I saw a LEOPARD in the middle of Paris! (Sights & Attractions in Paris in general)

Member Name: lellagrace

Product:	Sights & Attractions in Paris in general
Date:	11/11/06 (87 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great place to go for a tranquil break

Disadvantages: You may not agree with the concept of zoos

If you are visiting Paris and want some time to get away from the hustle and bustle of this wonderful city, then take a trip to Jardin des plantes. It is a few weeks since I was there so do check on winter opening times, as they may have changed since I visited.

The area is very tranquil and you would find it hard to believe you are in one of the major European cities of the world. Here you will find a large park of botanical gardens and a menagerie. Centuries ago the botanical gardens were used for growing herbs, for medicinal purposes and you can see many different species of plants. Most of them are labelled and give information about them, but you will have to understand French of course, although some of the latin names are familiar to us.

The park is an ideal place to sit a while and take refreshments from the cafe, or wander around the pathways and take a therapeutic break from the hustle and bustle of the city. I spent a couple of hours wandering around the park and then sat under the shade of an avenue of trees quietly taking in the surroundings. Very relaxing after a stressful and hectic schedule in Paris.

The first time I visited here was in summer 2005 and even though it was the height of the summer tourist season, it was not overcrowded, yet only minutes earlier we had been walking through busy streets, crowded with tourists. Perhaps jardin des plantes is a well kept secret! My most recent visit was in October and the trees were beginning to lose their leaves and the autumn colours were stunning. The area is easily reached by several metro stations, RER and SNCF at Gare d'austerlitz and buses on routes 47 and 89.

The oldest public zoo, Menagerie, in France is situated in this part of Paris, at Rue Cuvier. It is open daily, but check first for opening times. There is an admission charge with reductions for students, and disabled visitors and their carer also have concessions.

The zoo was originally set up in the tranquil setting of the Jardin des Plantes to house species which survived the Revolution from the royal palace menageries. So even if you do not agree with keeping animals in zoos, please bear in mind the reason why this was set up in the first place. Many of these animals may not have survived otherwise.

Nowadays the zoo specialises in small mammals, primates, reptiles and birds. It is fun to watch the baboons swinging around in their cages, especially at feeding time, and even more fun watching the visiting groups of school children laughing at their antics and exclaiming in French excitedly. A keeper sat on top of the cage throwing bananas and cabbage leaves into the cage and the kids were delighted to watch the baboons competing with each other to catch the food. Very entertaining!

In the lion house, when we visited in October this year, we could see only one lonely leopard. It seemed the rest of the animals had been rehoused elsewhere to allow for refurbishment of the premises. However on a previous visit we were treated to the sight of a number of large cats prowling around.

There are wild sheep and goats, a wonderful long haired donkey, as well as aviaries housing owls, who seemed to know when we wanted them to pose for photographs and turned to face the camera! Some stunning pictures!

Inside the reptile house several crocodiles basked by pools of water, snakes coiled themselves around tree branches whilst huge lizards camouflaged themselves in the vegetation. Another “house” was home to many different kinds of frogs and other similar creatures, sorry to say I gave this a miss after taking a peek round the door – I just cannot stand frogs!!!

In one area was a huge tortoise, being carefully watched over by a furry sloth lazing on the branch of a tree. Sit a while on the seat here and see if you can catch a glimpse of either of them moving. We sat for a short while, the tortoise never moved but the sloth did raise its sleepy head to see what the shuffling sound was as we moved quietly around. Apparently sloths only leave their perches on average once a week for a toilet visit, they spend the rest of the time lazing around. Notices ask you to keep quiet in this section so as not to disturb the animals.

If you are on a hectic visit to Paris with young children and they are fed up of trailing around the historic sites and museums, then a visit to the menagerie in the jardin des plantes may just be the diversion they need.

Well worth a visit, who would have thought you would find a leopard and monkeys in the middle of this crowded city! We first stumbled upon this when taking a stroll one afternoon and could hardly believe there was a menagerie in the centre of town and now it is a must on our agenda whenever we visit Paris, if only to escape from the noise of the city for a while.

(PLEASE NOTE : I also submitted a similar review to Ciao a few weeks ago).

Summary: Escape the hustle and bustle of the city and relax here