The Jardin d’Acclimatation

The Jardin d’Acclimatation - Paris Gardens By Anne Rohan
Back to summary T he "Jardin d’Acclimatation", like "Parc de Bagatelle", "Jardin Shakespeare" or "Pré-Catelan" is part of "Bois de Boulogne". It is located in the North of the woods and has a 20 hectares area. In 1854, the zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint Hilaire founded the "Société Impériale Zoologist d’Acclimatation" (Imperial Zoological Acclimatisation Society). He had the idea of creating a pleasant park which could help the Parisians to familiarise with nature, fauna and flora. The carrying-out of the works was entrusted to the architect Gabriel Davioud and the landscape gardener Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps, who had already been part of "Bois de Boulogne" works. The "Jardin d’Acclimatation" was officially inaugurated on October 6th 1860, in presence of the Emperor Napoleon III, the Empress Eugénie and numerous personalities. The park was immediately very successful and attracted more particularly the aristocracy and the Second Empire high society, but also Parisians who were interested in science and nature. In the "Jardin d’Acclimatation", people could discover amazing and exotic animal species for the time (monkeys, hippopotamus, bears, giraffes, camels, kangaroos... there were soon more than 100 000 animals in the park), as well as rare vegetables (palm trees, banana trees, bamboos...). In order to satisfy the interest of Parisians for exotic world, the managers of the "Jardin d’Acclimatation" organised exhibition of "savage people" coming from the entire world, like Native Americans, Eskimos, Saamis... In 1861, a public Aquarium was opened. During the war against Prussia, in 1870, the visits of the park were interrupted and some animals were shot and eaten in order to remedy to the famine. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the "Jardin d’Acclimatation" became more of an entertainment park. New activities were organised, like movie projections in the open-air, concerts, shows, sport events, circus shows... After the Second World War, the park was renovated to overcome a drop in the number of visitors. Nowadays, the "Jardin d’Acclimatation" is accessible with a small train and attract numerous families, who come to see the animals of the farm, the birds of the aviary, the enchanted river or the other interesting things in the park.
Back to summary

The Jardin d’Acclimatation - Paris Gardens
By Anne Rohan

T he "Jardin d’Acclimatation", like "Parc de Bagatelle", "Jardin Shakespeare" or "Pré-Catelan" is part of "Bois de Boulogne". It is located in the North of the woods and has a 20 hectares area. In 1854, the zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint Hilaire founded the "Société Impériale Zoologist d’Acclimatation" (Imperial Zoological Acclimatisation Society). He had the idea of creating a pleasant park which could help the Parisians to familiarise with nature, fauna and flora. The carrying-out of the works was entrusted to the architect Gabriel Davioud and the landscape gardener Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps, who had already been part of "Bois de Boulogne" works.

The "Jardin d’Acclimatation" was officially inaugurated on October 6th 1860, in presence of the Emperor Napoleon III, the Empress Eugénie and numerous personalities. The park was immediately very successful and attracted more particularly the aristocracy and the Second Empire high society, but also Parisians who were interested in science and nature. In the "Jardin d’Acclimatation", people could discover amazing and exotic animal species for the time (monkeys, hippopotamus, bears, giraffes, camels, kangaroos... there were soon more than 100 000 animals in the park), as well as rare vegetables (palm trees, banana trees, bamboos...). In order to satisfy the interest of Parisians for exotic world, the managers of the "Jardin d’Acclimatation" organised exhibition of "savage people" coming from the entire world, like Native Americans, Eskimos, Saamis... In 1861, a public Aquarium was opened.

During the war against Prussia, in 1870, the visits of the park were interrupted and some animals were shot and eaten in order to remedy to the famine. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the "Jardin d’Acclimatation" became more of an entertainment park. New activities were organised, like movie projections in the open-air, concerts, shows, sport events, circus shows... After the Second World War, the park was renovated to overcome a drop in the number of visitors. Nowadays, the "Jardin d’Acclimatation" is accessible with a small train and attract numerous families, who come to see the animals of the farm, the birds of the aviary, the enchanted river or the other interesting things in the park.

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