By Jules
The Elevated Garden Above the Rooftops of Paris : Coulée verte René Dumont
New Yorkers are very proud of the High Line. What they don’t always know is that Paris did it first, thirty years earlier, and did it quieter.
The Coulée Verte René-Dumont opened in 1993, built on a former railway line that had been abandoned since the 1960s. It runs 4.5 kilometres above the rooftops of the 12th arrondissement, from Bastille all the way to the Bois de Vincennes. The New York High Line opened in 2009. It is excellent. It is also, on most days, absolutely packed with tourists. The Coulée Verte is not.
I walk it every spring when the wisteria comes out. Sometimes I don’t see more than twenty people the whole length of it.
What the walk feels like
You enter near Bastille, climb a short flight of stairs, and the city changes completely. The noise stays below. The sky opens up. On either side of the path, roses and wisteria and lavender grow in a way that feels slightly unlikely for something built above a viaduct in the middle of a capital city.
Below you, the Viaduc des Arts runs along the ground level, its arches converted into workshops and galleries for craftspeople and artists. It’s worth stopping to look down.
The path is long enough to feel like a real walk and short enough that you never feel like you’re working. On a clear morning in May, with the city spread out around you at rooftop level and nobody else in sight, it is one of the best things Paris has to offer.
Practical information
- Start : Avenue Daumesnil, near Bastille (12th arrondissement)
- End : Bois de Vincennes
- Length : 4.5 km one way
- Getting there : Métro Bastille (lines 1, 5 or 8)
- Entry : Free, always open
- Best time : April or May for the wisteria. Early morning on any day.
- Bring : Good shoes. A coffee from the café near the entrance.
This place is in the My Secret Paris app. Save it to your wishlist, build a walking route, and log your visit when you’ve been.
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