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Starting point and access: Place de la Bastille
- Metro - Lines 1, 5, 8. Take exit 4 Rue de Lyon / Port de l'Arsenal.
- Bus - Lines 29, 69, 76, 86, 87, 91.
(S) At the metro exit (Opéra Bastille on the left), turn right and cross Rue de Lyon and Boulevard de la Bastille. Follow this boulevard on the left for a few metres and turn right to enter the Jardin du Port de l'Arsenal. Go down a paved path and then a flight of steps.
(1) Walk along the Canal Saint-Martin on your right. When you reach the footbridge over the canal, turn left, go up a path with steps and take the spiral staircase that leads up to street level. Cross Boulevard de la Bastille again (traffic lights) and turn right and then left to follow Rue Jules César.
At the end, turn left to cross Rue Lacuée and then right to cross Rue de Lyon and Avenue Daumesnil (traffic lights). Turn left along the avenue and, after the entrance to an underground car park, take the stairs on the right that lead up to the start of the greenway.
(2) Pass under a pergola and start the section of the greenway located at the top of the arcades on Avenue de Daumesnil. Continue straight ahead, ignoring a few access stairs. As you cross Avenue Ledru-Rollin, note the Saint-Antoine Church on your left.
After crossing Boulevard Diderot, note the building on the right with monumental statues on the top floors, which are reproductions of Michelangelo's "The Calming of the Tempest". Cross Rue de Rambouillet, pass between two buildings and, further on, cross Rue de Charenton. Enter the Jardin de Reuilly, pass a sundial and take the footbridge over the lawn.
(3) At the end of the footbridge, turn right twice to enter the lower part of the garden. Go around the lawn on the left, following a path lined with statues. At the first statue, note the water fountain below on the left (still or sparkling water available).
Before the exit gate, go down the steps on the right and follow a cement path that passes under the footbridge. Walk along the left-hand side of the "natural flora" garden plots. At the corner of the lawn, turn right and leave the playgrounds on your left. At the foot of the footbridge, leave the lower part of the garden on the left (do not go under the footbridge).
(3) Continue along the footbridge, keeping the Reuilly gymnasium on your right. Cross Rue Antoine-Julien Hénard and continue along the path on the right (from here, there is a footpath and a cycle path running parallel). Cross Rue Brahms and then a small square.
Take the decorated tunnel under Rue de Reuilly (pedestrian path on the left). After the tunnel, continue along the left-hand lane and pass a kiosk on your left. Take a second tunnel under Rue de Picpus. Take a third and final tunnel under Boulevard de Picpus. You will come out onto a small square decorated with a modern sculpture (Rue de Toul on your right).
(4) Leave the greenway and follow the pedestrian path on the right towards Square Charles Péguy (sign). Go up a very gentle slope and cross a footbridge over Avenue du Général Bizot. About 100 metres further on, enter Square Charles Péguy. Stay on the path that curves to the right and pass a kiosk and then a playground on your left.
(5) At a small square (central tree), leave the ping-pong tables on your left and continue straight ahead to take the old railway bridge over Rue Rottembourg. Walk through the "railway wasteland", with patches of meadowland returned to their natural state and small shared gardens. At the end, turn onto the fence that frames the disused tracks of the Petite Ceinture inthe 12th arrondissement (benches).
(6) Retrace your steps and cross Rue de Rottembourg again.
(5) At the small square, turn right twice and go down a flight of steps. At the bottom, ignore the alley on the left and follow the alley opposite, which leads out of the square onto Rue Rottembourg, at the foot of the bridge over the old Petite Ceinture railway line.
Follow the street to the right and pass under the old railway bridge you crossed earlier. At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue de la Vega. At the end of the street, turn left onto Avenue Daumesnil. Pass under the bridge of the old Petite Ceinture railway line and continue straight ahead until you reach the Porte Dorée (E).
To return home:
- Metro - Line 8.
- Tram - Line T3a.
Visorando member
Difficult 
Moderate 
