The Jardin d'Acclimatation () is a children's amusement park in the northern part of the

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park that is the western half of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by the Em ...

in western

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, alongside other attractions.

History

Opened on 6 October 1860 by

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

and Empress Eugénie, this

zoo was originally known as ''Jardin Zoologique d'Acclimatation'', where plants and animals from the colonies could acclimatise to France's weather conditions. It was directed by

Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (; 16 December 1805 – 10 November 1861) was a French zoologist and an authority on deviation from normal structure. In 1854 he coined the term ''éthologie'' (ethology). Biography He was born in Paris, the ...

, son of the naturalist

Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (; 15 April 177219 June 1844) was a French naturalist who established the principle of "unity of composition". He was a colleague of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and expanded and defended Lamarck's evolutionary theorie ...

, until his death in 1861. During the

Siege of Paris (1870–1871) The siege of Paris took place from 19 September 1870 to 28 January 1871 and ended in the capture of the city by forces of the various states of the North German Confederation, led by the Kingdom of Prussia. The siege was the culmination of the F ...

, many of the animals in the zoo were cooked and served by chef Alexandre Étienne Choron due to wartime deprivation. From 1877 until 1912, the Jardin Zoologique d'Acclimatation was converted to ''l'Acclimatation Anthropologique''. In mid-colonialism, the curiosity of Parisians was attracted to the customs and lifestyles of foreign peoples.

Nubians Nubians () ( Nobiin: ''Nobī,'' ) are a Nilo-Saharan speaking ethnic group indigenous to the region which is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt. They originate from the early inhabitants of the central Nile valley, believed to be one of th ...

Bushmen The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the Indigenous peoples of Africa, oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged fro ...

Zulus Zulu people (; ) are a native people of Southern Africa of the Nguni. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. They originated from Nguni communities who took p ...

, and many other African peoples were "exhibited" in a human zoo. Indigenous peoples including Sámi people from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

people from

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

were also exhibited. The exhibitions were a huge success. The number of visitors to the Jardin doubled, reaching the million mark. In 1931, around 100 other

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

n Kanaks, were put on display at the Jardin d'Acclimatation in Paris, and then sold to another zoo. From 1931 on, the last anthropological exhibition was closed down and since then the zoo - now the ''Jardin d'Acclimatation'' - has become a family-oriented leisure park, focusing on children's activities. Among the attractions are many fair-like activities, including mini-rollercoasters, swing rides, and a collection of farm animals and birds. A miniature road system for children operated by the Paris police was closed in 2008.

Attractions

The park includes an archery range, house of mirrors, miniature-golf course, narrow-gauge train, pony ride, carousels, puppet theater, shooting galleries, and an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...

for children (the Musée en Herbe).

Notes

External links

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Jardin d'Acclimatation. From Human Zoo to Disneyland avant la Lettre
{{authority control African diaspora in Paris Greenlandic diaspora Human zoos Tourist attractions in Paris Zoos in France Amusement parks in Paris 1860 establishments in France Educational organizations established in 1860 Zoos established in the 19th century Buildings and structures in the 16th arrondissement of Paris LVMH brands Inuit history New Caledonian diaspora Sámi history Amusement parks opened in 1931 Korean gardens