The Parc de Saint-Cloud, officially the ''Domaine National de Saint-Cloud'', is a ''domaine national'' (national estate), located mostly within

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthiest tow ...

, in the

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a département in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west ...

department, near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, France. The park, which covers , was a nature reserve until 1923. It is considered one of the most beautiful gardens in Europe, and in 2005 the park was awarded '' Notable Garden'' status. On 9 November 1994 the park was classified as a Historic Monument. In 1999 a winter storm heavily damaged the park's forests. The park is operated as a ''domaine national'' under the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visua ...

History

The park is located on the site of the

Château de Saint-Cloud The Château de Saint-Cloud was a château in France, built on a site overlooking the Seine at Saint-Cloud in Hauts-de-Seine, about west of Paris. On the site of the former palace is the state-owned Parc de Saint-Cloud. The château was exp ...

, a residence of royal and imperial families from the 16th century. After

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

declared war on the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

s, the site was occupied by a Prussian force which used the high outcropping to shell Paris. Counter-fire from the French caused the building to burn on 13 October 1870. The structure was completely razed in August 1892. Only a few outbuildings remain from the original structure. The park contains a Le Nôtre-designed garden in the French style, an English garden, and

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

's rose garden. The park showcases a panoramic view of Paris called "La Lanterne" or the "Lantern of Demosthenes". View on Boulogne-Billancourt from Parc de Saint-Cloud 140411 1

View on Boulogne-Billancourt from Parc de Saint-Cloud 140411 1

Buildings and points of interest

Parc de Saint-Cloud avec vue sur la Tour Montparnasse

*Musée du château de Saint-Cloud: A five-room museum dedicated to the destroyed chateau *

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

(E.N.S.): Located in the Pavillon Valois *

Bureau International des Poids et Mesures The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (french: Bureau international des poids et mesures, BIPM) is an intergovernmental organisation, through which its 59 member-states act together on measurement standards in four areas: chemistry ...

(B.I.P.M.): The International Bureau of Weights and Measures is located in the Pavillon de Breteuil; the building contains copies of the metre and kilogram standards.

Access

The park is accessible via Pont de Sèvres and Boulogne - Pont de Saint-Cloud metro stations. The T2 tramway runs along the eastern limit of the park.

External links

Domaine national de Saint-Cloud, official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parc De Saint-Cloud