BOIS DE VINCENNES

Description

Essentials about Bois de Vincennes in brief

With its huge dimensions of almost 10 square kilometers, Bois de Vincennes, located in the east of Paris, is the largest park in the French capital and one of the largest urban parks in the world. Together with Bois de Boulogne, a city forest of about the same size in the west of the city, Bois de Vincennes forms the green lungs of Paris. Bois de Vincennes is popular with Parisians primarily because of its diversity. Its attractions range from a flower park and a tropical agricultural garden to a model farm, bird sanctuaries, a trotting track and a zoo. Miles of hiking and horseback riding trails, as well as numerous playgrounds and sports fields, are of course also available.

The history and the grounds of Bois de Vincennes

Like Bois de Boulogne, Bois de Vincennes was already used as a royal hunting ground in the Middle Ages. In the 14th century, the Castle of Vincennes was built, which can still be visited today. In the following centuries, the French kings had to fight again and again with reforestations for the preservation of the Bois de Vincennes, because the forest was repeatedly used by the population for logging. From the middle of the 18th century, the forest slowly developed into an artificial park and was made accessible to the population.

In 1860, Emperor Napolean III gave the site to the city of Paris with the order to transform it into an English landscape park similar to Bois de Boulogne. Artificial rivers, lakes and hills were created for this purpose. Some sports facilities were built in the park for the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. In addition, the Paris Colonial Exhibition was held here in 1931, of which, however, only the Palais de la Porte Dorée at the western end of the park remains, which today houses an aquarium and an immigrant museum.

Nature attractions in Bois de Vincennes

Bois de Vincennes is an extremely diverse urban park. About a third of it is covered with forest. About 60 kilometers of hiking trails and 20 kilometers of bridle paths crisscross the park. There are three artificial lakes with islands where boats can be rented, the huge flower park Parc floral de Paris, the botanical school École du Breuil with its arboretum, a tropical agricultural garden, the model farm of Paris and several bird reserves.

Other attractions in Bois de Vincennes

In addition to its natural beauty, Bois de Vincennes offers a wide range of sports facilities and other recreational, amusement and entertainment sites. Among others, the Hippodrome de Vincennes trotting track, several riding clubs, Vincennes Zoo, several playgrounds and a miniature golf course are located here. The Parc Floral hosts many free events in the summer, such as the Paris Jazz Festival, Pestacles and the Festival Classique au Vert. For the physical well-being, there are numerous coffee gardens and restaurants. Last but not least, don’t leave the Bois de Vincennes without visiting the park’s most remarkable structure – the beautiful medieval Vincennes Castle.