Parc de Bercy

Overview

Parc de Bercy is one of the most innovative and diverse contemporary parks in Paris. Built on the site of former wine depots, it brilliantly combines historical remnants with modern landscape architecture, offering a peaceful retreat in the 12th arrondissement.

Highlights

• The Three Gardens: The park is essentially divided into three distinct sections: the 'Romantic Garden' with fish ponds and weeping willows, the 'Flowerbeds' featuring thematic gardens and an orchard, and the wide 'Meadows' designed for sports and picnics.
• Historical Wine Traces: You can still see original cobblestones, old railway tracks, and the ruins of 18th-century wine storehouses seamlessly integrated into the landscape.
• The Vineyard: The park maintains a small working vineyard, honoring the site's centuries-old history as the center of the Parisian wine trade.

History

For over a century, Bercy was the undisputed largest wine market in the world, receiving barrels by boat on the Seine. When the wine trade declined in the 1970s, the massive industrial area was completely transformed into this 34-acre park in the 1990s as part of a major urban renewal project in eastern Paris.

Visitor Tips

• The Footbridge: Cross the Simone de Beauvoir footbridge to directly connect your visit with the impressive National Library of France (BNF) on the opposite bank of the Seine.
• Bercy Village: It sits right next to Cour Saint-Émilion (Bercy Village), a charming shopping and dining area built entirely inside restored 19th-century white-stone wine warehouses.