Royal Domain of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The Domaine National de Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a 70-hectare royal park surrounding the Renaissance château where Louis XIV was born in 1638. Its centerpiece is the Grande Terrasse, a 1,945-meter promenade designed by André Le Nôtre between 1669 and 1674, standing over 60 meters above the Seine valley with sweeping views toward Paris and La Défense. The formal French gardens include the Grand Parterre with geometric flowerbeds, the sunken Boulingrin lawn, and the Jardin de la Dauphine — all part of Le Nôtre's original 17th-century design.