Bois de Boulogne

Lonely Planet review

The 845-hectare Bois De Boulogne (Boulogne Wood) on the western edge of Paris owes its informal layout to Baron Haussmann, who was inspired by Hyde Park in London. The wood's enclosed Parc de Bagatelle in the northwestern corner, is renowned for its beautiful gardens surrounding the 1775-built Château de Bagatelle. There are areas dedicated to irises (which bloom in May), roses (June to October) and water lilies (August).

The Pré Catalan (Catalan Meadow) to the southeast of the Parc de Bagatelle includes the Jardin Shakespeare in which plants, flowers and trees mentioned in Shakespeare's plays are cultivated.

Located at the southeastern end of the Bois de Boulogne is the Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil, a garden with impressive conservatories that opened in 1898.

The 20-hectare Jardin d'Acclimatation, a kids-oriented amusement park whose name is another word for 'zoo' in French, includes the hi-tech Exploradôme, a tented structure devoted to science and the media.

The southern part of the wood takes in two horse-racing tracks, the Hippodrome de Longchamp for flat races and, for steeplechases, the Hippodrome d'Auteuil as well as the Stade Roland Garros, home of the French Open tennis tournament. Also here is the Tenniseum-Musée de Roland Garros, the world's most extravagant tennis museum, tracing the sport's 500-year history through paintings, sculptures and posters. Visitors to the museum can watch at least 200 hours of play from 1897 till today, including all the men's singles matches since 1990 and interviews with all the key players.

Rowing boats can be hired at Lac Inférieur, the largest of the wood's lakes and ponds. Paris Cycles hires out bicycles at two locations in the Bois de Boulogne: on av du Mahatma Gandhi (metro: Les Sablons), across from the Porte Sablons entrance to the Jardin d'Acclimatation amusement park, and near the Pavillon Royal (metro: Avenue Foch) at the northern end of Lac Inférieur.

Be warned that the Bois de Boulogne becomes a distinctly adult playground after dark, especially along the Allée de Longchamp, running from the northeast to the Étang des Réservoirs (Reservoirs Pond) where male, female and tranny prostitutes cruise for clients.