Coulée verte

Walk along the magnificent promenade to see the city from another angle as the suspended gardens take you to new heights.

The planted gardens are a veritable refuge in the centre of the city. Constructed by an architect and a landscape designer, the promenade runs for 5 km along an abandoned railway line. From the Bastille to Saint-Mandé, by bicycle or on foot, you can peek in the windows of typical Parisian flats.

If you go early enough you'll catch the runners and the skaters out for their morning exercise. The promenade begins in the Bastille as a rooftop garden, 10 m high, and ends in Saint-Mandé as a street-level park, winding all the while through the streets of Paris.

The sounds of the cars are dampened and the air is pure, allowing nature to reclaim its rightful place. Not far from the square Félix Eboué, a giant lawn awaits the drowsy for a nap or the hungry for a picnic lunch.