Location: Parc Monceau is located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It is situated just at the junction where Rue de Prony, Boulevard de Courcelles, and Rue Georges Berger meets. The park is spread over 20 acres of land and is full of follies and structures that interest people of all ages. The address of the park is 35 Boulevard de Courcelles, 75008 Paris, France.
Timings: The parks open at 7 am in both summer and winter. The closing time in summer is at 10 pm and during winter is 8 pm.
Pricing: The entry at the park, irrespective of the independent tour and guided tour, is free for everyone.
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History of Parc Monceau
Parc Monceau, a public park in Paris, was created in 1778. A cousin of King Louis XIV, Philippe d’Orléans - Duke of Chartres - loved everything English and understandably so, as he was a close friend of Prince of Wales. Therefore, in 1769, he started purchasing land where he could create a park with architectural inspiration in the buildings of different ages and continents. He commissioned Louis Carrogis Carmontelle, a well-known writer and painter, to design the park.
Agreeing to the terms and conditions of designing it using varied inspiration as asked by the Duke, Carmontelle included a miniature Egyptian Pyramid, antique statues, a Roman colonnade, a pond of water lilies, a farmhouse, a Dutch windmill, an Italian vineyard, a minaret, a temple of Mars.However, with time as the designing and fashion of gardens changed, parts of the park were remodelled to be more traditional English landscapes. In 1781, the then famous Scottish gardener and landscape expert Thomas Blaikie was commissioned for the remodelling job.
In 1787, a new city wall was erected along the northern edge of the garden. The wall was named as Walls of the Farmers-General. In 1797, André-Jacques Garnerin – the French balloonist and inventor of a frameless parachute – jumped from a hot air balloon, turning Parc Monceau to be the site of a first silk parachute jump. In the spring of 1876, Claude Monet painted a series of three paintings in the park, followed by three more in 1878. French romantic composer Hector Berlioz was specifically fond of the pond in the park. During the Third Republic, Parc Monceau was decorated with statues of many well-known writers and musicians.
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The Follies of Parc Monceau
The Parc Monceau in Paris gives you a slight sense of English and German gardens when you walk through the park. The creator of the park Phillippe d’ Orléans, loved all kinds of English things very dearly. Therefore, when he instructed the gardener and designer of the park to resemble an English garden he installed various follies and statues. The Duke of Chartres instructed the follies to be placed throughout the park. It not only surprised the visitors but also kept the whole park serene and interesting to walk around.
Along with loving English things, the follies that the Duke placed throughout the park are of the different continents and different ages. Some of the prominent follies are
A small Egyptian Pyramid – that brings a semblance of Middle Eastern architecture to the park.
A Roman colonnade – to bring the sense of Roman peristyle closer to the people of Paris.
- A water lily pond
- A Dutch windmill.
- Corinthian Pillars – to give the park a touch of Greek and Roman architecture.
- A temple of Mars.
- An Italian vineyard.
- A tartar tent.
- An enchanted grotto
- A medieval ruin
- A minaret.
All of these follies were introduced by the Duke not only for his own pleasure but for other people visiting him, to get a sense what architectural styles of different continents looked like. It was, as if, the Duke created a mini world in that park. Wealthy people used to visit the park, take a walk through the garden as they were left amazed by the follies and statues, as they would enjoy a relaxed time under the shade of the trees.
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