Parc des Buttes Chaumont
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- Published on Monday, 25 July 2011 12:47
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The most romantic and unique park in the city of Paris is the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. This is the park that replaced the gypsum quarry and execution ground. It was built in 1863 and served as the crowning touch of Napoleon III’s plan for green spaces all over Paris. The name of the park came from the contraction of two words: “mont” meaning mountain and “chauve” meaning bald. The area has the reputation of being an area that nothing would grow due to the soil composition which is made up of clay.
The park has an area of 61 hectares and is a hilly land in the 19th arrondissement. You can see it on the north eastern end of Paris. Engineers and landscape gardeners should be given credit for the design and draft of the Park. Did you know that the Parc was made out of old slums and quarries with dynamite? It was outfitted with amazing touches such as a grotto, a lake, a folly and waterfalls. On top of a cliff with views of Montmartre you can see the Temple Sybil. Unlike the other Parisian gardens with formal designs, the Parc attempts to recreate nature in the style of the 19th century English garden.
The second largest park in Paris next to Parc de la Villetteand is the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. It is over 5 kilometres covers 24 hectares. It offers surprising views of the expansive lawns of the park.
The names Avenue Jacques de Liniers, Avenue Alphand, Avenue des Marnes, Avenue Darcel, and Avenue San Martin are given to the covered walkways of the Parc. There are a lot of century old trees in Parc des Buttes Chaumount. You can see hazel-trees, Byzance, ginko bilobas, Siberian elm, sophora, chestnuts, beeches, alders, kakis, oriental plane and many more. Birds also reside in the Park and with a huge variety. The examples of these birds are hedge-sparrows, waterfowl, black swans, mallards, geese, wagtails, and water hens. Aside from birds, there are also abundant fish population like roach, pike, tench and gudgeon.