You can see so many wonderful things in Paris, from theater to film to dance to foreign countries.

Without even going aboveground.

I was struck recently how the posters in the Métro are so much more varied and inviting than they used to be. In just one trip I was enchanted by ads for art exhibits:

Travel (to Tunisia, in case the poster is hard to read):

Movies (not sure this one is up my alley but I like the reflection in the photo):

Theater:

And lots of dance. The title on the right was also used for the French version of the film “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” It literally means They Finish Off Horses Well.

Even an ad for sleeping pills used a famous painting, coupled with what I presume was a doctored version. The subhead says “Sleeping is a need, getting to sleep is an art.”

Maybe these posters looked so appealing because the Métro itself, as always, was grim.

I needed some outside air, so I went to the Jardin des Plantes. Dating back to the 17th century, this broad expanse in the 5th arrondissement was originally intended to train future doctors and scientists. Home now to acres of gardens, a little zoo and the natural-history museum, it has always been open to the public.

This time of year, the early perennials — tulips, daffodils, hyacinth — were in full bloom.

As was the most unusual cherry tree I’ve ever seen. Washington’s 3,800 cherry trees may be in bloom right now, but none of them as far as I know is flat.

Of the shirotae variety, the tree, with its horizontal branches, attracts throngs of admirers during the few days it’s in bloom.

I probably won’t make it to most of the exhibits and events I saw advertised in the Métro. In the garden, I saw the real thing, but it was ephemeral. Good thing Paris is always producing new exhibits, new shows and new plantings. And I can take the Métro to get to them.