Promenade plantée

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A view of the Promenade Plantée, looking west
A view of the Promenade Plantée, looking west

The promenade plantée is a 4.5 km-long elevated park in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France.

It was constructed on an abandoned 19th-century railway viaduct, which connected the Bastille area to the eastern suburbs of Paris, and ceased operation on December 14, 1969. The parkway runs from the Opéra Bastille to the eastern city limits, ending up only a short distance from the Bois de Vincennes.

The Promenade was designed by Jacques Vergely (landscape architect) and Philippe Mathieux (architect). Pedestrians have a garden environment for their high-level walk and cyclists have a route at ground level. Then, 4.5 km from the start, the routes come together at ground level and proceed to the Bois de Vincennes. The high-level route has some enclosed sections, as when it passes between modern buildings, and some open sections with expansive views.

The arcades beneath the viaduct have been transformed into arts and crafts workshops (such as the Atelier Camille Le Tallec). This section is called the "Viaduc des Arts".

It is currently the only elevated park in the world, although there are plans to build a similar park on the High Line viaduct in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, as well as on the Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago and on old Reading Viaduct elevated rail in the Callowhill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Freeway Park in Seattle, Washington is in some ways comparable; it is elevated over a large freeway and parking lot.

The Promenade was featured in the movie Before Sunset.

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Coordinates: 48°50′59″N 2°22′17″E / 48.849646, 2.371247