Paris - Bois de Vincennes - 19e

Plate XCVIII – Bois de Vincennes …

If you have left wondering what all the fuss is about with the Bois de Boulogne try a visit to the Bois de Vincennes. I found the area so much more rewarding. An unpopulated space of public land, the Bois de Vincennes was originally a hunting ground for the royal courts, and kings of France. It became a public park under Napoleon III in 1860. The proclaimed area is some 2,458 acres, three times larger than New York’s Central Park and four times the extent of London’s Hyde Park. Officially part of the greater city of Paris since 1929, I was here mainly to visit the adjoining Chateau (closed to the public at the time) and the more formal Parc Floral de Paris, a landscaped park within the precincts of the Bois de Vincennes. I obviously could not cover its full magnitude, but the parts I saw were quite enchanting, a taste of provincial countryside within the city. With long time military connections, you will still find the Redoute de Gravelle in the southwest part, and the Bois de Vincennes is also home to a zoological garden, along with a number of sporting venues and institutes. Fed by the River Marne four large lakes are also situated within the area.

What I remember best however are the butterflies. I could be wrong in my identification, but I’m sure I saw a population of (at least close relatives of) the familiar (to me) orange, black and white African Monarch species. Their fluttering amongst predominantly orange flowers was a magical sight. I was later to learn that there is an annual summer event (May to October) in the Jardin des Papillons, a greenhouse inside the Parc Floral displaying some forty lepidopterous varieties, endemic to the Ile de France.