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Bois de Boulogne Review

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Bois de Boulogne

Address: Porte Dauphine for the main entrance; Porte Maillot or Les Sablons for northern end; Porte d'Auteuil for southern end, Paris
Phone: 01-40-71-75-60 Parc de Bagatelle; 01-40-67-90-82 Jardin d'Acclimatation

Category: Parks
Location: Western Paris

Write a review | Avg. member rating: 3.8/5

Fodor's Review:

When Parisians need a day in the great outdoors close to home, they head to the Bois de Boulogne. The Bois is not a park in the traditional sense—more like a tamed forest, as it was once a royal hunting ground. On nice days the park is filled with cyclists, rowers, joggers, strollers, riders, pétanque players, and picnickers enjoying the elegant promenades, romantic lakes, and formal gardens.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Parc de Bagatelle is a floral garden of irises, roses, tulips, and water lilies, at its most colorful between April and June. Pré Catelan contains one of Paris's largest trees: a copper beech more than 200 years old. The romantic Le Pré Catelan restaurant, where le tout Paris of the Belle Époque used to dine on the elegant terrace, still lures diners and wedding parties, especially on weekends. The Jardin Shakespeare inside the Pré Catelan has a sampling of the flowers, herbs, and trees mentioned in Shakespeare's plays, and becomes an open-air theater for the Bard's works in spring. The Jardin d'Acclimatation, on the northern edge of the park, is a fabulous amusement park where it seems every child under the age of five in Paris spends his or her summer Sunday afternoons. Highlights include boat trips along an "enchanted river," and an aviary. A miniature railway shuttle runs from Porte Maillot on Wednesday and weekends beginning at 1:30; tickets cost EUR 1. Rent boats or bikes for a few euros at Lac Inférieur. You can row or take a quick ferry to the yummy island restaurant Chalet des Iles. Two popular horse-racing tracks are in the park, the Hippodrome de Longchamp and the Hippodrome d'Auteuil. Fans of the French Open can visit its home base, Stade Roland-Garros, and true devotees can check out the Tenniseum (tennis museum).

TIPS

The main entrance to the Bois de Boulogne is off Avenue Foch near the Porte Dauphine métro stop on the 2 line, best for accessing Pré Catelan and Jardin Shakespeare off Route de la Grande-Cascade. For Jardin d'Acclimatation, off Boulevard Des Sablons, take the 1 line to Les Sablons or Porte Maillot, where you can ride the petit train to the amusement park. The Parc de Bagatelle, off Route de Sèvres-à-Neuilly, can be accessed from either Porte Dauphine or Porte Maillot, though it's a bit of a hike.

You'll want to leave the park by dusk, as the Bois becomes a distinctly adult playground after dark.

Cost: Parc de Bagatelle free except during exhibitions; otherwise: adults EUR 3, children EUR 1.50, under 7 free; Jardin Shakespeare: EUR 1; Jardin d'Acclimatation: EUR 2.70, does not include individual ride tickets.
Open: Daily; hours vary according to time of year but are generally around 9 am to dusk
Metro: Porte Dauphine for main entrance; Porte Maillot for norther entrance; Porte d'Auteuil for southern end

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Member Reviews and Ratings

Reviewed by bachslunch from US on 11/9/08
A huge, sprawling park bordering the west side of Paris, not as "planned" and "designed" as the others. Lots of trails to walk, has a nice paired lake complex (Lac Inferieur, Lac Superieur) good for boating. Has a little amusement park for kids. Avoid after dark.