Parc de la Villette

The Parc de la Villette is a park located in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, bordering the Boulevard Périphérique - a ring road around Paris, and the department of Seine-Saint-Denis.

In years 1860-1974, the park's area was the site of the huge Parisian abattoirs (slaughterhouses) employing over 12,000 butchers. In the 1980s this area was converted into Parc de la Villette, which is the work of the architect Bernard Tschumi. The park covers an area of 55 hectares, of which 35 hectares are open spaces, making it the largest park in Paris. Every year the park is visited by approximately 10 million people. Inside the park there are science and music facilities, playgrounds for children, and thirty-five architectural follies.

One of the main attractions of the Parc de la Villette is the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie (the City of Sciences and Industries), a museum designed by the architect Alain Fainsilber which holds permanent and temporary exhibitions related to science. The museum is mainly beloved of families and children. The park also houses the Géode, an Omnimax domed theatre designed by Adrien Fainsilber and Gérard Chamayou in which visitors can watch science films projected onto a hemispherical movie screen of 1,000 square meters. Another popular site in the park is the Cité de la Musique (the City of Music), the work of the architect Christian de Portzamparc, which is a music museum containing an auditorium, a research centre, and a library dedicated to music and dance. A nightclub designed by Philippe Chaix and Jean-Paul Morel is also located inside the park.

The park is made up of 10 theme gardens: the Garden of Mirrors (le Jardin des Miroirs), with 28 free-standing mirrors; the Garden of Dunes, with rolling hills, windmills and air-cushioned playgrounds for children; the Garden of Trellises (le Jardin de la Treille), containing 8 terraces with climbing vines and 90 fountains as well as 7 bronze sculptures by Jean-Maw Albert; the Garden of Bamboo (le Jardin des Bambous), which is situate 6 metres below the park and houses a bamboo forest with a vertical water fountain; the Garden of Movement (le Jardin des Voltiges), which is a playground with different sports facilities; the Garden of Islands (le Jardin des Isles), with a path covered in white marble by which there are oak trees, conifers and pines; the Garden of Balance (le Jardin des Equilibres), with metal kites resembling giant birds; the Garden of Childhood Fears (le Jardin des Frayeurs Enfantines), with a walkway with blue spruce and silver birch trees and eerie music playing in the background; the Garden of the Dragon (le Jardin du Dragon) with 80-metre long climbing structure and a long slide; and the Garden of Shadows (le Jardin des Ombres), dominated by black and white tiles.

The park also offers boat cruises along the park's canals as well as a visit to the 400-ton submarine called the Argonaut, which has been around the world 10 times. Scattered around the park you can also find numerous red structures. At the park's main entrance sits the Fountain of the Lions. Parc de la Villette is an open park with no gates or fences. It is open every day, all year round.