coulée verte

above street level in the 12th arrondissement, the promenade plantée runs for 4.7 kilometres along the disused track of the vincennes railway from the bastille to the bois de vincennes. it has done this since 1993, when it first opened to the public. workmanlike benches abound, under arbours of rose and ivy, between stands of peony and under the canopies of surprisingly large trees. where stairs descend to the street, sometimes there are quiet intermediary squares of open space filled with geometric arrangements of shade plantings. some people sit and read. other people are carrying their shopping. there are very few people with big cameras. there are regrettably few dogs. in the jardin de reuilly, above which the promenade vaults, there is a pick-up rugby game, a swarm of kindergarteners playing ghost, sunbathers, snoozing folk of all ages, and a water-pipe party. this is not the high line format of urban linear park, but it is just as good.