COULÉE VERTE RENÉ-DUMONT

Description

Essentials about the Coulée verte René-Dumont in brief

The Coulée verte René-Dumont is still an insider’s tip among the sights of Paris, which especially walkers and amateur botanists should not miss. It is a 4.5 kilometer long planted walking path, which was created from 1993 on a former railroad line.

The layout of the Coulée verte René-Dumont

The Coulée verte was an absolute novelty in terms of urban planning and thus deserves the title of the world’s first elevated park walkway. What many people don’t know is that the Coulée verte served as the model for the High Line created in New York City in 2014. Incidentally, the green hiking trail was named after René Dumont, a politician who strongly advocated environmental protection.

The individual sections of the Coulée verte René-Dumont are very different. The trail runs over a viaduct as well as over embankments, ditches and through four parks. Perhaps the most interesting section is the 1.3-kilometer Viaduc des Arts, a red brick viaduct with 71 arcades housing many art boutiques. Clipped archways, lush perennial beds, bamboo groves, lime trees, hazel bushes, creepers and rose bushes line the path.

The planting of the coulée verte is very dense, so that a large part of the road noise is absorbed. If you are still in the mood for more nature after walking the Coulée verte, it is not far from the end point of the trail to the largest Parisian city park, Bois de Vincennes.