PARC MONCEAU

Description

Essentials about Parc Monceau in brief

Paris is a city with many large and beautiful parks. However, Parc Monceau, located in the northwest of the city, can in good conscience be called the most elegant park in the city. Moreover, the park occupies an exceptional position among Parisian parks due to its miniature versions of famous buildings, such as Egyptian pyramids, Dutch windmills and Corinthian columns.

The history and layout of Parc Monceau

The park was designed on the orders of the Duke of Orleans and Chartres, a cousin of King Louis XVI, and opened in 1769. Through constant acquisitions, the garden grew to an area of 12 hectares in the following years. After ongoing quarrels with the French court, the duke increasingly spent his time in London, where he also became friends with English horticulture. He therefore commissioned the Scottish garden architect Thomas Blaikie to redesign the park in the English style. The work, which lasted from 1785 to 1788, gave Parc Monceau an appearance that set it apart from the more traditional French gardens. With its more playful layout of winding paths and randomly placed statues, the park differed from the French gardens, which were usually laid out in a strict geometric fashion.

After the execution of the Duke of Chartres during the French Revolution, the park became public property. The historic rotunda at the main entrance to the park, which was part of the then newly built city wall demarcating the Paris tax district, still survives from this period. In the years following the Revolution, the park was a popular venue for balls and festivals. In 1860, the city of Paris finally purchased the site and declared half of the land as building land for new homes. The remaining half was developed into a public park, which opened in 1861. Today, Parc Monceau is a favorite green oasis for local residents and is located in one of Paris’ chicest residential neighborhoods with numerous magnificent city palaces and luxury buildings.

The buildings in Parc Monceau

What also makes Parc Monceau so exceptional is the fact that you can find a number of miniature versions of famous buildings, such as Egyptian pyramids, Dutch windmills and Corinthian columns. In addition, the park features statues of a number of famous French personalities, for example Guy de Maupassant, Frédéric Chopin, Charles Gounod, Ambroise Thomas and Edouard Pailleron.