Opened in 1867, late in the regime of Napoleon III, it was built according to plans by Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand, who created all the major parks for Haussmann's renovation of Paris commanded by the Emperor.

The director of public works of Paris and builder of the Park, Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand, reported that "the site spread infectious emanations not only to the neighboring areas, but, following the direction of the wind, over the entire city.

Explosives were used to sculpt the buttes themselves and the former quarry into a picturesque mountain fifty meters high with cliffs, an interior grotto, pinnacles and arches.

Hydraulic pumps were installed to lift water from the canal of the Ourcq River to the highest point on the promontory, to create a dramatic waterfall.

The chief gardener of Paris, horticulturist Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps, then went to work, planting thousands of trees, shrubs and flowers and creating sloping lawns.

The grotto is a vestige of the old gypsum and limestone quarry that occupied part of the site, now adjacent to rue Botzaris on the south side of the park.

Most of the architecture of the park, from the Temple de la Sibylle, the cafes, and gatehouses to the fences and rain shelters, was designed by Gabriel Davioud, chief architect for the city of Paris.

He created a picturesque, rustic style for the parks of Paris, sometimes inspired by ancient Rome, sometimes by the chalets and bridges of the Swiss Alps.

In particular the park has many varieties of indigenous and exotic trees, including many Asian species, notably several cedars of Lebanon planted in 1880, Himalayan cedars, Ginkgo Biloba, Byzantine hazelnuts, Siberian elms, European hollies, bamboo-leafed prickly ashesers, and Giant Sequoia The Parc des Buttes Chaumont is served by Lines 5 and 7bis Each September, the park hosts the week-long Silhouette Short Film Festival [fr].

The two main characters, Lucien Bourrache (Jean Gabin) and Madeleine (Mireille Balin) walk and converse in the park and, at one point, cross the suspension bridge over the lake.