Parc de la Villette

Parc de la Villette occupies the north-eastern edge of Paris on a site that once housed the city's main abattoirs and cattle market. Transformed in the 1980s under a landmark urban project designed by architect Bernard Tschumi, it became one of the largest cultural parks in Europe, covering around 55 hectares between the Canal de l'Ourcq and the Canal Saint-Denis. Tschumi's design is defined by its red steel follies scattered across the grounds, a deliberate rejection of traditional park geometry that made the site a reference point in deconstructivist architecture.

Today the park brings together the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Grande Halle, and open lawns that host festivals, open-air cinema, and public events throughout the year. Visitors can also join a Seine River and Canal Saint-Martin Sightseeing Cruise, which connects the waterways bordering the park to the broader network of Parisian canals and the river itself, offering a different perspective on the city's northern neighbourhoods and their industrial heritage.