La Villette Park is set to expand by 15,000 square meters in 2026: explore the new areas coming soon

The Villette Park is set to expand by 15,000 square meters starting in March 2026, adding new idyllic spaces aimed at raising awareness of wildlife and biodiversity. Fields, pastures, a vegetable garden, bread oven, henhouse, wheat field... We reveal all the details.

Here's some news that'll make you even more eager for spring! Attention to nature lovers and green space enthusiasts: La Villette Park is set to expand next spring. On March 28, 2026, this already massive park — spanning 55 hectares in the northeastern part of the city, in the 19th arrondissement — will welcome an additional 15,000 square meters!

This marks one of the most significant expansions of Parc de la Villette since it first opened in 1987. This new area will focus on raising awareness about the living world and biodiversity, featuring a new walking path that runs between the Canal de l'Ourcq and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. It will include a farm set up in an old, renovated industrial hall, pastures for sheep, goats, and donkeys, a large vegetable garden and a small wheat field, a chicken coop and a rabbit hutch, a bread oven, and a beekeeping area.

Additional wasteland areas aimed at supporting local biodiversity—both flora and fauna—will also be unveiled. These include a clearing, a forest edge, an urban woodland, and a landscaped wetland basin — a rain-fed wet zone. These new shared natural spaces offer tranquil spots for observation and discovery, catering to visitors of all ages, and represent a way to adapt the park to climate change.

The New La Villette Farm: Revitalizing an Industrial Hall

The Rouvray Hall was built in 1914 and later transformed in 1934 to serve as a metalworking and carpentry workshop operated by the Canal Service until 1994. Today, as part of the Parc de la Villette, the hall has been completely revitalized as a space for sharing and exchange between the public and professionals from the scientific, artistic, and educational worlds.

Through weekday workshops for schools and weekend sessions for the general public, this initiative offers children and adults the chance to explore the life cycles of plants and animals in sync with the seasons. Visitors can also learn about animal welfare, observe birds and insects, and take part in farm activities such as farmer mornings, insect gardening, soil cooking, seed tricks, and scented trails.

Thanks to the creation of a central axis running through it, the renovated hall will connect the site, the park, and the canal seamlessly. Spanning 1,000 m², it will feature: a 450 m² courtyard housing a chicken coop, a bread oven, and an outdoor relaxation area; and a 550 m² covered space beneath the hall, with two workshop rooms, a play area, a rabbit habitat, and a flexible central zone that can host exhibitions, conferences, and farm-to-table banquets.

Birds' Field and the Expansion of Passerby Gardens: A New Sanctuary for Biodiversity

Until now reserved for the teams at La Villette, the ruins located on the western edge of the park are set to transform into a space for community sharing and learning. Throughout the year, visitors will be invited to take part in workshops, observations, and educational activities in various dedicated areas.

Other areas, such as the woodland and the edge, will occasionally be opened to visitors with guided activities, in order to protect local wildlife and plant life. This restoration also safeguards the sanctuary of the Rouvray basin, which has evolved over the years into a remarkable ecosystem. Ducks, swans, and Eurasian coots have made it their home, and native plants along the canalbanks grow freely and naturally.

The Birds' Field will host:

An old wheat field on a plot of about 300 m², designed to offer visitors a variety of educational programs focused on seed preservation, planting, soil cultivation, harvesting wheat, and bread-making.

An opening, a cleared space where sunlight reaches the ground, encouraging a rich diversity of plants, animals, and microorganisms to flourish. Seeded with a mix of xerophilous prairie seeds and serving as the focal point of the bird field, this clearing will feature an observatory. It will be a prime spot for discovering the local biodiversity, birdwatching, and showcasing the project to visitors. At the base of the observatory, a new apiary will house domesticated bees, while a wild prairie will provide habitat for other pollinators. In this way, both birds and pollinating insects will find shelter and nourishment in this dedicated area.

a forest edge and an urban woodland that help lower temperatures during heatwaves, absorb surrounding pollution, and provide habitats for small mammals and birds.

A landscape ditch designed to collect rainwater from the roofs of the Pavilion Garden, this feature creates a wet ecosystem that serves as a habitat for local wildlife. Visitors can spot gastropods, crustaceans, insects such as water spiders and dragonflies, as well as amphibians like frogs and newts.

The expansion of the passerby gardens, ecological gardens designed to serve cultural, educational, and social purposes for the past 25 years, will lead to:

An outdoor practical garden featuring a vegetable plot designed with raised beds inspired by vegetable farming techniques, following natural gardening methods.
A greenhouse for seedling cultivation, where children can plant young plants during workshops and later transplant them throughout the gardens.
An educational space dedicated to composting and waste recycling.
A sensory trail tailored for visitors with disabilities, engaging all five senses.
A colourful plant garden showcasing a collection of dye-rich plants used during coloring workshops.