Not all parks are manicured and green. This Court of Honour space in the Jardins du Palais Royal in Paris is unlike any public play ground I’ve seen anywhere.

The entire courtyard is ‘paved’ with stone and concrete. ‘Planted’ throughout the area are black and white striped posts and pillars, varying in height and width.

On the day we visited, the place was literally teeming with life. Adults reading, resting, and soaking up the sun.

Children racing and chasing each other in their self-invented games or enjoying solo moments with books or their own thoughts. Not  a tree or flower in sight – but extraordinary all the same.