Marie de Medicis, Queen of France, commissioned the building of Luxembourg Palace, as well as the gardens. She had it modeled after her childhood home in Florence, the Palazzo Pitti. Imagine building a palace because you were homesick for your old palace. What a fortunate lady.

In the end, being a spoiled rotten aristocrat doesn’t have its rewards. The King, Marie’s son, exiled her from France. She was forced to live out the rest of her days in Germany. Never having the opportunity that you have: visiting the Luxembourg Gardens and Palace. So in the end, who’s luckier? I personally prefer picnics on the grass to captivity in Germany.