Visiting Parc Monceau
Located in the prestigious 8th arrondissement of Paris, right in the heart of the quartier de l'Europe (Europe district), you will find Parc Monceau. Surrounded by grand private mansions, this 8.5-hectare park serves as a quiet escape within the city's most upscale residential area.
History
At the end of the 18th century, the Duc de Chartres commissioned Louis-Marie Colignon to design an octagonal pavilion surrounded by a formal French garden on a one-hectare plot. Driven by a desire to rival the gardens at Bagatelle and Versailles, he quickly pivoted to an Anglo-Chinese garden style. He prioritized extravagance, ordering garden follies that included Roman temples, Dutch windmills, pagodas, and other eccentric structures.
The layout was later refined by Thomas Blaikie, who expanded the greenhouses and pathways to create a more traditional English garden. However, the French Revolution led to the state seizing the property as national land.
André Jacques Garnerin, a famous Parisian balloonist, even performed the world's first parachute jump here by leaping from a hot air balloon.
In 1860, the city began constructing the boulevard Malesherbes, which required seizing a portion of the garden's land. The remaining space was entrusted to engineer Adolphe Alphand, who designed the 8.5-hectare park we see today. It was officially inaugurated in 1861.
During the 19th century, authorities installed statues of famous artists and their muses throughout the park to honor the neighborhood, which was a hub for the creative elite who often spent their afternoons lounging on the lawns of Parc Monceau.
Parc Monceau
Inside the park, you can still see remnants of the original landscape. The river and the bridge spanning it have been preserved. The pyramid resting on the lawn is sure to catch your eye.
You will also find another piece of local history, including an arcade that is a relic from the Paris City Hall, destroyed in 1871.
It is a garden with a distinct, historic atmosphere.
For a completely different experience nearby, you can visit the Parc Martin Luther King, a much newer project located in the Batignolles neighborhood.
Living in the Paris suburbs, I was surprised I didn't know about this park sooner. A really lovely spot to relax during a sunny afternoon.
I noticed and appreciated that the park is very generous with benches, which isn't always the case in Paris.
I recommend visiting in the spring to enjoy the variety of flowers and colors scattered throughout the park. My favorite spot? The large body of water and its columns, which made me think of ancient Greece and make the park a great photo spot!