Parc de Boulogne Edmond de Rothschild

The vast Parc de Boulogne Edmond de Rothschild is situated between the Bois de Boulogne and the River Seine in the commune of Boulogne-Billancourt. Not very well known by tourists, this wooded area not far from Paris also provides to its visitors plenty of spaces to rest.

Parc de Boulogne Edmond de Rothschild

Entrance of the Edmond de Rothschild Park © French Moments

The domain was acquired by James de Rothschild, a young banker, in 1817 who decided on the construction of a Louis XIV-style chateau in 1856. Many famous people and celebrities of the time were invited to sumptuous receptions at the chateau: Chopin, Clemenceau… In 1886 his son Edmond inherited the domain. The vast park included:

an English garden created in 1860
a formal garden which disappear upon the construction of the A. Paré hospital
a Japanese garden created between 1900 and 1930.
the ‘routin’ area consisting of basins and rocks created in 1924.

From the entrance of the park all paths converge to the big pond © French Moments

The chateau and its domain was occupied by the German during WW2 and the Americans at the Liberation. In 1974 the construction of the A13 motorway from Saint-Cloud to the Périphérique amputated the domain. The 15 hectares that had remained intact were opened to the public in 1982 when the municipality of Boulogne-Billancourt bought the estate. Since then the chateau has been unoccupied and is in a decrepit state. In April 2016 it was announced that a new owner had bought the chateau and intend to renovate it.

The dilapidated chateau that once belonged to the Rothschilds, Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

There are many remarkable trees in the park to admire such as plane trees, limetrees, birch trees…

Magnificent trees in the Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

The Big Pond

At the centre of the domain stretches a big pond (la pièce d’eau) decorated with a Japanese-style red bridge and bordered by the woods and the vast lawns.

The big pond of the Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

The waterfall drops onto the big pond of the Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

The Japanese Garden

The Japanese garden has changed very much since the beginning of the 20th century when it was created. Nevertheless it is still quiet, romantic and shady area of the park.

Japanese Garden of the Parc de Boulogne: the red bridge spanning part of the big pond © French Moments

Weird-looking trees growing in the Paris region! Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

In the Japanese Garden of the Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

Another red Japanese-style bridge in the Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

The stairs leading to a tropical forest? Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

An inviting alley in the Japanese Garden of the Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

Lush vegetation in the Japanese garden of the Japanese Garden of the Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

The Routin

The Routin area is a series of basins and little rock formations which makes you feel like being in places such as the Vosges mountains.

The Routin in the Parc de Boulogne © French Moments

Wildlife at the Parc de Boulogne

These are some of the wildlife we encountered during our walk across the domain: ducks, juvenile coypus (‘ragondin‘ in French which is a semi-aquatic rodent), terrapins, pikes…