Jardin Nelson-Mandela, Urban park in 1st arrondissement, Paris, France.
The Jardin Nelson-Mandela is an urban park in the 1st arrondissement of Paris with lawns, trees, and shrubs creating different zones throughout the space. Multiple pathways guide visitors through natural and designed landscapes across the grounds.
The garden opened in 1988, designed by architect Louis Arretche on the site of the Halles market demolished in 1973. It was built on the slab covering the Forum des Halles, the underground road network and the Châtelet–Les Halles station. A redesign begun in 2010 was completed in 2018; the tropical greenhouse made way in 2016 for an underground parkour hall, and the Lalanne garden was razed despite residents' protests.
The garden was renamed on 19 December 2013, two weeks after Nelson Mandela's death, when Mayor Bertrand Delanoë proposed the change to the Council of Paris. It had been the Jardin des Halles since 1988. The name honours Mandela (1918–2013), president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
The park sits above the Forum des Halles shopping center and is accessible via Châtelet-Les Halles metro station. Visitors can easily reach several central locations in the city from this convenient transportation hub.
The park rests on a structure above a large shopping complex, creating an elevated green space in the middle of the city. This unusual design allows nature and modern commerce to exist directly one above the other.
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