We are planning a return visit to Paris this spring. I think I would like to visit either Bois de Boulogne or Bois de Vincennes. Does anyone have a suggestion about which they found preferable? And what they liked best about either park?
Thanks!
Posted by
Chicago
8551 posts
I would do Bois de Bologne; here are some snapshots of our visit a few years ago. https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/monday-in-the-bois-with-ed/
AS you can see you can rent a little boat and laze about one of the lakes. There is a nice restaurant in the middle of the lake which you can take a small ferry to visit or row yourself. There is also a lovely rose garden and a small amusement park for little kids.
Vincennes is also lovely and has extensive gardens and a medieval castle you can visit. It is also reachable via the Promenade Plantee
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/promenade-plantee-turning-discarded-public-space-into-a-pleasant-place-for-parisians/
a long trail that starts behind the Bastille Opera House and runs along the old train bed. It looks kind of like an aqueduct near the opera house and there are artisan studios underneath it. The entrance is a little tricky to find, but the walk is nice. The Parc Vincennes is enormous and varied. It would be a good idea to look at a map first so you have some idea of where to go. (true of Bois de Bologne as well.)
A couple of other often overlooked parks and gardens: Butte Chaumont and Musee Albert Kahn gardens at the St. Cloud/Bologne stop on the #10 line of the metro. The latter is several different types of gardens shoehorned into a small space e.g. an ENglish ramble, a formal French espaliered garden, a Japanese Garden etc etc.