The Palais Royal gardens are the most elegant public space in Paris — a rectangular garden enclosed by arcaded galleries housing jewellers, specialist shops, restaurants, and galleries. The colonnaded walks were originally 18th-century promenades; today they shelter some excellent restaurants and the kind of shops (toy soldiers, vintage medals, handmade shoes) that have been displaced from the rest of central Paris by luxury retail.
In the main courtyard, Daniel Buren's striped black-and-white columns (1986) divide opinion but are now part of the cityscape. Children use them as an obstacle course. The gardens are peaceful in the morning and a good place to sit with a coffee from one of the cafes.