Buttes-Chaumont - Paris (France)

27/8/2022

While we’re still enjoying the beautiful summer days, at the sea, in the mountains or in the city, I wanted to share with you a very exotic and relaxing place in the heart of Paris.

In 2020, I chose to spend my second honeymoon in the French capital. A romantic destination that also works for self-married people and singles. The important thing is to be in good company, and I admit that I love being with myself! One of the many benefits of my Solo Wedding in Santorini, self-love makes us accept ourselves as we are.

And I liked it so much that I spent the summer in Paris again last year, I like this time of year when the city is quieter, almost at rest with its inhabitants who have left on holiday. It's as if I had it all to myself, a romantic tête-à-tête.

Precisely, I take you daydreaming in the magnificent Buttes-Chaumont park…

It was inaugurated in 1867 under Napoleon III, a great period of construction decided by the emperor and entrusted to Baron Haussmann, remember my article on the Garnier Opera House.

Napoleon III was seduced by London parks – I understand that, check my article My Birthday in London – and wanted to reproduce this model in the French capital.

With nearly 25 hectares of greenery (61 acres), this public garden located in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the largest parks in the city.

Unlike most green spaces which are flat, the Buttes-Chaumont, as their name suggests, overlook Paris, thus offering an exceptional view.

Built on a former gypsum quarry, the engineer Adolphe Alphand was inspired by its 40-metre drop to create an English garden reminiscent of the mountain and its environment: waterfalls, cliffs, cave rocks, torrents, belvederes…

This makes it a place conducive to discovery and strolling.

With 820m (2,690ft) long and 450m (1,476ft) wide, and a periphery of 2.5km (8,200ft), the multiple paths and bridges are an invitation to adventure.

There’s thus a suspended footbridge of 65m (213ft) which makes it possible to reach the belvedere located on a 30m-high 98ft) steep island. And guess who built it in 1867? Gustave Eiffel.

The neoclassical style temple, crowning the belvedere, is a creation of the architect Gabriel Davioud.

And after all this walk, there's nothing like enjoying its 12ha (29ac) of lawns in the shade of its 6ha (15ac) of woodland to rest and reconnect with Mother Nature.

A natural paradise built by man around a lake, home to incredible flora and fauna.

Moreover, the Buttes-Chaumont include the widest variety of forest species among Parisian public parks.

All you have to do is breathe and relax...

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