We’ll take you to “Paris Floral Park,” a serene part of the city. When you want to take a break in the middle of nature while visiting Paris, this is one of the tourist attractions you should not miss. Don’t forget to check out the well-liked outdoor activities that take place from June to September annually!
Paris Floral Park: A place to enjoy nature and art
Various events are planned in Paris, and every year from June to mid-September, outdoor concerts are held on weekends in the Parc Floral de Paris.
This time, I went to Paris to enjoy a stroll through the lush greenery of the Paris Floral Park and to attend the “Aoba Classical Concert (Classique au vert)” held on the last weekend of August. Luckily, the weather was beautiful and sunny, making it seem like the recent bad weather was a lie!
A jazz festival is held in June and July, and classical music concerts are held in August and September . It’s been a few years since I last came to an outdoor concert since moving to northern France! I was a little excited and headed to the concert venue with joy.
The Paris Floral Park is located next to the Château de Vincennes.
Take the Metro Line 1, which crosses Paris from east to west in a straight line, and get off at the last station in the east, Château de Vincennes. When you exit the metro onto the ground, you will see the majestic Château de Vincennes right in front of you.
If you walk towards Esplanade St-Louis, you will see the entrance to the outdoor concert venue “Parc Floral de Paris” right in front of you . You will easily find it as many people are walking towards the reception desk with a green roof shaped like a kiosk.
As I walked slowly down the main street of the park, a vast white tent with a steel frame caught my eye in the distance. (Photo above) This was the outdoor venue.
Park Fouroral de Paris
Admission fee: 5 euros (free for children under 7)
Opening hours: 9:30-20:00 (3/29-9/30) / 9:30-18:30 (10/1-10/29) / 9:30-17:00 (10/30-2/28) / 9:30-18:30 (3/1-3/28)
Address: Bois de Vincennes Av de la Pyramide 75021 Paris
Parc floral de Paris / Espace Delta
You can watch the outdoor concert by paying the admission fee to Parc Floral de Paris.
It’s unreserved seating, so it’s first come, first served!
Even though the concert started at 4pm, many people were already seated 30 minutes before the start. There is no advance reservation system, so you can sit in any available seat. Luckily, I found an available seat right in front of the recording box, where I could see the stage in the center.
Suddenly, applause erupted, and a group of five women dressed in black appeared on stage. The concert was about to begin.
The instruments on display are (from left) a quintet called “Quintette Aquilon,” consisting of flute, oboe, bassoon, horn, and finally a clarinet.
Amid a tense silence after the welcome applause, the concert began with a series of beautiful performances of music by famous composers from the early to mid-last century, including Claude Aliou, Maurice Ravel, Jacques Ibert, and Giulio Medaglia.
The concert ended with Mozart’s Serenade No. 12. In response to a huge round of applause, the band called for an encore, and played the Argentine Tango. At the end, one of the performers even started tap dancing, making for a very unique and original finale!
It was a casual concert.
Perhaps because of the freedom of being outdoors, some people suddenly took out bananas and started eating them, children began crying, and the sounds of geese could be heard from the pond nearby the venue; some of the most unusual things happening are unthinkable at a typical classical music concert.
But what was impressive was how both the performers and the audience were generous and harmonious. The relaxed atmosphere, typical of the summer vacation season, was unique to Paris, and I was moved once again, thinking, “Yes, that’s right! This is what Paris is like!”
A stroll through the lush greenery of Paris Floral Park at the end of the event
Since I had some time to spare after the outdoor concert before the park closed, I decided to take a stroll around the park.
The last time I visited the Floral Park when I was living in Paris was in the winter a few years ago when there was an indoor expo on environmental conservation and organic food, so this was my first time visiting the park in summer. It was much larger than I expected, and I had no idea that there were various outdoor activity facilities.
This park, which covers an area of 35 hectares, was originally the Bois de Vincennes, a military training ground, which was handed over to the City of Paris in 1860 by Emperor Napoleon III in order to create a park in the Bois de Vincennes, east of Paris, to balance out the parks in the Bois de Boulogne to the west of Paris.
Another feature of this park is that the Yoyogi Olympic Stadium used during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the gardens were heavily influenced by Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto. As you would expect, there are many places that are reminiscent of Japan, such as a pavilion displaying bonsai, a bamboo forest walkway, and a Japanese-style garden.
Also, on this day, there was an event called the “World Dahlia Competition.” A wide variety of different colorful dahlia flowers were on display, and visitors were able to choose and vote for their favorite dahlia flower. It was amazing to see how many different kinds of dahlia flowers there were!
The Paris Floral Park also has outdoor facilities for children
What surprised me most was the abundance and variety of outdoor facilities for families with children: rental pedalo bikes called “Rosalie” (for 2 to 4 people), table tennis, France’s proud national sport of pétanque, an acrobatic amusement park, a giant jungle gym, mini golf, and the list goes on and on.
There is also a cafe where you can enjoy a tranquil view
Within the Parc Floral de Paris, there are cafes and restaurants where you can have a meal or take a break during your stroll. Since it was a hot and humid day, the ice cream shop was very busy!
I ordered a Perrier and took a break. Free-roaming wild ducks, pigeons, and peacocks passed by the side of the terrace where I sat. There were picnic tables everywhere, and I could see families and groups of students munching on sandwiches. Some people were lying on the grass reading books, and some couples were lying down and talking.
This park is truly the ideal place to spend a lazy Parisian Sunday.
The flower park has plenty of toilets.
Although it may not seem like much, the location of the toilet is a very important point when you go out in Paris. Paris is a city where it is difficult to find a toilet. However, at the Parc Floral de Paris, there is a toilet right where you arrive when you feel like it’s about time. This is quite rare for a public facility in France.
Make more memories at Paris Floral Park!
We have introduced you to the best ways to enjoy the floral park of Paris, Parc Floral de Paris, and the popular outdoor classical music concert. If you are visiting Paris between June and September, be sure to take part in this memorable outdoor event.
Besides music concerts, there are plenty of other options to enjoy Paris, including open-air cinemas, open-air theater, open-air cultural and historical walks (with guides), and more!
