Where Impressionists paint and Marcel Proust dreams: The magical Parc Monceau

Parc Monceau proves to be a magical place—full of romance. Especially in the summer months, we like to seek refuge under the sprawling canopies of mighty, sprawling trees.

We find ourselves in the middle of an English park landscape, which, despite its location between the 8th and 17th arrondissements in the heart of Paris, conveys an impression of vastness and untouched nature. Countless joggers are concentrating on their laps along the park's perimeter. Distance and time are easily measured: one complete lap corresponds to exactly one kilometer.

This park provides insight into the original appearance of primeval trees and illustrates why they became important habitats for a wide variety of animal species. A true bird paradise unfolds here. The same applies to the trees, which is clearly visible on site: They receive careful care, dead branches are professionally removed, and both young and very old trees are protected by fences. The magical aura that the trees have always bestowed on the park is impressively reflected in the Impressionist paintings of Parc Monceau.

Painters such as Claude Monet and Gustave Caillebotte became aware of how the foliage creates a unique interplay of light and shadow in the park. Claude Monet painted his first significant garden depictions here: in 1876, he created three views of the park in spring; two years later, he painted three more views. These views not only depict the hustle and bustle of the park, but also repeatedly highlight the tall trees with their shades of green, yellow, and brown. Gustave Caillebotte (1878), Vincent van Gogh (1886), and Georges Braque (1900) also turned their gaze to the park's imposing trees, attempting to capture the fascination of nature.

Claude Monet: Le Parc Monceau (1876) 

Gustave Caillebotte: Le Parc Monceau (1878)

Looking further around, we find rare specimens like a Laricio pine and a Virginia tulip tree. We stand in awe before several of the tallest and oldest trees in the metropolis of Paris:

An over 100-year-old Aesculus Hippocastanum reaches a height of almost 30 meters. A Ginkgo Biloba is around 150 years old, and two Platanus Orientales are between 200 and 250 years old. With a circumference of up to seven meters, they are firmly rooted and bear daily witness to the bustling activity of the little people in this place.

Platane d'Orient - Parc Monceau

The "little ones" refer to the children who especially enjoy romping around on the lawn during the holidays or on weekends under the supervision of their "nounou," as well as the many groups of children from the École élémentaire, who are unmissable with their colorful safety vests. This is one of the reasons why, in addition to the typical carousel, there is an adventure playground by the company Kompan, which has been creating creative play spaces with an emphasis on free play since the 1970s.

Unlike the orderly Baroque layout of the Jardin du Luxembourg, this park displays a deliberate disorder and apparent randomness. We immediately get the feeling that several different hands were involved in its design.

Two imposing avenues run north-south and east-west through the park, intersecting in the center. A network of winding paths winds its way between them, past monuments to important figures such as Guy de Maupassant, Édouard Pailleron, and Frédéric Chopin. These paths also lead to architectural gems that transform the park into a miniature World's Fair: Corinthian columns frame a pool, ancient columns are hidden among the trees, and a miniature Egyptian pyramid lines the path. These are complemented by a Chinese-style turret and a curved bridge modeled on the Venetian Rialto Bridge.

In ancient Rome, Naumachia was the name given to a basin in which sea battles were re-enacted. The columns in Parc Monceau originate from the Rotonde de Valois.

"Folie de Chartres" – the Duke's madness initially shaped the park: It was created by Louis-Philippe-Joseph, Duke of Orléans and Chartres and cousin of Louis XVI. He commissioned the artist and architect Louis Carmontelle to plan it. Carmontelle came up with the idea of using a variety of objects to enthrall visitors so that they would want to visit the park every day.

Guy de Maupassant in Parc Monceau by Raoul Verlet

The opening in 1769 by no means marked the end of the park's development; rather, it continued through various land purchases over the next ten years, until the park reached a size of approximately twelve hectares. A close friend of the Prince of Wales and later King George IV, the Duke was fascinated by English parks and, in 1785, commissioned the Scottish landscape architect Thomas Blaikie to redesign them based on English models. Over the next three years, the park underwent a fundamental transformation, and with its playful design, it became a favorite among Parisians.

Only in this park could André-Jacques Garnerin attempt the first parachute jump from a hydrogen balloon at a height of 400 meters on October 22, 1797. While other parks still adhered to the rigid geometries of the Ancien Régime, Monceau already breathed the spirit of the new era: unconventional, experimental, and ready for the impossible. Here, the motto "comme vous l'aimez!" always applies.

Let's look beyond the eight-meter-high "Grilles du Parc Monceau" and observe how the park's area continuously shrank in the following decades: After the French Revolution, it fell to the French state in 1793, but during the Restoration, half of its area was returned to the Orléans family. After the city of Paris acquired the site, the brothers Émile and Isaac Pereire had half of it developed with speculative peripheral housing for the upper middle class and aristocracy.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the magnificent estates of wealthy Jewish families dominated the cityscape—including the prestigious residences of the Ephrussi and Camondo families. The magnificent city villas that virtually embrace the park still bear witness to this era. The other half of the park was preserved as a green space by the Prefect of Paris, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, and developed into a public park under the direction of the urban planner and garden designer Jean-Charles Alphand.

Although the park now encompasses barely half of its original 19 hectares, it retains its appeal. One famous visitor was Marcel Proust, who regularly spent pleasant afternoons there with friends around the turn of the century. In his parents' luxurious apartment at 45 Rue de Courcelles, he organized dinners for artists and aristocrats.

Some 25 years later, in his poem "Park Monceau" (1924), Kurt Tucholsky writes about a moment of apparent idyll that turns out to be a painful experience of exile. The park becomes a refuge where he can finally be "human" again—a bitter realization that demonstrates that this humanity was denied to him in Germany.

The final line reveals the tragedy: Tucholsky must rest "from his fatherland." The Germany that drives its best minds into exile becomes a threat to his own existence. In the Parisian park, the poet finds the freedom and human dignity that his homeland had taken from him.

Hier ist es hübsch. Hier kann ich ruhig träumen.

Hier bin ich Mensch – und nicht nur Zivilist.

Hier darf ich links gehn. Unter grünen Bäumen

sagt keine Tafel, was verboten ist.

Ein dicker Kullerball liegt auf dem Rasen.

Ein Vogel zupft an einem hellen Blatt.

Ein kleiner Junge gräbt sich in der Nasen

und freut sich, wenn er was gefunden hat.

Es prüfen vier Amerikanerinnen,

ob Cook auch recht hat und hier Bäume stehn.

Paris von außen und Paris von innen:

sie sehen nichts und müssen alles sehn.

Die Kinder lärmen auf den bunten Steinen.

Die Sonne scheint und glitzert auf ein Haus.

Ich sitze still und lasse mich bescheinen

und ruh von meinem Vaterlande aus.

We're drawn back to this park again and again, where we sit on the exceptionally comfortable wooden benches and watch the joggers and fast runners circling their laps. Afterwards, we take our own walk, often straying from the designated paths and focusing our gaze on the trees, which constantly change their appearance with the seasons. Their gentle rustling of leaves and the quiet crackling of branches lend this place its magical atmosphere.

The author Ruth Lintemeier in May 2025 in Parc Monceau