Cruising in Paris: the Bois de Boulogne
Enter at Porte Dauphine, leave the ring road behind, and do not treat the bois as small.
Paris’s outdoor cruising is concentrated in one very large park, which is why people both over-trust it and get lost in it.
Where to enter
The Bois de Boulogne is west of the centre. Porte Dauphine, on metro lines 1 and 2, is the classic arrival. The perimeter roads are not the spot. The interior footpaths are. If you are still next to traffic, walk further in.
When it is busy
Thursday afternoons and weekends are the peaks people repeat for a reason. Other times can be active and can also be a long walk through an empty wood. The bois does not become safe because it is famous.
How not to be stupid about the size
It is big enough to lose the exit. Go in while you can learn the paths, keep your phone charged, and be done before the late night if you are alone and do not know the park. Isolation after midnight is the failure mode, not a lack of pins. The Paris page is the map.
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