Between the Bastille and the Outskirts – A Journey of Color, Urban Life, and Nature
Just a few steps from the bustling Place de la Bastille begins one of the most enchanting walks in Paris – La Promenade Plantée, officially known as Coulée Verte René-Dumont.
This elevated green walkway stretches for about 4.7 kilometers along Avenue Daumesnil in the 12th arrondissement. It winds through bridges, tunnels, open gardens, and urban spaces, offering a unique experience that combines urban nature, industrial history, and ever-changing street art.
A Bit of History
The walkway was built along the path of an old railway line that ceased operation in the 1960s. Instead of demolishing the bridges and tunnels, the city transformed them into a green promenade – a global pioneer of the “railway park” concept, years before New York’s High Line.
Today, it stands as a perfect example of how a modern city can reuse its past for the benefit of its residents.
Length, Time, and Everything in Between
Walking the full route takes about an hour and fifteen minutes at a relaxed pace, but it’s worth taking your time. Along the way you’ll find galleries, small cafés, boutique shops, and community gardens – and if you stop to take photos, taste, and observe, you can easily spend half a day here.
The atmosphere changes as you go: at times open and filled with light, at others mysterious within tunnels or narrow stone arches.
Street Art Along the Way
What makes La Promenade Plantée truly unique is not only the calm green trail above the city but also the art that bursts out from every corner. On the bridge walls and in the underpasses you’ll find colorful graffiti and street art, precise stencil work, and surprising paste-ups. Sometimes it’s a short phrase on a peeling wall, sometimes a huge mural covering an entire building façade.
Both local and international artists use the path as their canvas – C215 with his moving portraits, Invader with his small, unexpected mosaics. The blend of greenery and urban texture creates a dual experience – a walk through urban nature and an open-air gallery that changes with every visit.
Between City and Forest
One of the special parts of the walk is its eastern extension toward Bois de Vincennes. The transition from an elevated urban path between buildings to the heart of a vast green area feels like taking a deep breath after the dense city. Here you can extend your day – rent a bike, paddle on the small lake, or simply sit for a picnic.
The connection between an artistic-urban trail and a wide forested park makes this experience especially diverse.
A Personal Urban Experience
What’s most striking about La Promenade Plantée is the feeling that you are discovering another Paris – not the elegant streets of the Champs-Élysées, not the grand boulevards of Haussmann, but the city’s quieter, more authentic layers.
Along the way you’ll meet locals – cyclists, mothers with strollers, photographers searching for new angles, and artists adding color to the walls.
This walk allows you to experience Paris at a different rhythm: to see how nature integrates with the city, how art responds to space, and how every corner can become a story. It’s an experience that blends movement, inspiration, and emotion – exactly what you hope for in an urban walk with a different touch.
Final Tip
Start early in the morning from Place de la Bastille, stop for a light lunch at one of the cafés along Avenue Daumesnil, wander through the galleries beneath the Victorian arches of the Viaduc des Arts, and continue along the trail to Bois de Vincennes.
It’s a walk that combines everything that makes Paris special – art, nature, culture, and room to breathe.
Among the artists whose works appear in the series of posts on street art and graffiti in Paris: SETH (Julien Malland), C215 (Christian Guémy), Vhils (Alexandre Farto), KASHINK (Maëva Martinez), Vale_Stencil (Valérian Lenud), The Pop Suréalist, The End of Animals (THE END), L’Empreinte Jo V (La Dactylo), IPDO (I Pixel di Oplontis), Mathieu 1976 (Mathieu Dussaucy), DJERADI LUDOVIC (Ludovic Djeradi), JR, Invader, Miss.Tic, Jef Aérosol, Blek Le Rat, Speedy Graphito, Hopare, Astro, Ardif, Ludo, Levalet (Charles Leval), Jo Di Bona, Monsieur Chat (Thoma Vuille), Zevs, Combo CK (Combo Culture Kidnapper), Alëxone Dizac, Tilt, Lek & Sowat, L’Atlas, Romain Froquet, Philippe Baudelocque, Jérôme Mesnager, Vinie Graffiti, Kalouf, Maye, A-MO, Clet Abraham, OakOak, Ender, Mosko et Associés, Codex Urbanus, Ella & Pitr, Dourone, Shaka (Marchal Mithouard), Raphael Federici, Pboy, Sismikazot, Kurar, Gregos, Tarek, Jace, Nasty, Doudou Style, FKDL, RNST, Zepha, Jerk 45, Onemizer, Bault, Polar Bear, Céz Art, Guy Denning, SP38, Zeer, Dume, Tanc, Kaldea, Antistatik, Reso, Woizo, MadC, Jober, Abys, Guaté Mao, Psyckoze, MonkeyBird Crew, Mantra, Aude Villerouge, Loraine Motti, Jean Faucheur, Jibé, Bom.K, Gris1, Aéro, JBC, Le MoDuLe De ZeeR, D*Face, Shepard Fairey, Banksy, 2Shy, Aroe, Babs, Bates, Brusk, Can2, Case Maclaim, Chanoir, Create, Darco, Dize, Gyz, Insane 51, Jaba, Jonone, Katre, Marko 93, Noé2One Mizer, Pro176, Remio, Schuck2, Snake, T-Kid, Tony Noel, Vision, Zenoy
Street Art in Le Marais Paris
Street Art Along Canal de l’Ourcq
LUDOVIC – Urban Chaos
Mathieu 1976 – Angels in Paris
IPDO – The Smurfs on the Wall
The Women of L’Empreinte Jo V
The Pop Suréalist
KASHINK – Paris’ Female Voice
Spot 13 – Paris
La Promenade Plantée – Paris
Street Art Avenue Paris
Street Art in Montmartre
The Giant Mural Project in Paris
THE END OF ANIMALS
The Belleville Character
VHILS – Carved in Stone
59 Rivoli – Alternative Art in Paris
The Children of SETH
Vale_Stencil – Colorful Stencil Art


