Parc de la Cerisaie, Urban park in Croix-Rousse district, Lyon, France.
Parc de la Cerisaie is a 4.5-hectare park on the Croix-Rousse slope in Lyon's 4th arrondissement, reached from rue Chazière and descending toward the Saône. Low grey-brown concrete walls with flat tops and rounded ends curve through it, some rising into arched humps; broad slabs sweep across reddish gravel beside a grass patch, and a curved rim encloses the dirt around a light-coloured statue base. About 1,200 trees were planted, and the Villa Gillet stands at the centre.
The park occupies a 19th-century property above the factories of the Gillet family, founders of Rhône-Poulenc, who built the Villa Gillet there. René-Édouard André designed the grounds in 1913 with about 1,200 trees. The city of Lyon bought the park and villa in 1963, and the site was partially listed as a monument historique on 26 August 2015.
The park's name comes from a former cherry orchard on the site. Since the 1980s a sculpture trail has brought works by César Baldaccini, Takis, Markus Raetz, Ulrich Rückriem and others into the grounds. The Villa Gillet, the 19th-century Gillet family house at the centre, now hosts cultural institutions.
Access is from rue Chazière in the Croix-Rousse 4th arrondissement; the sloping grounds lead down towards the Saône quays. Paths are paved, with playgrounds, an exercise area and an orienteering course on site. A souterrain called "Salamandre", made of former cells, lies at the south end of the park.
A small vineyard operates within the park boundaries, growing local grape varieties and producing wine for local consumption.This working vineyard within the urban setting brings an agricultural element to the park that most visitors find surprising.
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