Coulée Verte René-Dumont, Paris

Coulée Verte René-Dumont turns abandoned railway infrastructure into an elevated linear park, carrying a planted route through Paris. It extends for 4.7 km and opened in 1993. The walkway follows the former Vincennes railway line, preserving an unusual trace of the city’s transport history beneath its gardens.

Near Bastille, the viaduct rises about 10 metres above the surrounding streets, with workshops and specialist craft shops occupying its arches. Jacques Vergely designed the landscape with architect Philippe Mathieux, while Patrick Berger renovated the viaduct’s arcades. The route also passes through the Jardin de Reuilly and by a former railway station that has been given a new purpose.

Its name honours René Dumont, the French engineer and environmentalist. What you are seeing is both a park and a carefully adapted piece of railway history.