Paris park, Parc Monceau

History and description

In 1769 the Duke of Chartres, purchased a piece of land (1ha), he built what will be called the "Folie de Chartres".
Later, Carmontelle a painter-architect-designer was in charge to draw the garden, he gave it an original and unique touch, with a mixing of all styles and all eras: the ruins of a temple of Mars, a Chinese pagoda, a Gothic castle, minaret, an Egyptian pyramid, a Chinese pagoda, a Dutch windmill, a Tartar tent, the park became famous because of those mixing.

The famous Naumachie, a basin surrounded by Corinthian columns (in Roman times it was a basin which was used for depictions of naval battles), was built.

In the park, there is a rotunda with columns, called the "flag of Chartres," alongside the boulevard de Courcelles, it was built by Ledoux.

The park became a national property during the Revolution, he was restored to the family of Orleans but in 1860, the City of Paris acquired it. The appearance of the park was then changed considerably.
The park was cut in half, one half was sold to the financial Pereire.
He erected many mansions on the east side, south and west, including Cernuschi Museum (Asian art) and Nissim de Camondo (18th century).
The design of the second half part was under the direction of the Baron Haussmann, the drawings of the park were changed for the last time by the engineer Jean-Charles Alphand, the architect Davioud and the horticulturalist Barillet-Deschamps (the same team than the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont) this team
In 1861, Napoleon III was finally able to inaugurate the parc Monceau.

The Parc Monceau is a 8.2ha Paris park, it's is full of different species of birds and children can enjoy the place, with sand box, skate rink, playground, swings and merry-go-ground...


There are also some statues:
-The ''Joueur de billes" stone statue (Charles Lenoir 1878)
-Guy de Maupassant bust (Raoul Verlet 1897)
-Alfred de Musset statue (Antonin Mercié 1906)
-Chopin statue (Jacques Froment-Meurice 1906)...

Location of the Paris park

The Parc Monceau is located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the 35 Boulevard Courcelles 75008 PARIS.

How to get to the Parc Monceau

You can use the Paris metro line:
-Paris metro line 2 Monceau station (best option)
-Paris metro line 3 Malesherbes station (around 7 minutes of walks)
-Villiers station (line 2 or line 3).

Entrance fee and opening hours

The park is open daily and is a free admission Paris park:
-from 7am to 10pm from the 1st of april until the end of the summer,
-from 7am to 8pm outside those times.

Paris park Parc Monceau map