The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. Located on the left bank of the river Seine, it covers an area of 28 hectares. The garden was in 1626 as a medicinal herb garden and was originally known as the Jardin du Roi.

The garden maintains a botanical school, which trains botanists, constructs demonstration gardens, and exchanges seeds to maintain biotic diversity. About 4500 plants are arranged by family on a one hectare plot. Three hectares are devoted to horticultural displays of decorative plants. Specialized buildings, such as a large Art Deco winter garden, and Mexican and Australian hothouses display regional plants, not native to France.

The grounds of the Jardin des Plantes includes four galleries of the Muséum: the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution, the Mineralogy Museum, the Paleontology Museum and the Entomology Museum.