Parc des Buttes Chaumont, Paris

One thing (of many) that the French do well is les fleurs (flowers). They really “get” flowers and the impact of their visual beauty. And now that spring is here, the most glorious flowers are illuminating the parks, lining the streets, overflowing from window boxes, and brightening every nook and cranny of Paris, guaranteeing a smile on every piétons (pedestrians) face.

My friend Kendall and I decided to do a walk once a week to a different part of the city and today we picked the 19th arrondisement in the northeast corner of France. It is an out of the way part of town, not high on a tourist’s list of must sees. But add it to your list as it is a cultural melting pot known for it’s Turkish cafés, Arab grocery stores, Thai restaurants, exotic food markets and kosher butchers as well as many beautiful parks: Parc des Buttes Chaumont, Parc de Belleville, and Parc de la Villette.  Local lore also claims that legendary Edith Piaf was born under a streetlamp at 72, rue de Belleville!

We spent most of our time at Parc des Buttes Chaumont which was the site of a quarry (as was Parc de Belleville) on a steep hill in the center of the 19th.  30 meters (100 feet) above in the middle of the lake on the top of a hill is the Sybille Temple which presents you with a 360 degree view of Paris.  Looking off to my left was the spectacular Sacré Coeur. Having never seen it from this vantage point, it was even more stunning than when standing at the foot of Montmartre and looking up.  From our perch, we spied a small café across the street as we were famished after our uphill-downhill trek. We ended our walk with un verre du vin rouge (a glass of red win) and an omelette mixtes (ham & cheese omelet). So simple but so delicious. I love this city! :-)

Parc des Buttes Chaumont
bordered by rue Botzaris, rue Manin & rue de Crimée
Metro: Buttes Chaumont (#7bis) & Botzaris (#7bis)

More information about this park :
http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/parcbutteschaumont.htm 
http://www.pps.org/gps/one?public_place_id=366
http://www.atkielski.com/inlink.php?/PhotoGallery/Paris/General/ButtesChaumontSmall.html
http://www.paris.fr/fr/environnement/jardins/liste_jardins/parc_buttes_chaumont/default.ASP (in french)

Comments

[Lil]

oh, i was at parc des buttes chaumont for the very first time last year when i visited paris... julien brought me there, we had a leisurely walk, sat on the grass to chat and went for la glace after that... beautiful memory indeed... :)