Our trip transitioned from hiking to touristing today as we hopped on a train to Paris. Our hotel is in a great spot just near Gare de Lyon, about 30 minute walk to Notre Dame Cathedral and 500m from the Seine River.
On consulting Atlas Obscura there were two places close by that tempted us to stretch our legs…
What was more interesting was the Coulée verte (green course) or Promenade Plantée, similar to the High Line in New York.
Atlas Obscura describes it as follows: There’s something extra enchanting about industrial spaces being recovered by nature’s always reaching tendrils, and the Promenade Plantée in Paris owns this enchantment fully.
Also called the Coulée verte (green course) the Promenade Plantée starts at the Opéra Bastille, and goes on for over two miles following what was once part of the old Vincennes railway line. Starting in 1859, the railway linked the Bastille station to Verneuil-l’Étang, but became defunct by 1969. In the 1980s, the forgotten area got a makeover, the train station came down and the opera went up, but what to do with the railway itself? Landscape architect Jacques Vergely and architect Philippe Mathieux turned it into a lovely parkway that was opened in 1993 that established and flourished as the storefronts and neighborhood around it did the same.
Along the former railway line is a wide, tree-lined path with both narrow and wide spaces, some covered, some open. Rising up over the city, open spaces give way to gorgeous views, while enclosed stretches have shops nestled in the arches that were once part of the rail system. Along the path lie a number of parks including the Jardin de Reuilly.
Some if the streets we looked down on…
Later this evening, Gary and I headed over the road to a creperie for tea…
Morocco Food Tour 