Walking La Promenade Plantée: French Ancestor of New York City’s High Line Park
September 23, 2011 by Robin Plaskoff Horton
The view looking down into the park from the entrance above.
The model for its contemporary American cousin, The High Line, Paris’s Promenade Plantée––also known as the Coulée Verte or “Flowing Green”––was the world’s first and only elevated park before its New York relative spawned numerous followers, including Chicago’s Bloomingdale Trail, Philadelphia’s Reading Viaduct, Rotterdam’s Hofplein station, and plans for an elevated structure in Mexico City that will link a subway station to the city’s largest park, Chapultepec Forest.
Covered passages open onto open expansive and intimate seating areas.
Built on the former train tracks of the Vincennes railway, the city resurrected the park in 1990 to create an extensive urban green belt which runs about 2.8 miles along nearly the entire length of Paris’s 12th arrondissement, from the Bois de Vincennes on one end to the Place de la Bastille on the other, its last hundred yards opening onto the Opéra Bastille.
Reflecting pools were dry but I could imagine how they looked filled.
Rising almost secretly 3o feet above the busy streets below it, the roughly one-mile-long elevated portion of the Promenade Plantée is supported by the Viaduct des Arts, a series of 70 arches that were once part of an old crumbling railroad viaduct rescued from scheduled demolition and restored in 1998. The Viaduct is now home to a restaurant and café, several furniture showrooms, 45 studios of interior designers, cabinet-makers, sculptors, ceramicists, tapestry-makers, violin and flute makers, furniture restorers, and more.
An outdoor gallery: the trellised wall beside the stone and painted facade was a study in contrasts.
My journey began on the ground-level portion of the park, a few blocks off the Place Felix Eboué where the Avenue Daumesnil intersects the Boulevard de Reuilly. I tend to be geographically challenged, and my GPS did not show an entrance, nor were there any signs confirming I was anywhere near the park. Although I speak fluent French when I asked several passersby, no one could direct me there. After wandering about the neighborhood a bit, I happened upon an inconspicuous stairway where I spotted a small sign marking one of the park’s entrances.
Descending the flight of stairs, I found myself on the sought-after verdant path, which delivered me into an underground tunnel-turned-grotto with waterfalls. As I approached the other end, the pass-through offered the pleasant sound of trickling water. I hadn’t yet reached the elevated portion of the park.
After the Allée Vivaldi, there is a little bonus gift from the Jardin de Reuilly. A tiny detour into this charming park took me off the path for a moment, but one that was well worth it. I discovered the perfect spot for a future picnic.
The Promenade includes some incredibly narrow passages. Just after crossing the footbridge to the elevated portion above, the walkway slices through two buildings where walkers literally squeeze their way between the structures. Like a living being with many personalities, each part of this elevated park offered a different view of the city, accompanied by all its Parisian scents and flavors.
Joggers ran by, mothers pushed strollers, and lovers walked arm in arm or kissed on park benches as I navigated the linear greenscape past roses and hollyhocks while inhaling the potent aroma of rosemary wafting in the breeze.
Arched grapevine trellises, allées of bamboo, and columns of fragrant flowers punctuate the Promenade, all landscape elements marking various design periods in garden design history. And, ah! There were so many roses!
At some points, I had a voyeuristic bird’s-eye view into some Parisian apartments and terraces. Although their privacy may sometimes be compromised, how fortunate those residents are to have this hidden garden in the sky right in their backyards.
I was hoping I wouldn’t be seen as I peered into the neighbor’s windows…
The park’s allées mark entrances to its various sections, each defined by different plantings and types of hardscaping.
Check out those French derrières!
Every turn revealed another jewel: small reflecting pools, architectural details, and some huge al fresco classic sculptures. At one point along the way, I spotted a building facade adorned with 12 reproductions of Michelangelo’s “The Dying Slave.” The original statues reside in the permanent collection at the Louvre.
The final stretch delivered me to the edge of The Bastille. I felt just as I do after enjoying a fabulous French meal: sated but wanting more. Anyone for a walk?
Photos by Robin Plaskoff Horton.
Ellen Spector Platt said:
Promenade Plantee may claim to be the first but in 1984 The Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne MA was planted and opened to the public. Once a trolley bridge connecting 2 sides of the town, visitors can stroll over the Deerfield River between lush plantings maintained by the garden club and a professional gardener.
As with The High Line here in NYC, The Flower Bridge has spawned economic revitalization. Go Flowers!
— September 24, 2011 @ 09:26
patty sechi said:
I love the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, MA! It has developed so much over the years and it is an amazing garden and arboretum. My sister and her husband went to a wonderful healthy, gourmet dinner this summer that was served at tables that spanned the bridge.
— September 24, 2011 @ 11:10
Robin Plaskoff Horton said:
Thank you Ellen and Patti for sharing about The Bridge of Flowers–what a wonderful spot–I have to visit! I wonder if there ar other lesser known transformations such as these around the world.
— September 24, 2011 @ 13:56
John shields said:
A wonderful coincidence! I received your article on my free day of a business trip to Paris. Headed to the Bastille a couple of hours later and relived your tour on a beautiful day. Thanks for your advice; I never would have found it otherwise.
— September 25, 2011 @ 06:16
Robin Plaskoff Horton said:
John, I am so thrilled the post led you to experience the Promenade Plantée! Had I known you were in Paris, I would have told you about some of the little hidden gardens I have visited in the past: http://ow.ly/6Eaaa
— September 25, 2011 @ 10:53
zachynyoga said:
Beautiful photography, everything is so green.
— September 25, 2011 @ 11:33
Bobolinker said:
Let’s see some photos of The Bridge of Flowers. I can’t imagine it is more beautiful than the Promenade Plantée. Great ideas, both of them, in any case.
— September 25, 2011 @ 12:55
velojoy said:
Thanks for this wonderful post, Robin. Looking forward to visiting on my next trip to Paris. Of course, it was the bike lanes in the top photo that caught my eye!
— September 25, 2011 @ 20:33
Barbara said:
This is a great example for American cities to think about adding/adapting somehow. Paris is not on my bucket list but it is wonderful.
A little history – it was Jean Preece-Doswell who visited the Promenade and took lots of pictures that were shown at the community meeting that was voting (CB4 in Manhattan) on whether it would support the idea of the High Line. Our group, Friends of Pier 84, was 100% for it (yes, I also spoke that night in praise of the elevated garden) and it is just a beautiful place.
— September 27, 2011 @ 12:50
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Robin Horton said:
I know, I had never heard of The Bridge of Flowers! Now it’s on my list of places to visit.
— April 7, 2015 @ 23:15
Robin Horton said:
It was a “velo” joy to visit this place and to share it with you!
— April 7, 2015 @ 23:15
Robin Horton said:
Thanks for the wonderful back story Barbara and thank you, people like you and your group help make that happen.
— April 7, 2015 @ 23:15
Robin Horton said:
Thank you. It was stunning and so much fun to experience.
— April 7, 2015 @ 23:16
Robin Horton said:
No sure why my replay postd above your comment, but…so happy the post led you to the Promenade.
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