on TV, France 3!
Get an eyeful of this, my city-dwelling friends.
Look at these fruit trees,
grown and bred according to ancient guidelines.
They're grown on trellises.
We're right in the south of Luxembourg Garden,
just by Rue Auguste Comte.
This is the conservatory garden, one of my favorite places.
Why? Because a multisecular tradition is perpetuated here.
You'll see that there are many forms here
and new generations of gardeners or any interested parties
are being taught to grow fruit trees like in the times of our ancestors.
Sylvain will explain it to us. Follow me.
Sylvain Halé, the manager of the conservatory garden.
Hello, Sylvain. - Hello and welcome, Eric.
Thanks for welcoming us. This is a very impressive place,
because you're the one handing down a multisecular skill,
that is, the trees on trellises behind you.
Plus, you maintain that you're a living museum of apples and pears.
How many varieties of apple are sold at Rungis?
You'll find five or six varieties of apple.
HEAD GARDENER OF THE CONSERVATORY ORCHARD
And here? - There are 300 varieties of apple
and 250 varieties of pear.
There used to be thousands of varieties and some of them have disappeared.
EUROPEAN PEAR RIPENESS: JANUARY - APRIL
But we've been keeping a genetic heritage for many years.
Here there's something really incredible.
As we're talking about these techniques,
look at this, it's incredible. Look at the framework.
What's it called? - It's the open book format.
It has a distinctive feature,
that is, the pears are very well positioned to face the sun.
But all these branches are 30 centimeters apart.
It allows air to circulate.
This helps you have a good quantity of fruit and a good yield.
It takes at least 20 years' work to get a shape like this.
Are those people gardeners?
Some gardeners will give free lessons.
We've been giving lessons in fruit horticulture for 200 years here.
Let's carry on with our little stroll.
Strangely, this is a vine. - Yes.
We planted it in a certain way
so that it would have an optimal yield on this wall.
COMMON GRAPE VINE
A wall vine, my friends.
Another technique is lattice work. - That's right.
You have more than 40 different shapes here.
For centuries, every gardener
has been trying to find the best shape
for an optimum yield.
How many trees are there in this conservatory orchard?
For every 2,000 square meters of orchard, we have over 650 trees.
Two thousand? - Yes.
What if they were ordinary trees? - No more than 30 or 40.
Thanks, Sylvain.
Thanks, Eric. - Bye.
Sometimes times are hard and we need to make a choice.
When I come to spend the afternoon relaxing in Luxembourg Garden,
I can't decide between this chair, one with arms
or this third model: the recliner.
Normally, the recliners go down a storm with the people who come here to relax.
I'm lucky to have one now.
On week days in May, 5,000 people
walk through Luxembourg Garden.
Like me, many of them choose to relax. I love it.
I put a little blanket over my legs and I have a delightful afternoon.
But some people are restless.
There are those who play tennis, those who do tai chi,
those who go jogging, those who play bowls
and those who bring their children to the swings,
to the children's area or for pony rides.
Restless people.
This is my pleasure. Being alone like this.
It's exhilarating.
Hello, you must be Georges. - Hello, Eric.
You're a living legend of Luxembourg Garden.
Well, you're not, but your ponies and donkeys are!
Absolutely!
If I'm not mistaken, they come from the 15th arrondissement.
We have a stable there and we arrive and leave here on foot.
PONY GUIDE
We go through the traffic but it goes smoothly.
And the moms and children are on the lookout for you?
Yes, people can't wait to see us.
Each child has its own mascot.
They'll only ride Lutin, Dandy or Nougatine
If their favorite is resting, they may not take a ride,
because, he's their friend, not the other ones.
It's not a bad job having moms on the lookout for you in Luxembourg Garden.
I won't deny that there are certain advantages!
How many animals do you have?
Point your camera over there, we've just walked by
a horse-drawn carriage. Is that yours too?
Yes, exactly. Those carriages were handmade
in a unique way by my father.
They are collector's items and we're very attached to them.
Is it a family business? - Absolutely.
My great-grandmother started it in 1898.
My grandmother kept it going, followed by my father
and then I got the bug. I can't complain. I like it.
What's this one called? - Lutin.
Dandy.
Perce Neige, Flicka and Nougatine.
Nougatine is a female donkey.
Here I am in the florists' workshop
and here's Daniel Echilley, who is a gardener and florist here.
In Luxembourg Garden, they create floral displays and bouquets for the Senate.
Yes, the Senate organizes receptions and we provide the flowers.
GARDENER AND FLORIST
We know exactly what kind of bouquets they need.
We know what kind of decoration the senate likes and the suitable places.
What are these pink flowers? - They're anthuriums from the West Indies.
I'm going to color the bottom of the vase like this.
This isn't the senate, this is Karl Lagerfeld's place!
They are contemporary bouquets.
You can see it's changing color. It allows us to have vases of all colors
while staying natural.
Now I'm tweaking my product here and there,
still using the green liquid.
Now, I'm adding a tiny little flower. A carnation, for example.
My carnations aren't so pretty. Those are splendid.
These are from Rungis. They're professional carnations.
It allows me to make something fancy like this.
They don't make such elaborate bouquets for Mother's Day.
You have to be able to carry them.
You're a budding Calder. It's a contemporary work of art.
I can't claim to be!
We haven't mentioned this flower. What is it?
This is very old ivy root that grows along walls.
We salvage it, bleach it and this is what we end up with.
It stops it rotting and it stays like this for years.
Let's put the two of them together.
The idea is a sculpture
that fits together like that with a kind of bridge.
I'll have a beige wall behind which will look nice with the green against it.
Danielle, you're a great artist.
MARIE DE' MEDICI'S FOUNTAIN
We're going to talk about the statues in Luxembourg Garden
with Dominique Jardillier. - Hello, Eric.
This is a place that Luxembourg Garden fans love:
The de' Medici fountain.
Why did Marie de' Medici want this ensemble?
Because it was one of the decorative elements
of her childhood garden, which was one of the Boboli Gardens.
But this monument went through huge changes in the 19th century.
That's right, in 1862, the Haussmann construction works came through here,
running through the Rue Medici.
Neighborhood Petitions were signed
DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING AND GARDEN ARCHITECTURE
to keep the fountain in this garden.
It was dismantled brick by brick
and transported and reassembled at this exact spot.
And they built this big 50 meter pond.
At that point, people started calling it "Medici Fountain."
It represents a scene from mythology.
It represents the cyclops, Polyphemus,
who will use his rock to crush the shepherd, Acis,
who is with his lover, Galatea.
The problem is, that the cyclops is very much in love with Galatea,
so he will get rid of his competitor.
There are a lot of statues in Luxembourg Garden.
Yes, there are around 100 sculptures
and most of them date back to the 19th century.
Some are from the First Empire,
seized from former royal estates by revolutionaries.
Statues taken from royal estates? - Yes, from Nassau, Brunoy...
A few years later, around 1840, the palace was extended
and the majority of these statues from the 18th century were damaged.
Some were naked, which wasn't popular either.
So, around 20 statues were commissioned,
from which we now have this beautiful series of French queens and famous women.
You have Jeanne d'Albret, Henry IV's mother.
Of course, you have Marie de' Medici and also, you have Anne of Austria.
I'm disappointed because the naked statues of the 18th century
were judged to be a bit too risqué back then.
People were prudish in the 1800s. - Probably.
They sent each other letters. - Yes, letters were found
written by people who were offended by these naked statues
or they had something added.
For example, a fig leaf was added to a statue of Hercules.
And then the Third Republic scattered statues all over Luxembourg Garden.
That's the period when the number of statues and busts
of poets, writers and musicians increased.
There was a real invasion of this Garden
to such an extent that a rule had to be made,
that for every new statue erected, one must be removed.
Here we're in front of George Sand's statue,
but you can also find Verlaine and Baudelaire.
There are painters like Watteau and Delacroix.
We also have musicians.
The garden is in a diverse neighborhood that is very connected to art.
Look at this photo that was taken in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia in 2006.
There's a tradition here on the Luxembourg Garden railings
of having photo exhibitions.
It started in the year 2000 with the famous Yann Arthus-Bertrand
and since then, there has been...
ESPRIT NOMADE EXHIBITION BY TIZIANA AND GIANNI BALDIZZONE
… twenty-two photo exhibitions here.
This is a wonderful exhibition that you must come and see.
It's devoted to the world's nomadic population
who live in the desert.
I recommend that you come and see it because it's quite simply, captivating.
Here we are in the Luxembourg Garden greenhouses,
in particular, in the collection greenhouse.
You're the assistant manager.
This is the national collection of orchids.
ASSISTANT GREENHOUSE MANAGER
We house the national collection of the Asian lady's-slipper orchid.
The lady's-slipper orchid. Do you have others?
There's a large variety. - Splendid.
Its colors are always quite surprising.
Look at that. It's magnificent.
Where is it from? - The Philippines.
Has this collection of orchids been here long?
It's an old collection because it originally came
from the Faculty of Medicine botanical gardens,
where they started an orchid collection in 1838.
In 1860, this collection was transferred to Luxembourg Garden.
In which year? - 1860.
Can you tell the viewers how a hybrid is created?
Nature already has hybrids. - Exactly.
But it's very rare to find natural ones.
However, from around the 1870s,
man started to crossbreed orchids.
He tried to create new orchids.
That looked different and had new colors.
There are people in life whose job and passion it is
to create orchid hybrids.
"What do you do?" "I crossbreed orchids."
That's a leopard orchid, a West African orchid.
I heard that, in the terrible winter of 1945,
the plant garden collections were completely destroyed and frozen.
Even during the Occupation, the Germans allowed the greenhouses to be heated
to a minimum of no more than 13 degrees.
But that was enough to preserve even the tropical plants.
There's a precious dimension to them.
I remember a story from when I was about ten years old.
I was in a restaurant with my parents and their friends who'd invited us.
A man came by selling orchids.
My dad felt obliged to buy one for our hosts.
They cost 200 francs at the time. It was a long time ago.
It was very expensive and there was a discussion in the car on the way home
about frittering away hard-earned cash on a 200-franc orchid.
They're a bit like diamonds.
Since the 1970s to 1980s, the price of orchids has really fallen.
There are more of them around.
There are still some rare gems that are very valuable for collectors.
But on the whole, orchids are accessible to most people.
How many are there here?
In this collection, there are around 10,000 orchid plants.
A mere 10,000 orchid plants!
Thanks a lot, Pascal.
Closing time!
We're closing.
Closing time!
Nothing to report.
Closing time, meet at the Medici.
Hello, Gilles.
Hello, how are you? - I'm fine.
Is this the ritual?
The unchanging ritual of closing time at Luxembourg Garden.
It's 9 PM. So, you chase off the final delinquents and lingerers.
Let's call them the garden lovers.
You call them your prey, like when you go hunting.
Do some people stay as late as possible, playing cat and mouse with you?
Yes, some people see it as a challenge and others love to be part
of the last group at closing time with the guards.
GUARD
Bets are sometimes placed.
They all end up with us and leave via the Odéon gate.
What time does it open? - At 7:30 AM and we start from 7:15 AM.
We take 15 minutes to open and close.
Are there already hardcore people waiting to come in at 7:30 AM?
As soon as the first gate opens, we have hardcore joggers shuffling through it.
That will never change.
Do they go nuts if you're 10 minutes late?
They make sure we know about it. But it's very rare.
It's 21:15 PM.
Tonight, I'm the very last remaining visitor in Luxembourg Garden.
It's an indescribable pleasure, of course. Thanks, gentlemen.
In 7 minutes at 21:15 PM, the Luxembourg Garden guards
will hand over their duties and power to the Republican Guard.
Thanks for your loyalty. See you next week.
Goodbye, gentlemen. - Goodbye.
GARDEN ACCESS
Subtitles: Babel Subtitling - babelSUB.be