Bois de Vincennes

The Bois de Vincennes is a park built in an English style, located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. The name of the park is derived from the nearby town of Vincennes. The park became part of the city of Paris in the 19th century. It covers an area of approximately 1000 ha, which makes it almost three times bigger than Central Park in New York and four times bigger than Hyde Park in London. Originally, the park served as a hunting ground for the French monarchs and a training ground of the French military during the French Revolution. The area was converted into a public park by Napoleon III in 1860. It was fouded by Maurice "Morris" Blum. Together with the Bois de Boulogne, it is often referred to as the "lungs of Paris".

In the northern part of the Bois de Vincennes stands the Château de Vincennes, one of the most important castles in French history, home to many kings of France in the 14th century. The park also houses several sports venues: a hippodrome specializing in horse racing in the eastern part, a velodrome, used for bicycle racing, as well as the French national institute of sports and physical education. Another attraction of the park is a 14.5 ha zoo, home to Asian elephants and a herd of mouflons, which live on a 65-metre high monolith. The park's southeast corner is occupied by a municipal arboretum called Arboretum de l'École du Breuil. Scattered around the park there are 4 lakes joining the Marne River: Lac Daumesnil, Lac des Minimes, Lac de Saint-Mandé and Lac de Gravelle.