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Home : Paris City  Leasure and outing Not to be missed! Parks and gardens


Parks and gardens

 

Feel the need for a breath of fresh air?


Source:www.parisbalades.com
No problem! In Paris you have a large choice of parks and gardens where you can take your ease.
Below are some examples of renowned parks and gardens where you can stroll about, relax and have a rest. These open air spaces provide ideal spots for picnics or for letting your children run around freely.

It’s up to you!

Don’t hesitate to contact the Paris Tourism Office for further information on the parks and gardens of Paris.

 

Jardin des Tuileries


© Pariserve.com
M°Concorde, Louvre
In 1553 Catherine de Medici decided to open the park and to construct a castle there. She bought the Tuileries site and had an Italian style park landscaped there, with fountains, a cave, a greenhouse and a menagerie.

In the 16th century the jardin des Tuileries quickly became a fashionable place to take a walk. In the 17th century Colbert commissioned Le Nôtre to refurbish the park and to this day the park is laid out according to those designs.

 

Jardin des Plantes


© Paris Tourist Office -
Photographe : Catherine Balet

The creation of the Jardin des Plantes dates from 1626, under the reign of Louis XIII. It was the work of two of the king’s doctors: Jean Héroard and Guy de la Brosse. The intendant of the garden from 1739 to 1788, Buffon, enlarged and considerably enriched the garden with the help of Daubenton. remonte à 1626, sous Louis XIII, et fut l'oeuvre de deux médecins du Roi, Jean Héroard et Guy de la Brosse. Buffon, intendant de 1739 à 1788, agrandit et enrichit considérablement le jardin avec l'aide de Daubenton.
The garden was conserved and designated the Museum of Natural History, whereupon eminent naturalists such as Lacépède, Cuvier, Becquerel and Lamarck contributed to the variety of its fauna. As well as the botanic garden, one can also visit the menagerie, which was created from the former royal menagerie.

The Floral Promenade


Source:www.parisbalades.com

(Cyclists can access the promenade from Avenue Vivaldi or Rue de Picpus and continue to the Bois de Vincennes) (open 08.00 - 21.00, 9.00 - 21.00 Saturdays and Sundays for overpass and underpass sections) (architect: Philippe Mathieux, landscaper: Jacques Vergely).
The promenade was established in 1988 along the old railway line that had linked Bastille to Saint Maur until 1970. It has kept the original infrastructure: viaducts, tunnels, ravines. Verdant and lined with little gardens, the walkway also affords an uncommon view of the backs of buildings.

Several gardens have been joined to enlarge the promenade:
- Jardin Hector Malot (Rue Hector-Malot) is composed of two terraces decorated with canals, fountains, maple trees, flowers and plants… (Christo-Foroux workhop, 1995)

- Jardin de Reuilly (architect: Pierre Colboc and Groupe Paysages, 1992)
It is inspired by the old sorting station, most notably in the case of the children’s games. Around the big lawn thematic gardens are arranged: an aquatic garden, a rose garden, etc.

 

Bois de Vincennes (métro Porte Dorée)


Source:
www.parisbalades.com

In the beginning of the 13th century, Philippe August had a 12km wall built around the royal hunting ground at Vincennes. Stags and does were then released to roam within the walls.

Under Louis XV, the forest was transformed into a public promenade and six gates were added to the wall to provide access to the enclosure. In the 19th century, the park became a military training ground and the woods were cleared to make way for barracks, manoeuvring grounds and firing ranges.

In 1860, Napoleon III ceded the ground to the city of Paris that it might be transformed into a symmetric park like the Bois de Boulogne. Haussman commissioned Alphand to design the park in the English style for which the emperor had a liking: the grounds were reforested, lakes and ponds were created.

The Lac de Gravelle, fed by the waters of the Marne, serves as a reservoir for the other lakes and streams that run across the park. A racing course was installed, and little by little the sporting areas grew. Two signposted pathways lead walkers through the grounds.

Today, the park boasts a zoo, a floral park, the Georges-Ville farm, a Buddhist temple, a tropical garden (and the Institute of Agronomic and Tropical Research), the Technical Centre for Tropical Forestry, a horticultural school with an arboretum, the Cartoucherie de Vincennes theatre and the Foire du Trône in the spring.

 

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