Parc Monceau

Overview

Parc Monceau is the most aristocratic park in Paris, set in the elegant 8th arrondissement and surrounded by grand Haussmann apartment buildings and the mansions of some of the city's wealthiest residents. It was created in 1778 for Louis-Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Chartres, who wanted an English-style garden filled with picturesque follies drawn from every culture and epoch. The result was a fantastical landscape of Egyptian pyramids, Dutch windmills, a Venetian bridge, a colonnade of ancient Roman columns, and a Swiss farmhouse. Most of the follies have vanished, but what remains — particularly the iconic Naumachia colonnade reflected in an oval pool — is one of the most evocative corners of Paris.

What to See

• 1Naumachia colonnade — a semi-circular colonnade of ancient Corinthian columns reflected in an oval pond; the park's iconic image
• 2Egyptian pyramid — a small pyramid, one of the surviving garden follies from the original 1778 design
• 3Ledoux rotunda — a grand neoclassical tollgate designed by Claude Nicolas Ledoux at the park entrance
• 4Rare trees — the park contains some of Paris's finest specimen trees, including a giant plane tree and a tulip tree
• 5Statues of writers and composers — Maupassant, Chopin, Musset, and others are commemorated in bronze
• 6Playground — one of the better-equipped playgrounds in central Paris

Photos

Parc Monceau with the Naumachia colonnade reflected in the oval pond

Nearby Parks

Jardin des Champs-Élysées

Garden · 8e arr.

Esplanade des Invalides

Garden · 7e arr.

Jardin des Tuileries

Garden · 1er arr.