Parc de Monceau

This park, a few blocks NE of the Arc de Triomphe, was established by Phillippe d'Orléans, the richest man in France and a cousin of King Louis XVI. He adored everything English and thus established an English-style garden in Paris; by the mid 1770s his garden had grown to 30 acres. Leading features of the park are a curved row of faux-ruin Corinthian columns and an artificial waterfall. Phillippe d'Orléans was a leading freemason, and some of the elements found in the park (a pyramid, etc.) are masonic references. In 1797 the first silk parachute jump was made from a Montgolfier hot air balloon 3,000 feet down into the park, to the delight of a large assembly of spectators. There are statues of Frederic Chopin, wealthy writer Guy de Maupassant (he died of syphilis, insane at 42, having written his own epitaph: "I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing") and composer Charles Gounod (famous for "Funeral March for a Marionette," used as the theme to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and the religious aria "Repentir" (O, Divine Redeemer), not to mention the operas Faust and Romeo and Juliette. At the entrance is one of the few remaining Rotundas, a remnant from the old toll walls that completely encircled central Paris in the 1780s. Taxes on salt and wine were collected at these toll gates as goods entered the city. However here, in lieu of the usual 10-ft. high toll wall, there was an enormous moat, so as not to spoil the view for Phillippe d'Orléans (the wealthy enjoyed privilege then, as now). Parisians hated these toll walls, as they felt like prisoners in their own city, completely encircled by 16 miles of masonry and 60 toll gates. Two days before we mark the beginning of the revolution, on July 12, 1789, the citizens of Paris vented their anger by attacking these toll booths, damaging some and setting fire to others. Within 48 hours the Bastille had been breached, and the population had its hands on a large supply of firearms. They rest, as they say, is history. Note: public toilets inside the rotunda.

Phillippe d'Orléans did not survive this turmoil, and after his death by guillotine during the revolution, the city of Paris obtained the garden and opened it as a public park. 

The Parc de Monceau was dramatically reduced in size during the late 1800s, when half its acreage was sold as lots for building elegant homes, most of which survive to the present time. These magnificent residences were built by wealthy Jewish bankers, who claimed this neighborhood as their own enclave. In fact, it was Jewish banker Émile Péreire (1800-1875) who bought substantial acreage from the Orléans family in 1861, which he then divided into lots for building opulent mansions that ring the park. Today "Monceau" is Parisian French for "nouveau riche".

One such mansion survives today as a museum, the Musée Nissim de Camondo at 63 rue de Monceau (SE of the park). 

 Count Moïse de Camondo was a Sephardic nobleman of a banking family known as the "Rothschilds of the East". In 1869 his family left Istanbul for Paris, where they reached the pinnacle of social standing. Moïse's son Nissim perished at age 25 during WW I while flying a mission for the fledgling French Air Force. Although the Nazis condemned all members of the family to Auschwitz during WW II, their home and incomparable furnishings remained intact as the museum opened in 1946. Your guide will mention that Proust was a frequent visitor (he lived nearby on rue de Courcelles). Exit the Parc de Monceau at the south extremity along Avenue de Ferdousi; walk one block  to the Place de Rio de Janeiro; turn left onto rue de Monceau. The museum at #63 is on your left at the intersection of rue de Teheran. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Open 10:00-5:30. Admission 12 euros; free with the Paris Museum Pass.

Entry gates to the Parc de Monceau, with the Arc de Triomphe in the distance:

Today this neighborhood is one of the most exclusive and desirable in all of Paris. Avenue Hoche leads from the elaborate park gates (above) directly to the nearby Arc de Triomphe, seen in the distance. There is a large ex-pat Russian presence in this neighborhood, as well; the Russian Orthodox Cathédrale St-Alexandre-Nevsky sits just southwest of the park. See separate post.

Métro: Monceau (line 2). No admission fee. Public restrooms inside the park. It is possible to sit or walk on the grass, because this is designated as a park. Gardens, on the other hand (such as the Luxemburg Gardens) enforce a "do not walk on the grass" policy. If in doubt, just try to place a chair on the grass at Luxemburg Gardens. 

Note: just one street north of here was the iron works where Bartholdi constructed the enormous Statue of Liberty that is perched at the water entry to NYC. See separate post.

Pyramid - a masonic emblem ordered by Phillippe d'OrléansGuy de Maupassant monument in Parc de Monceau; upon entering the park from the rotunda, take the second path to the left; the monument is placed just before the faux-ruin columns at the pond (photo below). The spectacularly kitschy statue of Chopin by Jacques Froment-Meurice (1864-1948). The bas-relief angel represents “music,” while “harmony” swoons at Chopin’s feet. At the western edge on the park; upon entering the park from the rotunda, take the first path to the right; at the next path to the right, the Chopin monument reveals itself (photo below).