The flower market on the Île de la Cité

What it is

Paris has had a flower market on the Île de la Cité since the early nineteenth century. It stands on Place Louis Lépine, between the law courts and the river, in a set of green iron and glass pavilions from around 1900. Since 2014 it has carried the name of Queen Elizabeth II, who visited it. The stalls lean more to plants than to bouquets: orchids, citrus trees in pots, herbs, seeds, bulbs and garden ornaments, with cut flowers at a few of them. It is small and calm, and gives a sense of how Parisians garden on balconies and windowsills.

Before you go

• Half an hour is plenty. Combine it with Notre-Dame or the Sainte-Chapelle nearby.
• The pavilions are due for restoration, so some stalls may be moved or closed. Check before going specially.
• Ask before photographing a stallholder's display up close.

The flowers you will see

OrchidA vast family of colourful, often fragrant flowers found almost everywhere on earthPelargoniumA diverse group of flowering plants often grown as garden and house plantsHydrangeaFlowering shrubs with large heads that change color with soil pHRoseWoody perennial plants with showy, often fragrant flowers in many colours

More in Paris

🇫🇷 Paris · May to SepThe rose garden of BagatelleA park in the Bois de Boulogne with about ten thousand rose bushes and a yearly international contest for new roses. 🇫🇷 Valensole · Jun to JulLavender rows on the Valensole plateauA high, open plateau in Provence planted with lavandin, purple from mid June until the harvest in July. 🇫🇷 Gordes · Jun to JulThe lavender field at Sénanque AbbeyA twelfth-century Cistercian abbey in a narrow valley near Gordes, with a field of lavender in front of its grey stone. 🇫🇷 Nice · All yearThe flower market on the Cours SaleyaStriped awnings in Nice's old town sheltering stalls of Riviera cut flowers beside fruit, olives and socca. 🇫🇷 Giverny · Apr to OctMonet's garden and water lily pond at GivernyThe flower garden and lily pond that Claude Monet made in Normandy and painted for the last decades of his life. 🇫🇷 Villandry · Apr to OctThe Renaissance gardens of VillandryA Loire château whose terraces hold clipped box parterres filled with flowers and an ornamental kitchen garden.