The Royal Menagerie (Ménagerie du Roi) no longer exists, but the site at the south end of the Grand Canal's transverse arm is historically significant. Louis XIV established it in 1662 — one of the first modern zoos in Europe — and it housed exotic animals from across the French empire: elephants, ostriches, crocodiles, exotic birds, a rhinoceros, and an elephant. The royal family and court would visit to observe them and occasionally to watch animals fight.
The central building, a small octagonal pavilion with a view into all the animal enclosures, was designed by Louis Le Vau. It became a model for zoological gardens across Europe. The animals were dispersed or died during the Revolution; the buildings were demolished in the 19th century and the site converted to an agricultural school, which still operates there (the École nationale de médecine vétérinaire, now elsewhere).
A walk to this area of the gardens — the far end of the south arm of the Grand Canal — takes you well away from the main tourist circuit. There are no crowds here, and the landscape has an open, agricultural quality that feels different from the designed gardens around the palace. A good destination if you have the legs for a long walk.