Bois de Vincennes Park, Vincennes Town
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Bois de Vincennes Park
The
Bois de Vincennes is a beautiful park
situated to the east of the city of Paris in
its 12th arrondissement. It is named after
the town of Vincennes which is located
nearby. The park has an area of almost ten
square kilometers making it three times
larger than New York’s Central Park, and
four
times larger than London’s Hyde Park.
It is often mistakenly thought that the Bois
de Vincennes and the Bois de Boulogne are
not part of Paris because they both consist
of unpopulated public land. However, the
Bois de Boulogne was officially annexed to
the city in 1929.
The park used to function as hunting grounds
for the kings of France, but after the
French revolution, it was used for military
exercises.
Napoleon III made the land into a
public park in 1860.
The Chateau de Vincennes is at the north end
of the park. The chateau was constructed as
a second home for several kings in the 14th
century.
The Redoute de Gravelle stands at the
southwestern part of the Bois de Boulogne.
It is a military redoubt which was built in
the 19th century under the reign of
Louis-Philippe.
In park’s southeastern end is the Arboretum
de l'École du Breuil. The building is a
municipal arboretum set up in 1936.
