The Musée Bourdelle -- dedicated to the artist Antoine Bourdelle -- is located at the foot of the hideous Tour Montparnasse, and is a surprising oasis in a junky area by … the Montparnasse train station. Its exterior sculpture garden includes a gigantic bronze horse and the sculptures in its interior garden share space with trees. Bourdelle's painting studio on the premises has been conserved since his death in 1929. [link]

The 19th-century Musée Galliera in front of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris puts on temporary exhibitions devoted to fashion. Its garden is a great spot to … sun yourself -- unless you'd rather take shade on its covered patio. [link]

The charming garden at the Musée de la Vie Romantique in the 9th arrondissement is not exactly a secret. So take your time making your way from the street down a … tree-lined alley to wait for a table on the veranda in its outdoor tea salon. [link]

A small hidden museum on a side street in the Marais, the Musée Cognacq-Jay -- whose permanent collection is composed of 18th-century objects owned by Samaritaine … founder Ernest Cognacq -- is housed in a handsome 16th-century mansion. Its small French interior garden is open from mid-May to mid-September. [link]

The Musée Carnavalet is dedicated to the history of Paris, and its landscaped courtyard garden in the heart of the Marais is a beautiful place to escape. If the crowded … rue des Francs-Bourgeois gets too much for you, slip inside, grab a bench and admire the one of Paris' loveliest gardens à la française before going back out on the street. [link]

The interior garden of the Petit Palais, Paris' museum dedicated to beaux-arts, was renovated in 2005. Have a drink in the cafe/restaurant under one of the palm trees or … around its 1900-style mosaic water basins, and admire the building from outside. [link]