Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
Parc de la Villette is the third largest park in Paris. It hosts six attractions, including the Philharmonie de Paris classical music concert hall, the Cité des Sciences museum and the hemispheric La Géode cinema theater. Top Paris gardens.
On the eastern side of Paris, Parc de la Villette is one of the best parks in Paris. Its planted 55 hectares are crossed by romantic canals and feature six top Paris attractions:
- the large and modern Cité des Sciences,
- La Géode, a spectacular hemispheric movie theater,
- the famous Zénith Paris rock concert hall,
- the Cité de la musique,
- the Paris National Conservatory of Music (web site).
- the Philharmonie de Paris Concert Hall, designed by Jean Nouvel, was inaugurated in January 2015, adding another top attraction to Parc de La Villette.
These sights form altogether a splendid blend of nature, daring modern architecture and activities.
Parc de La Villette now well deserves a full day visit. Children will very much like the park and its many games. Parc de la Villette is an open space with free access. It is forbidden to stay in the park between 1am and 6am.
Paris metro: Porte de la Villette station on line 7 or Porte de Pantin on line 5. Parking at the Cité de la Musique and Cité des Sciences. Parc de la Villette map pdf
Paris Canal organizes lovely boat cruises from Musée d'Orsay to Parc de la Villette. Embark close to the Musée d’Orsay, pass the Louvre Museum, Notre-Dame, enter the canal Saint-Martin. 1,24 Miles of darkness inside a mysterious underneath vault perforated by light holes, then the canal Saint-Martin filled of poetry .The boat passes by the Bassin de la Villette, before reaching the Parc de la Villette.
Hotel Restaurant Au Boeuf Couronné offers pet-friendly accommodation with free WiFi in Paris, a 3-minute walk from the park. Guests can enjoy the on-site restaurant, one of the best meat restaurants in town, and bar. The air-conditioned rooms include a flat-screen TV with satellite channels. The rooms have a private bathroom with a shower, free toiletries and a hairdryer. All rooms are serviced by a lift. An American breakfast is served daily at the hotel. There is a terrace, a 24-hour front desk and a luggage storage on site.
The Parc de la Villette was built on the site of the central slaughterhouse. Until early 19th century, the animals were slaughtered near their place of sale. The first Parisian slaughterhouse did not appear until 1808. Between 1865 and 1866, Baltard constructed the general slaughterhouse, replacing all other existing slaughterhouses in the city. It gathered nearly 12,000 butchers, whose activity attracted all-Paris, who came to enjoy a pig's foot or a Charolais pavement in one of the restaurants near the site. The refrigeration industry in the 1950s killed the slaughterhouse. It became more economical to carry out the slaughter on the place of breeding. Important works were however undertaken in 1959. The scandal of La Villette grew, until the interruption of the building in 1971. It was decided to open a park associating a museum and an auditorium. In 1984, the Zenith was inaugurated, opening a series of architectural creations and rehabilitations. The former slaughterhouse sales hall became home to the Cité des Sciences.
