Parc de la Villette is the third-largest park in Paris, a 55.5-hectare green space in the 19th arrondissement built on the site of the city’s former cattle market and slaughterhouses, which closed in 1974 and were redeveloped into a park designed by architect Bernard Tschumi between 1984 and 1987.
The park is home to Europe’s largest science museum, the Cite des Sciences et de l’Industrie, which draws around five million visitors a year to its planetarium, the Argonaute submarine, and the La Geode IMAX theater. Ten themed gardens, thirty-five red architectural “folies,” concert halls including the Philharmonie de Paris, and playgrounds fill out the site, while the Canal de l’Ourcq runs through it with boat tours connecting to other parts of Paris.
Visitors typically spend 2 to 4 hours here, though a full visit to the science museum alone with the IMAX and planetarium can easily take up most of a day.