La Coulée Verte
Paris’s Elevated Park Promenade
- 1 Coulée Verte René-Dumont ,
- 75012 Paris
Bookmarks
In order to bookmark a restaurant, you need to have an Account.
Please sign in to activate this functionnality.
This review may contain sponsored or affiliate links.
It seems everyone’s heard of New York City’s High Line Park, but did you know that Paris is home to the original elevated park?
La Coulée Verte, also called La Promenade Plantée, is a nearly 3-mile-long path along an abandoned railway track taking you from Bastille out to the nearby suburb of Vincennes. Opened in 1993, Paris’s linear park served as the inspiration for New York’s High Line, which wasn’t inaugurated until 2009.
The track starts just behind the Opéra Bastille, up on top of the Viaduc des Arts. A discreet staircase on the corner of the red brick archways leads up to this atypical Parisian park.

This is one of my favorite places in Paris to go for a walk in spring, or whenever visitors come to town for that matter. Strolling through beautiful gardens on top of the Viaduc des Arts, the elevation offers glimpses of the city that you just can’t get from the ground.
One of the sights you’d surely miss from street level comes near the beginning of La Coulée Verte—the 13 gigantic stone men on the roof of the police station of the 12th Arrondissement. Although it has an art deco air, the artworks were inspired by Michelangelo and only date back to the 1980s. You’d never know these surprising statues existed from down on the pavement of Avenue Daumesnil.

As you head east, the path takes you between buildings, past the small Jardin de Reuilly – Paul-Pernin, through tunnels, and on to neighborhoods not often explored. Then you have a choice to make: turn back and maybe hit the shops and cafés of the Viaduc des Arts—I recommend the terrace of L’Arrosoir—, or continue on and out of Paris.
I nearly always choose to continue on. I leave the trail and cross under the péripherique, wandering through the neighborhood of Saint Mandé to reach the Bois de Vincennes. I walk around its lakes, up to the Château de Vincennes, and on to the convenient Metro Line 1 station to return to Paris.

An amble along the length the Coulée Verte makes for a good hour’s walk, combining usually unseen parts of Paris with bucolic panoramas, and even a medieval fort! What more could you want from a good walk?
More of a runner? La Coulée Verte is also one of the Best Places in Paris to Go for a Run!
La Coulée Verte
Poinçon
The Hardware Société
Le Saint-Régis
Pantagruel
Brasserie La Lorraine
Du Pain et Des Idées
Brasserie Dubillot
Granite
Giorgio
Bouillon Julien
FIEF
Fluctuat
Le Four du 12
Café A
Aux Petits Oignons
Le Coupe-Chou
Les Vins des Dames
Bouillon Chartier
Lapérouse
Monsieur Bleu
Chez Gladines
Le Voltaire
Misso
Bambou
Septime
Il Cottage
Le Chalet de Neuilly
Georges
Le Pantruche
Le Radis Beurre
La Felicità, Station F
Le Comptoir du Relais Saint Germain
Vaudeville
Le Troquet
Le Grand Bain
Ralph’s
Terra
Can Alegria
Bisou.
Paname Brewing Company
Mezcaleria
Berthillon
Willi’s Wine Bar
Dose – Dealer du Café (Batignolles)
Rosa Bonheur – Buttes Chaumont
Mr Culbuto
Boca Dos
Le Comptoir Général
Anticafé
Dragon
Candelarìa
La Péniche Antipode
Castor Club
La Belle Hortense
Le Mary Celeste
Fitzgerald
Café de Flore
Le Syndicat
Night Flight
Tiger
Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels
Le Bar Dix
Le Bouclier de Bacchus
CloudM
Strada Café
Le Perchoir de l’Est
Divine
Le Renard Bar
Wild & the Moon
Le Peloton
Le Pavillon des Canaux
Dose – Dealer de Café (Mouffetard)
Café Kitsuné – Palais Royal
Angelina
L’Abribus Café
Le Perchoir Marais
La Samaritaine
Eataly
Antique & Used Book Market, Marché du Livre
La Cure Gourmande
Marché Belgrand
Bercy Village
Les Puces de Vanves
Liquides
Passy Covered Market
Le Bon Marché
Printemps
Le Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville
Koshka Mashka
Galeries Lafayette
Librairie Galignani
Buly 1803
Androuet
The Frankie Shop
Shakespeare and Company
Assouline – Saint Germain
Fromagerie Quatrehomme
Legrand Filles et Fils
Empreintes
The Abbey Bookshop
Aujourd’hui Demain
Artazart
CityPharma
Verbreuil
TWINS Concept Store
Merci
L’Eau et Les Rêves
Alix D. Reynis
Marché Saint-Pierre
L’Eclair de Génie
Matières à Réflexion
Erotokritos
L’Appartement Sézane
Musée Carnavalet
Square Marcel Bleustein Blanchet
Bourse de Commerce
Square Édouard VII
Musée de Montmartre
Rue Denoyez
Le Village Saint Paul
Square des Batignolles
Wall of ‘I Love You’
Les Champs-Elysées
Galerie Perrotin
Fluctuart
Galerie Kamel Mennour
Atelier des Lumières
Fondation Louis Vuitton
Institut du Monde Arabe
59 Rivoli
Parc de Belleville
Square Barye
Rue des Eaux
Parc Monceau
Arènes de Lutèce
Musée Nissim de Camondo
Musée Jacquemart-André
L’Hôtel de Sully
Centre Pompidou
La Sainte-Chapelle
Cimetière du Montparnasse
Galerie Vivienne
Maison de Balzac
La Conciergerie
Gertrude Stein’s Apartment
Musée de l’Homme
Place Dauphine
Notre Dame Cathedral
Maison de Victor Hugo
Rue Cler
Musée Marmottan Monet
Rue Daguerre
Musée des Arts Forains
La Seine Musicale
Aquaboulevard
Supersonic
BAM Karaoke Box
Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione
Moulin Rouge
Crazy Horse Paris
Folies Bergère
Le Grand Rex
Théâtre Michel
Gossima Ping-Pong Bar
Playground Duperré
‘Oh My God, She’s Parisian’ Comedy Show
Les Petites Flèches
Le Louxor
La Gare
Théâtre du Châtelet
Café Oz – Denfert
Bus Palladium
Open-Air Cinema at La Villette
Les Bains du Marais
Aux Bains Montorgueil
Hammam Les Cent Ciels
Free Persephone
Spa My Blend by Clarins
Peninsula Spa
The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Paris
-
1 Coulée Verte René-Dumont
-
75012 Paris
Leave a Reply