Bois de BoulogneFrench words: Bois de Boulognealternative words: Boulogne forest keywords: paris , paris suburb , park related topics: Longchamp racecourse related web sites: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bois_de_Boulogne explanation: Until the middle ages, there had existed a vast forest in west of Paris and French kings were used to hunt there. The nearest part was named "Bois de Boulogne" because after the king Philippe IV pilgrimmed at Boulogne-sur-mer, a chapel was built there in 1315. Napoleon III assigned in 1852 the gardener Vare then the engineer Alphand to transform it to an English style garden. Covering 8460 km2, Bois de Boulogne owns a small amusement park (jardin d'acclimatation) and 2 hippodromes, Auteuil and Longchamp. | |