Everything You Need to Know

Every spring, the North Grove in Parc de Sceaux turns into a pink dream. In this blog post we’re sharing everything you need to know about visiting these cherry blossoms in Parc de Sceaux, including what to bring, how to get there and the best time to visit the park!

About Parc de Sceaux

Parc de Sceaux is an estate located in Sceaux, a small town just outside of Paris. The estate dates back to the end of the 17th century. The gardens in Parc de Sceaux are designed by André le Nôtre, who also designed the Gardens of Versailles. The grounds of the estate are huge and feature several groves, a grand canal (over 1 km in length) and gardens. You can easily spend a day inside the estate enjoying nature and beautiful landscaping.

Opening hours of Parc de Sceaux:
Parc de Sceaux is open daily. Opening hours differ each month. In general, the park is open during daylight. In April, the park is open from 07.00 until 20.30. You can find the exact opening hours on their website.

Entrance to the park is free.

Châteaux de Sceaux

Through the ages, several castles were built and destroyed in Parc de Sceaux. The last castle, Châteaux de Sceaux, was built in 1937 and is open to visitors nowadays as the Museum of the Departmental Domain of Sceaux. The museum collection is dedicated to the various owners of the estate and contains a collection of paintings, drawings and prints, furniture and works of art.

Opening hours museum:
From November until February: 13.00 - 17.00
From March until October: 14.00 - 18.30
The museum is open from Tuesday until Sunday. The museum is closed on Mondays and the first half of January.

The entrance fee to the permanent collections of the museum is €4 (without a guide). There’s an additional fee of €2 if you prefer a guided tour.
Check out the official website of Parc de Sceaux for more information about the estate and the museum.

The cherry blossoms in Parc de Sceaux

During spring, the North Grove in Parc de Sceaux becomes a cherry blossom heaven. Dozens of fluffy kanzan sakura trees paint this part of the estate pink. You can’t miss the bright cherry blossoms, as you can spot them from far away. We think this is the best place to see cherry blossoms in all of Europe!

Cherry blossoms in Parc de Sceaux near Paris, France

Hanami, which literally translates to “flower viewing”, is a Japanese custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers. Besides being invited to have a picnic under the cherry blossom trees (which is what Hanami is all about), Hanami activities are organized in the park during the month of April. Check out this website for an overview of the Hanami activities in 2022.

The best time to visit to see the cherry blossoms

Every year, the cherry blossoms in Parc de Sceaux start blooming in April. The blossoms are at their peak bloom from mid-April until the end of April. This means that these kanzan sakura bloom a little later than the kanzan sakura in the city of Paris. When the kanzan sakura in Paris lose their pink leaves, it’s time to head to Parc de Sceaux!

We visited Parc de Sceaux on 15 April 2022 which was the perfect timing for the cherry blossoms.

What to bring to Parc de Sceaux

The best thing to do under the cherry blossoms in Parc de Sceaux is having a picnic. So make sure you bring a picnic plaid, drinks and snacks. If you’re planning on taking photos for Instagram, consider bringing a change of clothes as well. This way you have more options and it doesn’t look like you took all the photos on the same day, which you totally did though, haha. Don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes because you have to walk a lot in the estate, especially if you want to explore more of the grounds.

Travel tip: there are public toilets near the east entrance of the park.

How to get to Parc de Sceaux

From the city center of Paris, Parc de Sceaux is easily reachable by RER train. Take line B in the south direction and get off at the station of Sceaux or Parc de Sceaux. There are multiple RER-B train stations in the city center of Paris, like Châtelet-Les Halles, Saint-Michel Notre-Dame and Luxembourg. The train ride takes around half an hour. From the station of Sceaux it’s a 20-minute walk to get to the cherry blossoms. From the station of Parc de Sceaux it’s a 25-minute walk. If you want to buy drinks and snacks before heading into the park, get off at the station of Sceaux. There’s an Auchan supermarket on the route to the park. There is also an Auchan supermarket near the station of Parc de Sceaux, but it’s not on the route to the park.

For the RER trains, you have to buy a billet origine-destination and type in the destination station on the ticket machine. Unlike the metro stations in Paris, you need your ticket when you get off at the RER train station, so make sure you keep it with you. Connections to and from metro stations are included in the RER tickets. When going back from Sceaux to the city center of Paris, your destination is Paris and you can get off at any RER-B station in zones 1 and 2 (or change to the metro). A billet origine-destination from Paris to Sceaux is €2,80 per person.

RER Train Tickets to Parc de Sceaux near Paris, France

We advise you to schedule in enough time for your visit to Parc de Sceaux. Take into account that just seeing the cherry blossoms and having a picnic in the park easily takes over 4 hours, including the time getting to the park and getting back to the city center of Paris. If you want to see more of Parc de Sceaux and visit the museum, a visit to Parc de Sceaux will take around 6 hours. The walking times in the park add up quickly, especially if you take the wrong turn or have to take a detour to the toilet.