First of all, this park is straight out of a painting in the English Romantic Period melded with the grand architectural depictions of Claude Lorrain. You half expect the idealized peasants and nobility painted by John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough to wander past or row by in little boats. Instead, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is a true hipster hangout. There are hip babies galore too.
Inside the park, the Rosa Bonheur Bar provides convivial outdoor day drinking and multiple bars by night. There’s even a stripper pole, ironic of course.
The park was built in a former limestone and gypsum quarry in the era of Haussmann and Napoleon III. The pinnacle is this temple, known as the Belvedere:
View from the Belvedere:
A waterfall:
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont 19th arrondisement Metro: 5 and 7bis to Buttes Chaumont, Laumière or Botzaris
Michelle is the founder of Untapped New York and the author of The Art Spy (HarperOne, forthcoming) Secret Brooklyn, Secret New York Hidden Bars & Restaurants, and Broadway. michelleyoungwriter.com
