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This is the Opéra Bastille, on the place de la Bastille.
This panorama shows the place de la Bastille from the steps of the opera.
The opera building covers a full city block near the west end of the Promenade Plantée.
This is the rue de Lyon, which runs due south next to the opera building.
It will lead us to the Promenade Plantée.
I’ve edited this video so that you don’t have to put up with all the walking.
That red brick structure is the west end of the Promenade Plantée.
First let’s visit the Viaduc des Arts, built into the arches under the parkway.
Each of the arches is home to a retail business of some kind (with a few exceptions).
And the businesses are mostly owned by skilled craftspeople and artisans.
So you see makers of ceramics, fabrics, flower arrangements, etc.
They all have in common the need for skilled individual workmanship.
Like custom fabrics or clothing, wind or string instruments, and so on.
A few of the arches house cafés or restaurants, for refreshment.
Some of the arches remain open, and lead to tiny, slightly hidden streets and alleys.
The Promenade Plantée runs on the top of the viaduct, the shops are below.
This is one of the cross streets, the rue de Rambouillet.
Needless to say, each shop in the Viaduc des Arts is one of a kind.
This is looking back west, towards the Bastille.
Here you can see how the parkway runs above the street, and the shops are beneath.
Now let’s visit the Promenade Plantée itself.
We’ll go back to the west end entrance, near the opera.
It’s hard to climb stairs while looking through a viewfinder.
That’s the Opéra Bastille in the background, looking to the northwest.
And here we are. The dense foliage hides the sides of the elevated parkway.
The Promenade Plantée was landscaped by Jacques Vergely.
Here you can see the sides of the parkway, and third-floor windows of nearby buildings.
Off to the right (not visible) is the street below, the avenue Daumesnil.
Looking the opposite way, towards the Bastille.
The upper floors of a building across the avenue Daumesnil.
There are common themes to the whole parkway, but no two spots are identical.
That’s a fountain straight ahead, although it’s not running today.
This is one of the original railway overpasses.
This cross street is the boulevard Diderot, which leads to the Lyon train station.
Turning towards the west.
But we’ll continue on towards the east.
All of this used to be a two-track elevated railway line.
It linked the suburb of Vincennes to the Bastille district of Paris.
It closed in 1969, and was replaced by Line A of the express subway (RER).
All of what you see here is about three stories above street level.
Note the pleasing variations in landscaping. It keeps things interesting.
Note the huge contrast in sound level when the traffic dies down.
Only to be destroyed by the sirens that you hear every ten minutes in Paris.
It’s an incredibly noisy city, even up here, thanks to motor vehicles.
The parkway actually cuts through some buildings at certain points.
This is what the cross street looks like below (looking north, i.e., left).
And we just slice right through the building.
This dead end and detour are there just to make things interesting.
Another slice through another building.
And another overpass above the rue de Charenton.
This is how the overpass looks from the street below.
Looking back the other way, these are the steps down to street level.
The parkway slices right through the Jardin de Reuilly park, too.
The park is a bit hilly and has several different elevations.
That’s the avenue Daumesnil down below.
The parkway crosses a suspension bridge inside the Reuilly park.
Below the bridge is a huge, perfect lawn, great for picnics and sunbathing.
As elsewere on the parkway, there are many unusually landscaped nooks and crannies.
These terraces lead back down to the avenue Daumesnil.
This public water fountain dispenses cold tap water, for free.
This sign also advertises free sparkling (fizzy) tap water.
It’s ordinary tap water that has been carbonated and refrigerated, just for a change.
This is the south-side entrance to the Reuilly park, at street level.
The park is named after an ancient (1300+ years) old castle that was once nearby.
The park includes many changes in elevation within a fairly small area.
This is the old Reuilly railway station.
Visitors to the park especially seem to like this immaculate expanse of grass.
The parkway continues over the bridge and into a street-level outdoor mall.
The surrounding neighborhood actually rises up to meet the parkway.
East of this mall (Allée Vivaldi), the parkway moves below street level.
With the streets now rising above the parkway, there are a few tunnels.
In addition, a bike path joins the pedestrian path along the parkway.
The rock outcroppings are artificial, just to make the tunnel look cool.
There are some decorative fountains, too.
The bike path runs along the right, the pedestrian path on the left.
This sunken part of the Promenade has a more tropical, jungle-like feel.
It’s also cooler and much more humid than street level.
Here again, the landscaping varies as you go.
You don’t often see foliage this dense in Paris!
In French this would be called “dépaysant” (“exotic”).
Another tunnel, this one clearly an old railway tunnel.
This is one of many stairways back up to street level.
This video is 23 minutes, but walking the parkway actually takes 60-90 minutes.
I like the Promenade because it’s “something completely different.”
And yet it’s right “en plein Paris” (“in the middle of Paris”).
Yup, another vintage tunnel. Kids like the almost-spooky tunnels.
I have no idea what this sculpture up ahead is supposed to be.
Heck, I’m not even sure it’s a sculpture, but it looks like one.
Beyond this, there’s a fork in the road.
The right-hand path eventually dead-ends in the Charles Péguy park.
The left-hand path eventually continues on. It’s easy to get lost.
This little wagon reminds me of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Little architectural touches remind you that you’re still on the parkway.
This is the right-hand path that dead-ends in the Charles Péguy park.
This nice park has a quirky layout, similar to that of the Jardin de Reuilly
And like the Jardin de Reuilly, it has a children’s playground.
No coincidence, really … same architect (as far as I know): Philippe Mathieux.
Looking back towards the west entrance.
We’ve almost finished, and the parkway is a little quieter now.
It starts to sink below street level again.
The bike path has switched sides.
This is one of those rare places in Paris where you can find peace.
Apart from the occasional idiot with a camcorder.
The end is in sight. There’s a spiral staircase up ahead.
It leads back up to street level, right next to the Paris city limit.
And the parkway—and Paris—stop here.
Thank you for watching my video.