Exploring a Botanical Garden at the Tennis Courts in Paris 🌿

🎾Several years ago, Longines sponsored the French Open and invited the media to the men’s singles final. Back then, I knew little about the sport and only remember feeling parched in the heat—not quite grasping the allure of that famous red clay. 🎾This time, I was back in Paris on business, staying at a hotel called The Botanist, conveniently close to the French Open stadium. To my delight, right next door was the Serres d'Auteuil Gardens—the last grand greenhouse complex in Paris from the 19th century! Louis XV had a fascination for exotic tropical plants that inspired this place from a young age. 🎾The design of the greenhouses and overall garden layout was entrusted to Jean-Camille Formigé (1845–1926), the chief architect for Paris’s promenades and gardens at the time. Work began in 1895 and was completed three years later, featuring stunning blue-green metal structures. 🎾Later on, the French Tennis Federation and Paris’s Environmental and Green Spaces Department chose the grounds near the greenhouses to host the French Open. They even built a new tennis court, enclosed by greenhouses on all sides. #France #RightNow #EarlyRetirement #HiddenGems #Plants