UNDISCOVERED

PARIS

he south-east of Paris is undergoing a renaissance. The disused former railway line has been landscaped, and benches and skater ramps installed. The futuristic portico of the Ministry of Finance straddles the quay and is reflected in the water. Artistic creation and rehearsals take place at the Frigos, the former Paris-Ivry refrigerator station. The tramway is back on track. The Diderot University is once again open to students on the site of the former Grands Moulins flour mills. The Cit de la mode et du design project occupies the site of the former bonded warehouses. A shopping centre now flourishes on the paving stones of abandoned covered markets, and pagodas dot 1970s tower blocks. You wont believe your eyes! Flowering palisades, workers housing blocks standing shoulder to shoulder with skyscrapers, organic vegetable gardens on the waste ground of warehouses that back on to smoked-glass offices. And to go from one side of the Seine to the other, there are lush green tunnels, bridges of spindle-shaped steel, and an undulating footbridge between the four book-shaped towers of Frances national library the Bibliothque Nationale de France and the contemporary cinema Since the time of the medieval tanners on the banks of the River Bivre, nothing has been lost, everything has metamorphosed!

Viaduc des Arts (12th) Place dItalie (13th) Bercy (12th), Tolbiac (13th) Bois de Vincennes (12th)

Place-dItalie (lines 5, 6 ,7) Gobelins (line 7) Gare-de-Lyon (lines 1, 14) Cour-Saint-milion (line 14) Bercy (lines 6, 14)

DONT MISS
Cit de la mode et du design alias Docks en Seine Industrial buildings of the former bonded warehouses have undergone a daring architectural innovation the addition of a light structure in wood, a grassy terrace for walkers and glass and metallic elements for businesses, an events space, restaurants and the Institut franais de la mode all rolled into one! Opens: autumn 2009.
Between the Gare dAusterlitz and the Bibliothque Franois Mitterrand (13th).

until 2012 for renovation work), a race track, an ornithological reserve, a theatre, a Buddhist temple, and more.
Esplanade du chteau (12th). M Chteau-de-Vincennes. Tel: 01 43 28 41 59. Wed, 1 Oct to 30 May: free. Wed, Sat and Sun from 1 June to 30 Sept: 5 RR: 2.50. www.paris.fr 12th. M Porte-Dore.

Parc Floral de Paris

Bois de Vincennes 995 hectares of trees, lakes, islands and grass! This royal hunting ground, now Pariss largest green space, is crisscrossed with 32 km of car-free roads, some 20 km of cycle paths and a similar number of bridle paths. And whats more, the wood also has a zoo (closed

In summertime, jazz and classical music concerts fill the air of the park, with its little vales, water features, patios, pine wood, cedars and beeches. In the orchard, the Jardin Insolite cultivates exotic species and vegetables from the past, while the hothouses of the Butterfly garden are mostly home to cocoons and chrysalises. Dont miss the Dahlia garden, the Valley of Flowers, etc.

Chteau de Vincennes* PASS The Capetian kings established their hunting manor in the surrounding forest in the 12th century. Two centuries went by, Charles V had a keep built here along with ramparts and a Holy Chapel. In the 17th century, Louis XIII grew up here and Louis XIV stayed here. Half fortified castle, half classic palace, it is a wonderful ensemble!
Av. de Paris. Vincennes. M Chteau-de-Vincennes. Tel: 01 48 08 31 20.

85

UNDISCOVERED PARIS

1 Apr to 30 Sept: daily: 10am-6pm. 1 Oct to 31 Mar: 10am-5pm. 8 RR: 5. Under 18s and 1st Sun of month (Nov to Mar): free. www.monuments-nationaux.fr
DID YOU KNOW?

ARTS AND CRAFTS

A 5-hectare working organic farm, the Ferme de Paris allows young city-dwellers to explore country life through the seasons with its meadow, stables and farmyard.
Route du Pesage (12th).

Bibliothque nationale de France, site Franois-Mitterrand Once upon a time, there were four towers in the shape of open books, dominating the Seine on a wooden square and set around a garden. Since 1996, they have been the repository for books while the Haut-de jardin and Rezde-jardin levels devote their reading rooms red carpet, steel and natural wood to printed material, multimedia and many fine exhibitions.
Quai Franois-Mauriac (13th). M Bibliothque FranoisMitterrand. Tel: 01 53 79 40 43 (res, tours). Tue to Sat: 10am-7pm. Sun: 1-7pm. Closed on public hols and two weeks in Sept. Bibliothque dtudes: 3.30 (accessible from aged 16). Temporary exhibitions: 7/5. www.bnf.fr

Viaduc des Arts and Promenade Plante

The walk begins in mid-air, on avenue Daumesnil. A staircase leads up to the viaduct of a former railway line. Brick mansions eventually give way to the former

residence of the Merovingian kings, now the Jardin de Reuilly, with its half-moon-shaped lawn. A footbridge, a tunnel, and that just about sums up this stretch of greenery that was once Pariss circular railway line, 4.5 km of pure delight that extend as far as the edge of the Bois de Vincennes!
12th. M Bastille.

DISCOVER
La Butte-aux-Cailles

Palais de la Porte-Dore aquarium tropical PASS Built in the strict and grand art deco style for the Exposition Coloniale of 1931, the former museum of the Colonies retains its Aquarium (renovated in 1985). The educational trail takes the visitor from primitive to electric fish, and from the waters of Asia to the aquatic fauna of Africa and South America.
293, av. Daumesnil (12th). M Porte-Dore. Tel: 01 53 59 58 60. Tue to Fri: 10am-5.15pm. Sat and Sun: 10am-7pm. Closed Mon and some public hols. 4.50/6.50 RR: 3/5. www.aquarium-portedoree.fr

This churchless village, which witnessed popular uprisings in 1871, and was inhabited by rag-and-bone men and leather workers until the 1914-18 war, owes its name to a certain Monsieur Caille, who planted vines here around 1540. Although the libertarian spirit has disappeared with time, good humour remains among the little houses with flowers, and the small, cobbled alleyways such as the rues de lEsprance, des Cinq-Diamants, and de la Butteaux-Cailles. Discover its small and co-op run cafs with walls tattooed with poetic Miss.Tic stencils. 86

Palais de la Porte-Dore Cit Nationale de lHistoire de lImmigration* This cultural centre traces two centuries of immigration in France. The permanent exhibition Repres evokes departure, frontiers, the living environment, exclusion, work, and the mutual enrichment of cultures.
293, av. Daumesnil (12th). M Porte-Dore. Tel: 01 53 59 58 60. Tue to Fri: 10am-5.30pm, Sat and Sun: 10am-7pm. Closed Mon and some public hols. 3/5 RR: 2/3.50. Under 18s and 1st Sun of month: free. www.histoire-immigration.fr

CHINATOWN IN PARIS
Mass is celebrated here in Cantonese and the supermarket shelves are full of tofu, prawns and coconut paste. Neon lights flash with Chinese ideograms. Even Uncle Sams fast food restaurant has a pagoda roof! Below the tower blocks on the dalle des Olympiades, shopping galleries sell guavas, silk tunics, Tonkinese soups and karaoke DVDs. And here New Year is celebrated a good month after 1 January! Enjoy a show of dragon dances, kites, gongs and flowers in the triangle of avenue dIvry, avenue de Choisy and boulevard Massena, the heart of this Asian quarter in the 13th arrondissement since the 1970s.

La Cinmathque franaise muse du Cinma PASS Next to Bercy Park, cinema has taken up residence in a building nicknamed the dancer lifting up her tutu. It showcases classic and less-well known films. And, in addition to exhibitions there are events for children, and a film library to delight film buffs.
51, rue de Bercy (12th). M Bercy. Tel: 01 71 19 33 33. Mon to Sat 12-noon-7pm; Sun: 10am-8pm. Thu: late opening until 10pm. Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 3 weeks in Aug, 25 Dec. 5 RR: 4. Under 12s: 2.50. www.cinematheque.fr

Bercy Village Like the neighbouring Bercy Park, the village is reserved for pedestrians. Themed restaurants, cinema, shops for good wine and good living, Zen culture for the mind and body occupy these former 19th-century wine storehouses with their pointed roofs and stonework.

Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy Everything goes on under this grass-covered pyramid: spectacular shows with pop and rock stars or operatic tenors, horse riding, skiing every type of activity imaginable! The multipurpose nature of the venue enables all kinds of transformations for the staging of sporting and cultural events each season.
8, bd de Bercy (12th). M Bercy. Tel: 0 892 390 490 (0.34/min). www.bercy.fr

Cour Saint-milion (12th). M Cour-Saint-milion. Tel: 0 825 166 075 (0.15/min). Daily: 11am-9pm. Restaurants: 11am to 1.30 or 2.30 in the morning. www.bercyvillage.com

Manufacture nationale des Gobelins Around 1440, Jean Gobelin, a scarlet dyer came to live on the banks of the River Bivre. Later in 1667, Colbert grouped together tapestry, ebony, gold and silversmith workshops to form the Manufacture Royale des Meubles de la Couronne. At the rate of 1 sq.m. of tapestry per year and using the high warp technique, tapestry-making goes on with respect for this traditional art.
42, av. des Gobelins (13th). M Gobelins. Tel: 01 44 54 19 33. Tue to Sun: 12.306.30pm. 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec: closed. 6 RR: 4. Workshop visit: contact for information. www.mobiliernational.culture.gouv.fr

DID YOU KNOW?

This village is 6,500-years-old! In 1990, the building site for the renovation of the storehouses and the creation of the park unearthed three oak flat-bottomed sailing boats and thousands of artefacts from the Neolithic period.

87

UNDISCOVERED PARIS