Even the thought of spring in Paris can elicit a sigh. The combination of great architecture, history and outrageously good food makes Paris one of the most alluring destinations in the world, and garden lovers who visit the "City of Light" in spring can enjoy grand displays in the city's numerous parks and public gardens.

From the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank to the hip and trendy Marais near the Bastille, it's entirely possible to spend a week going from one beautiful garden to another, soaking up the sun in little corner cafés. Start your day with coffee and a croissant, then head out to explore. Paintbox Garden One of my favorite places to visit is Musée Carnavalet, the Paris History museum, located in the old Jewish Quarter of the Marais. Go through the main-floor galleries to access the inner gardens (free admission).

In two sunken courtyards, you'll see formal parterres with gravel paths. Boxwood (Buxus sp) surrounds beds filled with a cool mix of white primrose, creamy dianthus and pansies, Dusty Miller (Senecio cineraria, zones 3 to 8) and purple tulips. Paintbox Garden Hydrangea shrubs flanking this stone bench have just begun to leaf out, but notice the swag rope made of twisted ivy against the courtyard wall. I love this elegant detail.

This is one of my favorite places for escaping from the busy Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, which is usually bustling with people. The gardens offer a quiet place where you can sit and look at the very best traditional French garden design. Paintbox Garden Flowering cherry and magnolia trees, quince and laurel shrubs bloom at the La Promenade Plantée, a 4 1/2-kilometer (2 3/4-mile) garden built on an elevated rail line connecting Place de la Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes.

Steel arches support vigorous wisteria vines (Wisteria sp) and climbing roses, and create visual accents along the route. Forsythia brightens the view for now. Paintbox Garden From above you get a bird's-eye view of the white flowering magnolias (Magnolia sp) that line the streets.

La Promenade Plantée opened in 1993; it's a great place to take in city views. It was an inspiration for New York City's urban High Line, another garden in the sky that was once a defunct railway and is now a hot spot for city dwellers. Paintbox Garden The Alpine Garden at the Jardin de Plantes has winding paths and a small stream bisected with footbridges. Access is through an underground tunnel from the Potager.

Early flowering shad (Amelanchier sp) and redbud (Cercis sp) bloom in the protected valley setting. Paintbox Garden Rocky outcroppings display plants from the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Himalayas and North America in the Alpine Garden. Informal stone paths are scented with lavender (Lavandula dentata, zones 8 to 10) and rosemary.

I found dwarf iris and yellow corydalis (Corydalis lutea, zones 5 to 7) growing happily together at the base of a stone wall. Paintbox Garden Built for the World's Fair in 1900, the Petit Palais has a courtyard garden that's a must-see for its combination of architecture and planting design.

These metal French bistro tables and chairs are very chic. Get the look for your patio or covered porch by picking up a set; they're widely available in fun colors. Paintbox Garden The garden's plantings are textural and bold. Chartreuse spurge (Euphorbia sp) provides a flush of vibrant color around the pools; it's planted with a variety of ornamental grasses, which will provide contrast during the summer and fall. Pink bergenia (Bergenia sp) are in bloom now along the edges of the beds. Paintbox Garden You'll find the plant-covered Musée du quai Branly strikingly different from anything else in the city. Forget formal symmetry; this is a wild, untamed living sculpture.

Designed by French plantsman Patrick Blanc, this vertical garden makes the building literally come alive with lush growth that's adapted to live in pockets of moist felt. Paintbox Garden Take a close look — ferns unfurl their tiny leaves here, and the ruffled crowns of coral bells (Heuchera sp) lend texture to the unusual composition.

Vertical landscaping is big these days. It's easy to grow up, accenting walls with greenery using wall systems, now widely available. Why should a building be boring? Paintbox Garden Now here's a window box with style. That tall plant is horsetail reed (Equisetum hyemale, zones 3 to 11), an unusual ornamental grass with jointed stems.

For a minimalist look that's similar, mass a vertical grass in a rectangular planter and edge it with a trailing annual. Paintbox Garden Parisian homes are small by U.S. standards, and many city residents live in old buildings with tight spaces, so plants in small containers can be found at every florist.

I spotted these crates on the street after touring the Louvre — lemon thyme, cilantro, rosemary and white sea thrift (Armeria maritima) all herald spring with fresh scents.