Jardin d'Acclimatation
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA historic Paris leisure park in the Bois de Boulogne combining family amusement attractions, animals, gardens and cultural activities.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Jardin d'Acclimatation is a historic leisure park in the northern part of Paris's Bois de Boulogne. Covering approximately 19 hectares, it combines amusement-park attractions with gardens, animal displays and activities aimed especially at children and families. The site opened on 6 October 1860 under the name Jardin Zoologique d'Acclimatation. Its original purpose was connected to the acclimatisation of plants and animals brought to France, including specimens associated with the country's colonial networks. The park was directed in its early years by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, a zoologist and son of the naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. The institution's history reflects several major changes in the social and cultural role of public leisure spaces. During the Siege of Paris in 1870–1871, food shortages were so severe that many of the zoo's animals were killed and prepared for consumption by the chef Alexandre Étienne Choron. From 1877 to 1912, the site was also used for anthropological exhibitions in which people from colonised or otherwise distant regions were displayed to Parisian visitors. Groups identified in historical accounts include Nubians, Bushmen, Zulus, Sámi and Inuit, among others. These exhibitions attracted very large crowds and are now understood as part of the history of colonial racism and human-zoo practices rather than as legitimate educational entertainment. In 1931, roughly one hundred Kanaks from New Caledonia were displayed in Paris and subsequently transferred to another zoo. The final anthropological exhibition closed that year. After 1931, the Jardin increasingly developed into a family-oriented recreation venue. Its identity shifted away from zoological and anthropological display toward children's entertainment, small-scale rides, animals, gardens and participatory activities. The contemporary park includes fairground-style attractions such as carousels, miniature roller coasters, swing rides, pony rides, shooting galleries, a narrow-gauge train, a mirror house, miniature golf and an archery range. It also has a puppet theatre, farm animals and birds, and cultural programming for children, including the Musée en Herbe, an art museum for young audiences located among the park's attractions. The park has also incorporated international and civic-cultural features. A Seoul Garden opened in 2002 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Seoul and Paris. A miniature road system operated with the involvement of the Paris police as a children's educational attraction until its closure in 2008. Today, the Jardin d'Acclimatation presents itself as a Paris family destination rather than as a conventional zoo. Its appeal rests on the combination of rides, animals, landscaped surroundings and children's cultural experiences within a historic urban park setting. At the same time, its earlier use for colonial human exhibitions remains an essential part of any complete account of the institution's past.
History
The Jardin d'Acclimatation opened on 6 October 1860 in the Bois de Boulogne during the Second French Empire. It was initially called the Jardin Zoologique d'Acclimatation and was conceived as a zoological and acclimatisation institution, intended to study and present plants and animals introduced into France. Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie attended the opening. Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, whose father was the naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, directed the institution until his death in 1861. The site's early zoological function was affected by the Franco-Prussian War and the Siege of Paris. During the siege of 1870–1871, severe food shortages led to the slaughter of many zoo animals for food. Historical accounts associate their preparation with chef Alexandre Étienne Choron, illustrating how the institution was caught up in the material hardships of wartime Paris. Between 1877 and 1912, the park became a venue for anthropological exhibitions. Visitors were shown people from communities described at the time through colonial and racial categories, including Nubians, Bushmen, Zulus, Sámi and Inuit. The exhibitions were commercially successful, and visitor numbers reportedly rose to approximately one million. Their popularity, however, was inseparable from the unequal power relations of imperialism and from the treatment of living people as spectacles. The 1931 display of around one hundred Kanaks from New Caledonia, followed by their transfer to another zoo, represents a later and particularly troubling episode in this history. The last anthropological exhibition closed in 1931. Following that closure, the Jardin's public identity became increasingly centred on family recreation and children's activities. Rather than functioning principally as a zoological or anthropological institution, it developed into a compact amusement and leisure park with rides, animals, gardens and educational entertainment. Its attractions include carousels, miniature roller coasters, swing rides, pony rides, shooting galleries, a narrow-gauge train, a mirror house, miniature golf and archery. A puppet theatre and farm-animal and bird displays broaden the park's appeal beyond mechanical rides. The Musée en Herbe, an art museum designed for children, adds a cultural dimension. The park continued to adapt its spaces and programming in the modern period. In 2002, it added the Jardin de Séoul, or Seoul Garden, in connection with the tenth anniversary of the Seoul–Paris sister-city relationship. A miniature road system created for children and operated with the involvement of the Paris police was closed in 2008. The contemporary Jardin d'Acclimatation is therefore best understood as a historic urban family-leisure park, combining amusement attractions, landscaped areas, animals and children's cultural experiences. Its current recreational identity does not erase its earlier history: the colonial-era exhibitions remain central to understanding the institution and require explicit treatment in historical descriptions.
- 2008
Children's miniature road system closes
[1]The park discontinued a miniature road system that had operated for children with Paris police involvement.
- 2002
Seoul Garden opens
[1]The Jardin de Séoul opened to mark the tenth anniversary of the sister-city partnership between Seoul and Paris.
- 1931
Final anthropological exhibition closes
[1]A Kanak exhibition took place during the year, and the final anthropological exhibition at the site was subsequently closed. The park then moved toward a family-leisure identity.
- 1912
Anthropological exhibition period ends
[1]The principal period of anthropological exhibitions at the Jardin concluded after decades of colonial-era displays.
- 1877
Anthropological exhibitions begin
[1]The site began a long period in which people from colonised and Indigenous communities were displayed to the public as anthropological spectacles.
- 1870
Animals consumed during the Siege of Paris
[1]During the siege and resulting food shortages, many animals from the zoo were killed and used as food.
- 1861
Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire's directorship ends
[1]The park's early director, Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, died after leading the institution during its first period of operation.
- 1860
Opening of the Jardin Zoologique d'Acclimatation
[1]The institution opened on 6 October in the Bois de Boulogne, with Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie attending the inauguration.
Products and positioning
A historic Paris family-leisure destination that combines amusement attractions, gardens, animals and children's cultural activities in the Bois de Boulogne.
Attractions
Amusement rides
The park's entertainment offer includes fairground-style rides designed primarily for children and families. Documented examples include carousels, miniature roller coasters and swing rides, giving the site a compact amusement-park character within its landscaped setting.
Animal attractions
Animal exhibits
Animal-related attractions form a continuing link with the park's original zoological identity. The modern offer includes farm animals and birds, presented as family-oriented encounters rather than as the large zoological collection associated with the institution's nineteenth-century origins.
Education and culture
Children's cultural activities
The park includes cultural and educational experiences for young visitors, including a puppet theatre and the Musée en Herbe children's art museum. These activities complement the rides and animals by positioning the site as a broader family destination.
Garden · 2002
Jardin de Séoul
The Seoul Garden is a landscaped feature opened in 2002 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Seoul and Paris. It adds an international and horticultural element to the park's leisure offer.
Family recreation
Recreational facilities
Additional facilities include a narrow-gauge train, pony rides, shooting galleries, a mirror house, miniature golf and an archery range. Together, these attractions support the park's positioning as a varied, small-scale family recreation venue.
Controversies
1931
Display and transfer of Kanaks
Approximately one hundred Kanaks from New Caledonia were exhibited at the Jardin and later sold or transferred to another zoo. The event forms part of the documented history of colonial human displays associated with the park.
1877
Colonial-era human exhibitions
From 1877 to 1912, the Jardin hosted exhibitions in which Nubians, Bushmen, Zulus, Sámi, Inuit and other people were displayed to paying visitors. The exhibitions were part of colonial-era racial classification and spectacle, and are now regarded as a serious abuse of human dignity.
Brand decisions
2008
Closure of the miniature road systemOtherBackground
A miniature road system had operated as an educational attraction for children with involvement from the Paris police.
Action taken
The park closed the miniature road system.
Aftermath
The attraction no longer formed part of the park's operating offer.
2002
Creation of the Seoul GardenOtherBackground
Paris and Seoul were marking the tenth anniversary of their sister-city partnership.
Action taken
The park opened a Seoul Garden as an international cultural and horticultural feature.
Aftermath
The garden became part of the park's blend of landscaped spaces, cultural references and family attractions.
1931
Shift toward family leisureStrategyBackground
The closure of the last anthropological exhibition ended the park's documented period of human exhibitions.
Action taken
The Jardin developed toward children's activities, amusement attractions, animals and family recreation.
Aftermath
The site gradually became known primarily as a family-oriented leisure park rather than an anthropological or zoological exhibition venue.
Sources2 sources
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