After almost a year of being in Paris, I tell myself that I know the city pretty well. So imagine my surprise when a Google search for "best picnic parks Paris" revealed a 3-mile elevated park spanning eastward from Bastille to the highway that encircles the city proper. Even before I biked there on a recent sunny afternoon (not as straightforward as I thought because a protest had shut down some major streets), I was all excited because The High Line, another famous parkway, had been one of my favorite places to go the summer I lived in New York City.
For the most part the park runs parallel to Avenue Daumesnil in the 12th. Starting from Bastille, the repurposed railway, whose archways at street level have been taken over by shops, is now effectively a greenbelt popular with joggers and day drinkers. And, like The High Line, it occasionally cuts through buildings.
I didn't take the promenade all the way to the end, but stopped where it descended to the gorgeous Jardin de Reuilly. I think I found my new picnic spot.
