The Parc floral de Paris is a public park and botanical garden located within the Bois de Vincennes in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. Created in 1969, the park remains the legacy of the international horticultural exposition, which was organised under the auspices of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). It is one of four botanical gardens in Paris, and is the site of major annual flower shows. The nearest metro station to the park is Chateau-de-Vincennes. History The Parc floral, as a part of the Bois de Vincennes, had originally been part of a royal park and hunting domain. The park had been enclosed with a wall by King Philippe-Auguste in the 12th century, and the neighboring chateau was built by King Charles V of France. King Louis XV had reforested the park and built paths and promenades, and a pyramid (1831), still visible, just outside the Parc Floral, at the intersection of the route de Polygone and route royale de Beauté. After the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte had turned the Bois de Vincennes into a training ground for his soldiers. Between 1840 and 1843 The land occupied by the Parc Floral was mostly deforested and turned into an immense field of 166 hectares where the infantry practiced manoeuvres. During the Second Empire of Napoleon III, a large part of the Bois de Vincennes was made into a public park, but the area of the future Parc floral remained under military control well after the Second World War. It was largely flat, had a few building which could be used for exhibit space. Its most promising assets were a grove of oaks and a grove of pine trees. The Bois de Vincennes had hosted a major international flower show, called the Floralies, in 1959 and 1964. The city of Paris decided to create a permanent exhibition space for the Floralies and other botanical exhibits and shows. In 1969 the Paris city architect, Daniel Collin, was put in charge of the project, assisted by several different architects for different parts of the garden: Caroline Stefulesco-Mollie for the valley of flowers; Jacques Sgard for the sculpture garden; Alain Provost for the water garden; and Lucienne Talihade-Collin for the playground. Features of the park The park occupies 31 hectares, making it the fourth-largest park in Paris, after the Bois de Boulogne, Bois