- Gardens: Open daily from 7:30am to 8pm until September 30, with last entry 15 minutes before closing.
- Autumn & winter: Open 8am–6:30pm from October 1–24, then 8am–5:30pm from October 25–February 28.
- Grande Galerie de l'Évolution: Open 10am–6pm, Wednesday to Monday. Closed on Tuesdays.
- Grandes Serres: Open 10am–6pm, Wednesday to Monday, with last entry 1 hour before closing. Closed on Tuesdays.
- Ménagerie: Open daily 10am–6pm until October 25, then 10am–5pm from October 26.
- Alpine Garden: Open 8am–12 noon and closed from November through March.
- Visiting on Tuesday? The gardens and Ménagerie remain open, but the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution and Grandes Serres are closed.
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Quick overview
- Start here: Jardin des Plantes is free. Tickets cover separate paid venues.
- Safest pick: Grande Galerie is the flagship, typically 1.5–2 hours.
- For animals: The Ménagerie is a compact historic zoo.
- Combo option: Pair the gallery with the Ménagerie or Paris Zoological Park.
- Queue reality: Online entry skips the ticket desk. Waits can still happen.
- Know this: There’s no all-site ticket for every venue.
- Smart nudge: Want two paid stops? Book a combo upfront.
What to expect at Jardin des Plantes
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Enter the free historic garden
Jardin des Plantes starts as a free 26-hectare botanical campus, not one gated attraction. Enter through formal grounds first, with the five Perspective Squares stretching 480m ahead and paid stops branching off around you inside the garden.
Follow the central garden route
Walk the Perspective Squares into the School of Botany, where nearly 2,500 species are arranged by classification. If it’s open and before noon, detour into the Alpine Garden for 2,000+ mountain plants tucked behind this section.
Step into the Grande Galerie
The clearest indoor payoff is the Grande Galerie de l’Évolution (Separate ticket; Included on combo tickets). Across about 6,000m², you move from giant whale skeletons to the African savannah procession and upper balconies on evolution—strong context in roughly 1.5–2 hours.
Climb to Buffon’s Gazebo
Back outdoors, the route opens into the rose garden’s 300 cultivars and the Iris and Perennial Garden’s 450 species. Finish by climbing the Labyrinth to Buffon’s Gazebo, a 1788 structure the garden calls Paris’s oldest metal structure.
Things to know before booking your Jardin des Plantes tickets
Booking window
The outdoor gardens are free to enter and don’t require advance booking. For paid attractions, booking ahead is a good idea on weekends and during summer. Keep in mind that the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution is usually closed on Tuesdays.
What’s included
Entry to the Jardin des Plantes gardens is free. Tickets are for individual attractions or specific combos, so access to the Ménagerie, Grande Galerie de l'Évolution, and greenhouses is separate unless stated in your ticket.
Entrances & access
Each paid attraction has its own entrance. Booking online lets you skip the ticket-purchase step, but security and entry checks still apply and can take longer during busy periods.
Ways to explore
Allow around 1.5–2 hours for the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution and 1–2 hours for the Ménagerie. If you're combining two attractions, these make the most straightforward pairing.
Policies & closures
Opening hours vary across the Jardin des Plantes attractions, so check the timings for each venue you plan to visit. The Paleontology Gallery is temporarily closed, while weather conditions may affect some outdoor areas and greenhouse access.
What to see at Jardin des Plantes?
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The African savannah procession
Inside the Grande Galerie de l’Évolution, an elephant leads zebras, giraffes, lions, hyenas, wildebeest, and wild dogs across a dramatic central stage. It’s the gallery’s signature scene and the clearest first look at its immersive storytelling.
Whale skeletons and the giant squid Wheke
On level 0 of the Grande Galerie, giant skeletons of a blue whale, sperm whale, and southern right whale hang above marine displays, near Wheke the giant squid. The scale makes ocean biodiversity feel immediate, not abstract.
Buffon’s Gazebo above the labyrinth
Climb the artificial hill of the Labyrinth to reach Buffon’s Gazebo, built in 1788 and described by the garden as Paris’s oldest metal structure. The walk passes historic trees and rewards you with one of the campus’s most memorable viewpoints.
The hidden Alpine Garden
Reached through the School of Botany, this quieter garden gathers more than 2,000 mountain-plant species from around the world. Its tucked-away entrance and morning-only opening make it one of the site’s easiest highlights to miss.
The new orangutan habitat
At the Ménagerie, the Bornean orangutans now climb a 2,255m³ outdoor habitat opened in April 2026, with more than 300m of rope and 15m-high structures. It’s one of the zoo’s most current, best-designed viewing moments.
The Grandes Serres under glass
The Grandes Serres move you through humid tropical vegetation, New Caledonian flora, arid landscapes, and plant-evolution displays under glass. They’re worth adding if living collections matter more to you than specimens, especially after time in the free garden.
Plan your visit to Jardin des Plantes
Address: Jardin des Plantes is at 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris. [View on Google Maps]
Area: The campus sits in the 5th arrondissement, near the Latin Quarter and Gare d’Austerlitz.
Venue note: Use the exact venue entrance, because paid sites do not share one ticket gate.
Metro and RER: Gare d’Austerlitz on Metro lines 5 and 10, and RER C, is a 5-minute walk.
Metro line 7: Censier–Daubenton station is about an 8-minute walk to the Grande Galerie side.
Metro lines 7 and 10: Jussieu station is about an 8-minute walk to the northern garden side.
Car: There is no visitor parking for individuals, though public car parks sit nearby.
Taxi: Set your destination to the booked venue entrance, not just “Jardin des Plantes.”
- Place Valhubert gate: Best for entering from the east side and getting oriented in the gardens. Waits are usually short, but paid attractions have separate ticket checks.
- Rue Cuvier side: Convenient for the gardens and Ménagerie. Garden entry is usually quick, while waits for paid attractions can vary.
- Grande Galerie street-side entrance: At 36 rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, this is the most direct option for gallery visits. Queues can build on summer mornings, and security checks still apply.
- Grande Galerie garden-side entrance: Useful if you’re combining the gallery with other Jardin des Plantes attractions. Expect the same gallery queues, and some visitors may need help with the heavy doors.
- Ménagerie entrance: Access the zoo from 57 rue Cuvier or Place Valhubert. Wait times can vary, and this entrance is only for Ménagerie admission.
Wheelchair loans: Wheelchairs can be borrowed by contacting the site in advance.
Food service: On-site food service is available across the visitor complex.
Bookshop: A shop or bookshop operates within the complex.
- Garden access: Multiple accessible entrances make it easier for visitors with motor disabilities to navigate the gardens and avoid steeper routes.
- Grande Galerie access: Wheelchair users can enter via the ground-level forecourt at 36 rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.
- Lifts: Accessible lifts are available at the Grande Galerie and Grandes Serres, though temporary outages may affect access to upper levels.
- Ménagerie access: The zoo is wheelchair accessible, but some outdoor paths around historic areas have uneven surfaces.
- Additional support: Services are available for visitors with hearing, visual, and intellectual disabilities.
- Accessible toilets: Adapted toilets are available at the Ménagerie; sitewide availability has not been confirmed.
- Companion access: Free companion admission may be available for eligible visitors with disabilities upon presenting valid proof.
- Bags: Bag-size and luggage restrictions vary by venue.
- Photography: Photography rules, including restrictions on flash, tripods, and professional equipment, vary by venue.
- Food & drinks: Food is available on site, but picnic and indoor-eating rules vary across the different venues.
- Restricted areas: Stay within designated visitor areas. The Ecological Garden can only be visited with a guide to protect its habitats and wildlife.
- Security checks: Advance tickets can skip the ticket-purchase step, but you will still need to queue for security and entry checks.
- Separate admission: The main gardens are free to enter, while each paid attraction requires its own valid ticket.
Tips & guidelines
Start with the gardens
The gardens open before the indoor attractions, so arrive early for a quieter walk before moving indoors.
Visit the Alpine Garden before noon
Make this an early stop—it closes at 12 noon and is completely closed from November to March.
Head to the Grande Galerie early
Visit the Grande Galerie earlier in the day for a calmer experience. Queues can start building before opening on busy summer mornings.
Pick the right gallery entrance
Arriving by metro or bus? The entrance at 36 rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire is the most direct for the Grande Galerie.
Plan around Tuesday closures
The Grande Galerie is closed on Tuesdays, but the gardens and Ménagerie remain open—making Tuesday better suited to an outdoor and zoo visit.
Keep your itinerary simple
Pair the gardens with the Grande Galerie or Ménagerie rather than trying to cover every attraction in one visit.
Check the Ménagerie feeding times
Keeper sessions typically run between 11:30am and 4:45pm, weather permitting. Check the day's schedule to catch one during your visit.
Avoid unnecessary backtracking
For a one-way garden route, enter from Place Valhubert and finish towards Jussieu to cover more of the grounds without retracing your steps.
Frequently asked questions about Jardin des Plantes tickets
No. The outdoor garden is free to enter. You only need tickets for paid venues like the Grande Galerie or the Ménagerie.
No. Jardin des Plantes is a campus, not one ticketed attraction. Each paid venue has separate admission, though some combo tickets cover selected venues only.
The Grande Galerie is usually the best-supported single paid choice. It’s the flagship venue and works well if you have limited time.
No. Online tickets let you skip the ticket-purchase step, but security and entry queues can still apply during busy periods.
Not for the garden. For paid venues, advance booking helps on busy dates and skips the on-site purchase step, especially for the Grande Galerie.
The garden and Ménagerie are generally open on Tuesdays. The Grande Galerie and Grandes Serres are generally closed, so always check venue-specific hours first.
Plan 1.5–2 hours for the Grande Galerie or Ménagerie. A garden walk plus one paid venue fits a relaxed half-day.
No. The Ménagerie is the smaller historic zoo inside Jardin des Plantes. Paris Zoological Park is a different, larger zoo elsewhere in Paris.
Yes, but accessibility varies by venue. The Grande Galerie is generally easier to navigate, while some outdoor paths and historic areas have uneven surfaces.
