Parc Montsouris

The parks and public gardens of Paris are some of the city’s top spots for mingling with the locals. These are some of residents’ favourite places to meet up and hang out all year round, with friends, families, lovers and runners to be found along their shady pathways.

It was Napoleon III who commanded Baron Haussmann to make a park to the south of Paris in order to fulfil his ambition of creating a large garden for the city at each of its cardinal points. And so the Parc Montsouris was born, and developed to resemble those across the Channel in London with a lake, big trees, and stone and bronze sculptures.

Today it is a popular space for family walks with its rolling pathways, merry-go-rounds, pony rides and puppet shows.

Although open all year round, the Parc Montsouris comes alive during the warmer weather. Its bandstand hosts concerts from May through to September, and its lawns are also open to the public – they are a favourite hang-out for students from the neighbouring Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, and perfect for picnics with friends in the sunshine.