"The French do formal well, and when it comes to their green spaces, visitors benefit from all the formality. Paris’ royal Jardin des Plantes, the immaculately manicured botanical garden on the Left Bank, is a great example of this. Originally designed in 1635 by Guy de la Brosse, Louis XIII’s doctor, the garden was planned with scientific exactness—and incidentally, that's what make it great for kids. (See: the Art Deco hot house to the enormous network of hollowed-out bushes, where Parisian tots love to hide, or the conical maze leading up a hill.) There's a little something for parents to appreciate, too: As the Parisian flâneur always needs to take a break, there’s no shortage of benches." - Daisy de Plume