Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Urban park in 19th arrondissement, France
The Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is an urban park in the 19th arrondissement of Paris with an artificial lake, steep cliffs, and a wooded island in the center. Bridges connect the pathways, while waterfalls emerge between the slopes and grottoes open into the artificial rock faces.
The area served as a gypsum quarry and rubbish dump until the mid-1800s, before it was redesigned as a park under Napoleon III in 1867. The works took four years and transformed the abandoned site into a public garden.
The name recalls the bare hills that once shaped the land before it became a garden. Families come today to picnic on the lawns, while others use the paths along the water or climb toward the temple.
Several entrances at Rue Botzaris, Rue Manin, Rue de Crimée, and Avenue Simon-Bolivar lead into the park, with the metro stations Buttes Chaumont and Botzaris located nearby. The paths rise steeply in places, especially the climb to the island and temple requires stamina.
The 63-metre suspension bridge over the lake, standing 8 metres above the water, was designed by Gustave Eiffel. The second crossing, a 12-metre masonry bridge 22 metres above the lake, became known as the "suicide bridge" and is now enclosed with wire mesh.
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