Parc André-Malraux, Urban park in Nanterre, France.
Parc André-Malraux is a large green space in Nanterre with rolling terrain, open grasslands, and a central lake connected through small canals and water basins. The layout combines different ground levels and water features that organize the space.
André Malraux, then minister of cultural affairs, approved the creation of the park in 1964. It was built in the 1970s on the site of former shantytowns, wasteland and old gypsum quarries, designed by landscape architect Jacques Sgard, who shaped its low reliefs from spoil brought from the nearby La Défense works. It opened to the public on 16 April 1977, was named after its initiator in 1979, and fitting-out continued until 1981.
The park's name honours André Malraux, the culture minister who initiated it; it was given in 1979. Its 2-hectare lake, formed of two basins joined by a small canal with reed-planted banks, is a bird reserve where coots, moorhens, Canada geese and grey herons have been recorded among some thirty species. Fishing is permitted there.
The space is open at all hours and reachable by RER line A to Nanterre-Préfecture station or by buses 159, 160, 304, and 358. Most areas are at ground level or have gentle slopes, making the site fairly easy to navigate on foot.
Three artificial cone-shaped hills within the space serve as viewpoints offering views across Nanterre and the La Défense business district. From these elevated spots, visitors can see the scale and architecture of the towers nearby.
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