Parc des Buttes-Chaumont facts. Hours. Map

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont hours and facts

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is a scenic ​​25 hectare Paris park, with extended hours. Entrance is free. Buttes-Chaumont hours.

The park has a vertical drop of 30 meters creating points of view on the city, including Montmartre district. The paths converge towards the lower part of Buttes-Chaumont and the lake of one hectare and a half. In its center are the island of Belvédère and its kiosk called the Temple of Sybille, dating from 1869. Visitors can access it by a suspended bridge. At the edge of the water, chickens and ducks are the happiness of children. Entertainment is offered: a Guignol theater, swings, rides and playgrounds, pony rides.

Champs-Elysées hotel

Hôtel Barrière Fouquet's is the only hotel overlooking the Champs-Elysées. This 5-star hotel features a spa with a swimming pool and sauna, 3 bars and 2 restaurants, including the historic Fouquet's brasserie. All rooms have been decorated by top designers. Most rooms offer views of the Champs-Élysées, Avenue George-V or the hotel's interior garden. Champs-Elysées hotels.

Buttes-Chaumont history

The hills of northern Paris, including Buttes-Chaumont, were long exploited for their gypsum. This raw material was used for a long time to have plaster and lime. In order to make lime, gypsum was heated in furnaces. This activity was maintained until the second half of the 19th century.

By the end of the 1850s, quarries were exhausted. In the Second Empire, quarries closed, Napoleon III decided to turn the desolate hill into a sumptuous garden. The State acquired the land in 1863 and the first picks were given in 1864.

Three years were necessary to carry out the titanic earthworks and create the landscaping that adorn the park. This feat required the help of 1,000 workers, a hundred horses, 450 cars on 39 km of rails, 2 steam engines, and the use of dynamite to blow the rock. The park was inaugurated on April 1, 1867, at the same time as the Universal Exhibition of Champ-de-Mars.

Assisted by gardener Barillet-Deschamps, architect Davioud, engineer Belgrand, Jean-Charles Alphand metamorphosed the old quarries, digging a lake and a cave adorned with stalactites, cascading waterfalls and streams.