Promenade plantée

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A view of the Promenade Plantée, looking west

The promenade plantée also known as the Coulée verte is a 4.5 km-long (2.8-mile) 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 was for a long time the only elevated park in the world, but recently the first phase of the High Line, a similar park on an old railway-viaduct in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, has finished its first phase with projected completion in 2011. Also there are plans for the Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago and on old Reading Viaduct elevated rail in the Callowhill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Promenade was featured in the movie Before Sunset. It is also mentioned in the science fiction novel Olympos, by Dan Simmons.

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Coordinates: 48°50′59″N 2°22′16″E / 48.849646°N 2.371247°E / 48.849646; 2.371247