Fodor's Expert Review Bois de Boulogne
When Parisians want to experience the great outdoors without going too far from home, they head to the Bois de Boulogne. Once a royal hunting ground, the Bois is like a vast tamed forest where romantic lakes and wooded paths are complemented by formal gardens and family-friendly amusements. On nice days, it’s filled with cyclists, rowers, rollerbladers, and joggers. Art lovers also flock here thanks to the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a stunning exhibition space dedicated to contemporary art.
The Parc de Bagatelle is a floral garden with irises, roses, tulips, water lilies, and roaming peacocks, while the Pré Catelan contains one of Paris's largest trees: a copper beech more than 200 years old. Romantic Le Pré Catelan restaurant (three Michelin stars), a Belle Époque classic with an elegant terrace, still draws diners and wedding parties. The Jardin Shakespeare inside the Pré Catelan has a sampling of the flowers, herbs, and trees mentioned in Shakespeare's plays, and it becomes... READ MORE
When Parisians want to experience the great outdoors without going too far from home, they head to the Bois de Boulogne. Once a royal hunting ground, the Bois is like a vast tamed forest where romantic lakes and wooded paths are complemented by formal gardens and family-friendly amusements. On nice days, it’s filled with cyclists, rowers, rollerbladers, and joggers. Art lovers also flock here thanks to the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a stunning exhibition space dedicated to contemporary art.
The Parc de Bagatelle is a floral garden with irises, roses, tulips, water lilies, and roaming peacocks, while the Pré Catelan contains one of Paris's largest trees: a copper beech more than 200 years old. Romantic Le Pré Catelan restaurant (three Michelin stars), a Belle Époque classic with an elegant terrace, still draws diners and wedding parties. The Jardin Shakespeare inside the Pré Catelan has a sampling of the flowers, herbs, and trees mentioned in Shakespeare's plays, and it becomes an open-air theater for the Bard's works in spring and summer. The Jardin d'Acclimatation is an amusement park that attracts hordes of preschoolers on summer Sundays. Boats or bikes can be rented for a few euros at Lac Inférieur. You can row or take a quick "ferry" to the island restaurant, Le Chalet des Îles. Two popular horse-racing tracks are also in the park: the Hippodrome de Longchamp and the Hippodrome d'Auteuil. Fans of the French Open can visit its home base, Stade Roland-Garros.
The main entrance to the Bois is off Avenue Foch near the Porte Dauphine métro stop on Line 2; it is best for accessing the Pré Catelan and Jardin Shakespeare, both off Route de la Grande-Cascade by the lake. For the Jardin d'Acclimatation and the Fondation Louis Vuitton, off Boulevard des Sablons, take Line 1 to Les Sablons or Porte Maillot, where you can walk or ride the Petit Train to the amusement park, which is next door to the foundation. The foundation also offers a €2 return-trip shuttle from Place de l'Étoile. The Parc de Bagatelle, off Route de Sèvres-à-Neuilly, can be accessed from either Porte Dauphine or Porte Maillot, though it's a bit of a hike. You'll want to leave the park by dusk, as the Bois—potentially dangerous after dark—turns into a distinctly “adult” playground.
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