The Buttes Chaumont district has two of the largest parks in whole Paris, the Parc de la Villette and the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. It is crossed by the Canal Saint Martin and Ourcq Canal.

In 19th arrondissement, on the avenue Jean Jaures, you can find the prestigious Paris Conservatories (Conservatoire de Paris). The conservatoire offers instruction in music, dance, drama, and drawing on the traditions of the "French School" and is split into two sections: the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique (CNSAD, for acting, theatre and drama) and the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris (CNSMDP, for music and dance).

Parc de la Villette
The Parc de la Villette was built by the Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi on the site of the former big slaughterhouses and the national wholesale meat market. The slaughterhouses were originally built in 1867 on the instructions of Napoléon III.
The park holds the “Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie“ and “La Géode “, an Omnimax domed theatre. Moreover, it offers a wide range of cultural and leisure activities.

Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
Located in the Parc de la Villette, the “Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie“ is the biggest science museum in Europe.
The main goal of the museum is to make science and technology accessible to all. Several areas are dedicated for children and teenagers; in 2008, 58% of the visitors were under 20.
About 5 million tourists come every year to visit the planetarium, the submarine Argonaute S636 and the IMAX Theatre, “La Géode“.

La Géode
The Omnimaxdome theatre, “La Géode” presents large-format films on an impressive 1 000 square-metre hemispherical screen and a 12.1 sound system. The sphere has a diameter of 36 meters consisting of 6433 triangles. Come and immerse yourself in a world of images.

City of Music
The City of Music, the “Cité de la Musique”, is an amphitheatre which can accommodate an audience of 1000 people. The centre is devoted to music and hosts the world's most popular artists. The exceptional acoustic quality makes this place unique. It holds as well 3 000 square meter museum dedicated to music instruments retracing the history from Baroque until modern days. It has a really impressive collection above 4 000 instruments.
The gigantic project The Philharmonic Paris should be finished in October 2012. The new facility will consist of a 2 400-seat auditorium.

Parc des Buttes Chaumont
The Parc des Buttes Chaumont is a public garden of 61 acres. The highlight of the park is the Belvedere of Sybil which sits at the top of an island in the middle of a lake. It also includes several cliffs and bridges, a grotto that encloses a 20 meter high waterfall, a lake, and several English and Chinese gardens.
The park hosts restaurants, reception halls and Guignol theatres.