La Villette turns a former slaughterhouse and livestock-market district into a broad cultural landscape. The surviving Grande Halle and Bernard Tschumi’s red folies make the park’s transformation visible: industrial infrastructure became a framework for public gathering and discovery.
Quick facts
The slaughterhouses and livestock market operated here from 1867 to 1974.
Bernard Tschumi was selected to design the park in 1983.
The park’s plan includes 26 red folies and the preserved Grande Halle.
Get directions to La Villette. Confirm the visitor entrance and current access with the venue before travelling.
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Guide
Look across La Villette and the red Folies do not line up like a single façade. They appear as points scattered among lawns, paths, gardens and big cultural buildings. The pattern reflects Bernard Tschumi’s idea of a park for activity and encounter. La Villette grew from a vast industrial site, and still invites visitors among different kinds of public life.
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