Jardin des Plantes : Espèces en Voie d'Illumination Exhibit

The Jardin des Plantes is one of my absolute favorite places in Paris. I love animals and we often try to incorporate a visit to a zoo or a nature walk into our trips. We visit the zoo at the Jardin des Plantes regularly. I think it is so peaceful and fun to spend time around animals and love watching their funny behaviors. Hugo loves them too! Coming to Paris in November or Paris in December? Add this to your Paris in Winter bucket list!

We were invited to experience the Espèces en Voie d’Illumination Exhibit at the Jardin des Plantes. All opinions are our own.

Espèces en Voie d’Illumination Exhibit Light Festival

2021 Dates : November 15th – January 16th, 2021

We were so excited to experience the beautiful Espèces en Voie d’Illumination Exhibit at the Jardin des Plantes this past week. The exhibit showcases the beautiful animals at the zoo and highlights certain animals that are in danger of extinction. As you explore the exhibit, you can learn about the history of the zoo and the various animals that live there.

Hugo adored the monarch butterflies and captured them beautifully!

I thought these bright pink flamingoes were exquisite! Can you spot the real flamingoes behind them peeking out at us?

The Jardin des Plantes complex is made up of :

The gardens
The zoo
The Galérie de Paleontologie, Galérie de l’Evolution and the Galérie de Minéralogie et de Géologie

For this exhibit, there was a giant inflatable shark in the middle of the garden and filled with pink and blue lights. The perfect spot to snap a photo of my love.

Isn’t this sea turtle the cutest?

Jardin des Plantes Zoo

This lovely zoo features over 200 species of animals, a third of which are extinct. You can see over 1200 animals total at the zoo! You can see mammals, insects, reptiles and more! The zoo strives to protect endangered species and help them procreate.

Take a sneak peak into the zoo in the video below.

Our Favorite Animals

We loved all of the beautiful animals made of lights, it is nearly impossible to choose favorites, but we absolutely loved the butterflies, flamingoes, polar bears, monkeys and rhinoceroses!

Look at this funny armadillo!

Fun facts about the Jardin des Plantes

The Jardin des Plantes Zoo is one of the oldest in the World dating all the way back to 1793!
The gardens date back to the 1600s and were created for Louis XIII!
There is a vegetable garden (or potager) in the gardens that was started in the 1990s.
The Jardin des Plantes is made up of 12 separate smaller gardens.
More than 8 million visitors explore the garden every year!

We snapped a photo of these rhinoceroses because we thought they looked like they were kissing. What do you think?

Upcoming events

You can enjoy conferences, ateliers on a variety of subjects (both for kids and adults) and special events at the garden. We definitely recommend you plan a visit!