Paris Chelsea Tour 2013
Trip Recap May 15th – May 24th, 2013
 

May 19th

Today after breakfast we visit another unique green area - Parc de Bagatelle - An Anglo-Chinese gem in western Paris – born of a bet between Marie-Antoinette and the Count of Artois, who had bought the property in 1775. He won...this property was turned into a park in just 64 days. Belanger designed it and Thomas Blaikie built it. Bagatelle park and chateau only barely eluded obliteration during the Revolution, but a string of owners altered them considerably. The orangerie, gates and stables date back to 1835, and the guard’s lodgings were built in 1870, along with the Trianon and the two terraces. The City of Paris bought this gem in 1905 and entrusted its head gardener,

Jean-Claude-Nicolas Forestier, with the restoration work. He set out to turn these gardens into a botanical domain without upsetting the harmony that the existing layout had already established. He turned the subsistence crops into showcases for collections of roses, irises, perennials, clematises, peonies and other flowers. As you can see by the photos this was stunning!! At the time of our visit we also saw some beautiful sculptures done by Robert Arnoux.