Carousels originally come from Italy.
The first carousel appeared in France in the second half of the 19th century and quickly became very popular with the Parisians.
1900’s is considered as the Golden Age of the carousel, and modern merry-go-rounds look very similar to the original ones.
The carousels are still part of the Parisians’ daily life as nearly twenty merry-go-rounds are found throughout the capital. The concessions are granted by the City of Paris to private owners.
Some merry-go-rounds have been on the same spot for years, others settle temporarily on the lawns of the Tuileries Gardens, Bois de Vincennes and the Bois de Boulogne for the time of a fair.
One of my favourite is the carousel that stays permanently on the tiny Square Willette below the Sacré-Coeur Basilica.
The ceilings of the Italian-built carousel represent the Canals of Venice but the theme chosen for its wooden horses (which are actually plastic) is the American Wild West with diligence and Indians…
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Hi DeeBee,
do you happen to know the location of these 20 merry-go-rounds? I know the one at sacre coeur, there is one at trocadero and one at the eiffel tower. I also saw one in parc monceau and one not far from there (metro villiers) and the last one I could find was at montparnasse. Would be great if you know more locations
Hi T,
Thanks for you comment.
I know those that you have mentioned and i think they are permanent. I took a shot of the one in front of Montparnasse station but it was not a very “good” but if we add Luxembourg + Hôtel-de -Ville + Buttes Chaumont + Place de la République that will be 4 more!
Not sure where else!
Let me know if you find more, that would be very interesting!