Chateau de Longchamp

The Château de Longchamp is a historic estate in the Bois de Boulogne on the western edge of Paris, set between the racetrack grounds of the same name and the lawns of Bagatelle. The present-day building, made of white stone with a classical pediment, covers 2,500 square meters and is surrounded by a three-hectare park. The history of the site goes back to the 19th century, when Baron Haussmann, acting on behalf of Emperor Napoleon III, was driving forward the redesign of western Paris. The original pavilion, designed by the architect Gabriel Davioud, was first used as a summer residence by Haussmann himself after the emperor granted him use of the estate. Later the château served various private owners, among them the perfume entrepreneur François Coty, who had the old building torn down and replaced with a new one, which was not completed until after World War II.

Today the estate belongs to the City of Paris and has been home since 2015 to the GoodPlanet Foundation, which carried out a comprehensive renovation of the building and park. Before that, the château stood unused for a long time, having been occupied from 1949 to 1996 by the International Children's Center (CEI). Initiated by the French government and the United Nations, the center was dedicated to researching childhood diseases and training medical personnel from around the world. Today you can tour the restored building, done in the style of the architect Patrick Bouchain, and enjoy the expansive green spaces of the Domaine de Longchamp. In this way, the site combines its architectural past as an aristocratic country estate with its modern role as a cultural and environmental gathering place in the capital.