Just kidding, it’s the bees again…

photos : jasonw


We are very lucky to have a lot of our hotels just next to the Jardin du Luxembourg. With the Hôtel du Panthéon, Hôtel des Grands Hommes and Hôtel de la Sorbonne on one side, and the Jardin de l’Odéon and Hôtel Ferrandi on the other, you’re never far from the calm of the gardens. (Poor old Eiffel Park Hôtel has to make do with the Champ de Mars, the gardens near that big brown pointy metal thing…). However, it’s not just plants, flowers and trees; there’s also the beekeeping school (you know we’re fans of bees).

Even in the hot weather, the bee keeping lessons continue. The school was founded w-a-y back in 1856 in order to teach modern methods of beekeeping and protect bees from extinction. However, the late 20th Century found the hives in a poor state of repair and in 1990 the Senate – whose building is in the Jardin du Luxembourg – decided that action had to be taken. Their architect, Monsieur Jacques Patureau, designed a new hexagonal (!) spot for the hives and the beekeeping school was launched once again to great success.

Here’s a photo of the old-style hives that can be seen if you go to the Jardin du Luxembourg, and another photo of a lesson taking place. At the bottom of this article you’ll find the map showing where to find the hives in the large gardens. If you want to sign up for lessons, you’ll have to be patient; 2008 is already full, and enrolment for 2009 doesn’t open until September…

And of course you can learn more about our very own beehives here.

photo taken from the site of La Société Centrale d’Apiculture

Bigger map here