Buttes Chaumont
Buttes Chaumont
Paris is a number one destination, but few people would go there to see natural beauty. Still, Paris has a waterfall that is almost as high as Niagara falls!
The Park Buttes-Chaumont in the North-East of Paris is the unusual destination where you can find this waterfall. It is s delightful change from the monuments, museums and the endless shopping Paris lures its visitors with.
The park was a refuse dump for centuries and it had an evil reputation. In the nineteenth century it was transformed by Napoleon the third into a fantasy park, a sort of Disneyland avant la letter.
A central place in the park is reserved for a lake with a 50 meter high mountain rising in the centre. At the top of this mountain is a small building that offers great views over Paris. Two bridges connect the island with the rest of the park. One of them has the macabre nickname suicide bridge.
The island is honeycombed with caves through which you can walk and climb; it is hugely popular with children for that reason. They are quite safe, as well; there are railings to prevent one form falling.
Sheer cliffs and sharp changes in elevation abound in this remarkable park. There is even a waterfall 40 meter high that drops precipitously into a grotto at the lake levelfor comparison purposes, this is about two-thirds the height of Niagara Falls!
