Parc de Sceaux

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For people my age, for many years Sceaux was a mythical place shrouded in mystery. That's because in every Paris metro station, there were the metro maps but also the map for a strange line that was not the metro at all and which went out to the southern suburbs. Since it started at the Luxembourg station, there were a few stations in Paris where you could go with your normal metro ticket, and that is why the maps were displayed.

I knew all about the commuter train lines that left from the major Paris train stations, but it made no sense why the RATP -- the Paris metro authority -- was in charge of this strange line. And what on earth was Sceaux (pronounced so in case you are wondering). Obviously you could see it on the maps, but the line in question actually went far beyond this minor station to the equally mysterious Saint Rémy-les-Chevreuse.

So one of the things that sticks in the mind of a child is "I must resolve this mystery some day. I must find out what is in Sceaux!"

Actually, if you do a little research, you find out that this train line was built in 1846 and that the first terminus was Sceaux. Apparently there was some sort of major financial crash in 1847 and it went bankrupt along with the Paris-Orléans company, the Bordeaux-La Teste company, the Marseille-Avignon company and the Paris-Lyon company. They were all nationalized in 1848.

Anyway, it was more or less given to the Paris Metropolitan Railway Company in 1937 which doubled the number of people using it in just one year.

I actually finally went to Sceaux to see what was there in 1973. I still remember the day vividly because it was in December and everything was frozen solid, but it was amazing anyway. I went with a friend and we pulled big blocks of ice out of the canal and took pictures through the sheets of ice (must find those photos somewhere!).

In 1977, the Ligne de Sceaux disappeared forever when it became the southern end of the RER B regional express line. Younger generations have probably never heard the name, but I remember the clunky old trains very well.

I had actually not been back to the Parc de Sceaux itself since that trip in 1973 although I have grazed it driving in a car from time to time. I decided that it was time to return there this week.

The approach is quite impressive due to the carefully trimmed trees.



The little château is a minor museum which I chose not to visit this time.





It is a long walk to circumvent the château and get to the amazingly huge gardens.

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They happened to be ripping up part of the gardens, special for my arrival.







Never a pleasant thing to have to see when you think of the effort that has gone before.





I wanted to continue down to the giant expanses, so I walked along the wooded edges for awhile.









People were training their dogs.



The last roses of the year struggled against the November chill.







The side lanes are endless.

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I appreciated the autumn colours.

[htmb]

Oh, the autumn colors are nice, indeed!

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I've only walked in a little section of the park so far.



The tiny château looks so insignificant from here.

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I can't even begin to imagine how many gardeners work here.





There's a place to let your dogs loose in the woods.













These people had just left the dog zone.

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After walking the long lanes, it was time to see the Grand Canal.













Here we are at the bottom at last.

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I know nothing about royal economics, but I absolutely cannot imagine how anybody could afford to create and maintain such huge expanses back when places like this were designed and ripped out of the forests.

A busload of children was leaving after picnicking here.















I see a family resemblance in the hair.

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I liked how these statues had taken on protective colouring.

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Back up to the château level...







You don't see many squirrels in France compared to the U.S. But Sceaux has some red ones.











The park café is still open on November weekdays, surprisingly enough.



Any thought I might have had about taking original photos was squashed by the outdoor photo expo.



The photos allowed me to discover that there is an exact replica of Mount Vernon in France.







Vegetation must be tamed in France!





Am I the only person who sees a vegatal circle in this hedge? (You may need to step away from the screen.)



One of the gateposts of the château seemed to be taken from a page of the equine Kama Sutra.



The other gatepost was perhaps from the canine Fight Club.



And then I left, marveling once again at the avenue leading to the château.

[htmb]

This looks like a very lovely place to visit, and how nice there's a dog park! Am I correct in thinking a trip south on the RER B will get you to Sceaux? Are bicycles allowed in the park?

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Yes, bicycles are allowed -- I wished I had had one while walking the length of the park as all of the bicycles passed me.

The RER B has a station called Sceaux and another station called Parc de Sceaux.

[auntieannie]

This is gorgeous! Your pictures of the wooded areas are particularly lovely. You really capture details beautifully, K2.

As for the red squirrel... you'd get a prize here in the UK just talking about them. They have been decimated in most areas of England - apparently by the bigger american grey squirrel. Or that's what fanatics will tell you, the lip aquiver, wet eyes... (I am exaggerating a bit...:-))

I almost forgot.. the fountain figures seem rather angry/slightly demonic?

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I agree that those fountain faces did not look friendly to me.

[auntieannie]

well... I wonder what face I would make if my mouth was a fountain spout... gorgeous autumn colours!

[bixaorellana]

This is absolutely SUBLIME!

It's so vast, so formal, so very French, & absolutely beautiful. Thank you for going there & thank you for taking such downright exquisite photos.

Like most gardeners, I balk at formal gardens, but when you see one rendered so perfectly and in such dazzling scale, it's easy to be converted.

[tod2]

This is just the kind of photo essay which I love! Being able to see what's just outside Paris so that when the crowds in Paris get too much, this makes a lovely escape into the countryside. Well, maybe not countryside but far off suburbs

The photos are beautiful and you got some good reflection of the trees and chateau in one of them.
I can see I would never be able to walk all that great distance you did Kerouac, so thanks for the bike tip!

[RichardRFC]

Nov 10, 2012 21:58:29 GMT kerouac2 said:

They happened to be ripping up part of the gardens, special for my arrival.

Never a pleasant thing to have to see when you think of the effort that has gone before.

They look like box hedges that they are removing. My wife tells me that there is a disease called box blight which is untreatable. If the disease has taken hold, you have to remove the hedge. Perhaps that is what happened here. As you say, not a pleasant sight.

Wonderful set of photos, though. Thanks, K2.

[auntieannie]

I keep taking breaks from studying by looking at this thread.
How lovely it would be to lose myself in the parc de Sceaux for a few hours!

[lugg]

How I enjoyed reading this thread and looking at so many wonderful photographs. Thank you K2

I particularly enjoyed seeing the Rodin angry fountain masks and the so typically French garden design . It is just so good to see gardens such as this now open to all - walkers , cyclists , dog lovers et al.

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I admit that it is hard to imagine when these places were private and nobody could see them except for the owners and their friends.

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Tonight's news had a major piece on the renovation of the Parc de Sceaux, which is now completely redesigned -- or rather restored to Le Nôtre's official design from 400 years ago.

I am tempted to return to see it soon, but I feel that it would be more reasonable to wait until spring.

One thing that amused me on the news was to see a video of the hedges being torn up, almost identical to the one I posted at the beginning of this report.

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Spring has sort of arrived, so I decided to return to Sceaux this morning. I took the RER this time to get there.



There was a short walk through some ritzy suburbs.





Spring was quite visible, but the temperatures did not match. It is almost down to freezing at night again.



The designer of most of the royal gardens of France obviously has his own street here.



And so here we are again.

I had never visited the museum in the château, so I decided that today was the day, even though I was expecting nothing of interest, at least compared to all of the other museum-châteaux I have seen. The tiny detail that made the difference was the fact that it was 10:02 as I walked up to the château, and the museum opened at 10:00 so I was absolutely certain to have the entire place to myself. I paid the full rate of 3€ to the little Indian man at the desk because I felt it would be pathetic to ask if I could qualify for the reduced rate due to my age.

It was exactly as underwhelming as I thought it would be.



There was one guard for the whole place who kept pacing around while trying not to appear to be watching me. No, I didn't take a picture of him.

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One of the rare interesting things in the museum was the timeline of ownership.



And the other thing was to be able to get a good view of the "restored" Le Notre garden design. Down at ground level, there was no way to appreciate it.





Back down in the park, after spending a grand total of 20 minutes in the museum for my 3 euros, I saw the new design.





This time I didn't walk the entire length of the park leading down from the château, but it is still very impressive.







In a week or two, the greenery will certainly be more impressive, but seeing it at the wrong time gives you a reason to return.



Tender spring shoots are magnificent anyway.



And coming before the leaves all appear makes one realize how incredible the garden geometry is.

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The past season can also be viewed in various places.



I walked to this mysterious closed building. I decided to name it "Marie Antoinette's outhouse."

I have looked at the map of the site since then and must admit that it is the Hannover Pavillion. It was originally built in Paris on boulevard des Italiens and was taken apart at some time and rebuilt here stone by stone. As for the name, it is due to the fact that the Maréchal de Richelieu (a descendant of a not very celibate Cardinal of the same name) used money from plundering Hannover during the Dutch wars (whatever they were). He used it to give Berlusconi style dinner parties away from prying eyes. It is supposed to be renovated sooner or later.

I had to decide where to walk from there. This way?



Or this way? There is no way that you can walk everywhere in that park.



I chose to head for the water, because at least I knew where it was in terms of the château and leaving the park later.

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Who comes to a place like this on a weekday morning? I would say that just about everybody was a codger or a jogger. And of course there were some jogging codgers, bless their little wrinkled lungs, and no lack of Mme. Codgers alone or with their spouse.

Spring is not nearly as advanced as in overheated Paris.









There were a few school groups present for their physical education classes. It certainly beats the ratty football pitch that my school had to use.





The grassy areas were definitely in full spring mode.

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It was time for me to start the long climb alongside the cascade.



I still love this line of heads, even though they are no longer spitting.





I encountered an industrious crow gathering items for the family nest for this year.





The outdoor café still attracted some customers in spite of the relatively chilly weather.



One last glance down the esplanade below the château.



It is much easier for the gardeners to keep the hedges immaculately trimmed before the spring growth spurt begins.



I decided to find a different way back to Paris to I walked down the monumental avenue that leads to the château.





finally reached the far end



Here is the name of the street in case you're wondering.



It ends at the former N7 highway where General Leclerc entered Paris from the south for the liberation in 1945. This moment is still commemorated.



I just had to walk a couple of blocks to find the Bourg-la-Reine RER station.

Next time I will try to return on a hot summer day to see how it all looks...

[htmb]

Kerouac, I had to laugh at your last statement in this post. You wanted a hot summer day? You could certainly pick monumentally hot days this week!