Parc du Buttes Chaumont
Today during our perambulations through Belleville I remembered someone mentioning a great park there, was it you Tanya? We were operating off the edge of the Paris Moleskine map but found our way to this treasure.
I am so glad to have first visited in winter, turning corners into misty grottos, seeing the fragile furtive cherry blossoms just coming out. Breathing smoke by the waterfall and being able to look out from the rotunda undisturbed, other than by the sounds made by some men practiscing kick-boxing just below us.
According to a sign we saw, Belleville was not included in Paris until the 19th century which explains how such a monumental park remained in the otherwise built-up city. If you are ever in Paris I recommend it as having a far better view than that from the top of Montmartre - not to mention fresher air and rolling hills. Incidentally, as the second highest point of Paris, you can of course, see Sacre Coeur in the distance.
To conclude, just a little history from a government website:
In 885, the Count Eudes de Paris et de Troyes drove back the Normans at the battle of
Montfaucon on the hillside
In 1814, at the end of the French campaign, the national guard and the marine artillery fought
a desperate battle against the assaults of the Prussians before surrendering.
It has also witnessed some macabre scenes.
At the end of the Middle Ages, the infamous Montfaucon gallows, immortalised by the poet
François Villon in his famous Ballade des pendus, were still to be seen on its western side.
During the Restoration, the hill, which had been occupied by lime quarries since time
immemorial, was turned into a vast public wasteground.
When the communes of Belleville and La Villette were absorbed into the capital and the
quarries were bought in 1862 by the City of Paris, Napoléon III had the idea of creating the
Butte-Chaumont park which was to become a monument to plants.
Oh, and here's David in his new Austrian jacket.
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