l'Amitié Park
Photo: Stefi123 / CC BY-SA 3.0, modified.
Overview
The Japanese Garden in Parc de l’Amitié is a 2,500 m² Japanese-style garden in central Rueil-Malmaison, west of Paris. The park is organised around this Japanese garden and also includes several smaller themed areas, such as a secret garden, scent garden, Renaissance garden, rose garden and green theatre. Rueil-Malmaison tourism describes the park as a 1.5-hectare town-centre garden structured around a Japanese garden and thematic spaces.
History
The first layout of Parc de l’Amitié dates to 1977. The Japanese garden belongs to this original park development and is repeatedly described as the central feature of the park. Later additions included a rose garden and green theatre in 1988. The park’s friendship theme is linked to Rueil-Malmaison’s international twinning relationships, reflected in symbolic tree planting from different countries.
Design features
The Japanese garden includes a pond or water mirror, wooden bridge, rocks, perennial planting, cascade and meditative garden scenery. Public descriptions emphasise the reflection of the wooden bridge on the water, flowering perennials among flat rocks and the sound of a small waterfall.
Garden elements
Bridges
Enclosures
Waters and islands
Stones
Shinto elements
Other elements
Current status
Extant public Japanese-style garden within Parc de l’Amitié. It remains freely accessible as part of a 1.5-hectare municipal park in central Rueil-Malmaison.