Hidden Paris, Part 2: La Petite Ceinture, a disused circular railway line
I walk miles around Paris, so you don't have to. Although you might want to after this...Follow Paris' former peripheral railway line as it comes back to life as a community resource.
Platforms create a walking track, rails a rewilding project and bridge walls a canvas for street artists to show their creativity. Taken in a section of La Petite Ceinture in the 17th arrondissement
I came across La Petite Ceinture entirely by chance. In February this year, I travelled to Paris to do some research on the 15th arrondissement for a piece commissioned by an online magazine. I booked a hotel in the 15th, got up at the crack of dawn and walked through the neighbourhood.
About halfway through my walk, I passed a gate which appeared to lead to a large, glass lift. The metal panel on the gate read “La Petite Ceinture du 15e”. I could see people jogging and walking along what seemed to be a narrow bridge. This became the start of an adventure taking me to corners of Paris that I might have overlooked, revealing community and environment projects that I would have no particular reason to know about.
Glass lifts make this long stretch of La Petite Ceinture in the 15th arrondissement accessible to people with reduced mobility
La Petite Ceinture (the little belt, in English) is the name of a circular railway that used to run around Paris. Before the advent of the metro, it carrried passengers. After 1934, it was used for freight. The section of La Petite Ceinture in the 15th that I had stumbled across, had a particularly interesting story. It once served the André Citroën factory (now a park) and the Vaugirard abattoirs (also transformed into a park), ferrying meat and car parts across the city.
Site of the former André Citroën factory, once served by La Petite Ceinture. It is now a beautiful park - complete with the world’s largest tethered balloon.
Sadly, at the end of the 1970s the railway closed. Some lines in the West were reused by the RER and metro lines, but the majority were left derelict. In 1992 the L’Association pour la Sauvegarde de la Petite Ceinture de Paris et de son Réseau Ferré (ASPCRF) was founded to preserve the line and over the last decades, sections of the railway and several of its buildings have been repurposed and opened to the public. Other parts of the railway are visible, but have been fenced off. The journey along La Petite Ceinture will take you through back streets, green spaces, graveyards, over rivers and canals, changing elevation from rooftops to below street level
La Petite Ceinture crosses the canal de l’Ourq in the 19th arrondissement. This bridge is open to pedestrians, but has no step-free access.
I’ve worked my way from the southwest towards the east and have discovered some hidden treasures: community farms with restaurants, an all-year-round nightclub, neighbourhood gardens, art collectives and a coalshed-turned-circular-fashion-hub.
La Petite Ceinture passes through the following arrondissements: 12, 13,14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Most neighbourhoods have at least one section of track open for exploration on foot, some with buildings, some without. Parts of the track are accessible by lifts, others have sloped surfaces. There are areas that are only accessible by steps, making them unsuitable for wheelchair users/prams.
Here’s an illustrated guide to the railway as it passes from the 15th to the 20th. I’ll add to this/do another newsletter for the remaining parts from east to southwest.
15th arrondissement
This 1.3 km stretch of railway has been left in the hands of nature. Wild flowers and grasses have taken over the rails and signage helps visitors identify some of the 220 species of flora and fauna that have moved in.
Sections of the route run along a viaduct, offering a fun perspective of the neighbourhood. There are five access points, all with lifts, making it the most suitable part of La Petite Ceinture for people with reduced mobility:
Entry points: 9 rue Olivier de Serres, place Balard, 397-399 rue de Vaugirard, 82 rue Desnouettes, place R. Guillemard
View from an elevated section in 15th
16th arrondissement
This is a delightful, wooded section, running through the rather bourgeois 16th. The path is surrounded by very pleasant residential streets. (although I did see an enormous rat, idling near the railings in broad daylight, completely unfazed by my presence - a near-London-level of rodent arrogance)
There’s not a lot of railway furniture left here - abandoned platforms and rails have been replaced by leaf mulch and earth, shaded by lines of trees as the railway creates a pleasant, green artery through the neighbourhood. I found it very restful to walk along, if not as exciting and edgy as some of the more urban, gritty bits.
It would be easy to forget you were in Paris in this pleasant, woodland section of the railway in the 16th arrondissement. Soft underfoot, this shaded path is popular with runners and walkers
A couple of the railway buildings are in use too. The former “Passy” station has a new life as a decent-looking restaurant with a slightly unoriginal name. “La Gare” (9 Chaussée de la Muette). Another station - the former terminus “Autueil” has been reincarnated as Brasserie Auteuil, 78 Rue d’Auteuil
There are three access points: 77 boulevard de Montmorencey, the corner of rue du Ranelagh and boulevard de Beauséjour and opposite 27 boulevard de Beauséjour
17th arrondissement
17th arrondissement. A pleasant, airy section with some appealing street art
This short (0.7 km) section is a pleasing mix of rural and urban: some beautiful street art adorns the inside of a bridge (see the banner photo for this post); there are platforms and rails next to steep banks covered in foliage. Popular with weed-smoking kids it is close to a busy road, so doesn’t feel too remote. There are no railway buildings in this district currently open to the public. Access points: 2 boulevard Péreire and corner of rue de Tocqueville et Boulevard Péreire
18th arrondissement
Colourful columns and bunting along La Petite Ceinture in the 18th arrondissement
The railway has a strong presence in this neighbourhood, with long stretches visible from the road and a section running alongside the tramline, but none of the track is open to the general public as a park. Instead, a number of stations and railway buildings have been repurporsed as restaurants/community spaces, along with some areas of platform and track
Le Hazard Ludique, a beautifully restored station turned community space/cafe
Former station La gare de l'Avenue de Saint-Ouen has been completely restored and given new life as a hybrid cultural community space for music and arts. Known as Le Hasard Ludique, former station platforms make a pleasant outdoor drinking and dining area for onsite restaurant Cantine de Leon. Some arresting street art occupies railway walls.
The busy streets around Porte de Clignacourt are home to two railway projects. One is a community garden - Les Jardins du Ruisseau which hosts talks and events. It is located at 110 bis rue du Ruisseau, Paris 18
Secret garden - a sanctuary for wildlife that helps feed the community
The other is a popular brunch spot/city farm/ecology centre known as “La Recyclerie” in the charming, former Boulevard Ornano station at 81 boulevard Ornano. Home to a pair of Indian runner ducks and a small flock of chickens, an urban farm helps support the cafe, providing plants and composting facilities. An on-site atelier repairs, upcycles and resells unwanted objects alongside running workshops to teach bascic DIY skills. The cafe offers a plant-forward (although not exclusively vegetarian) menu making use of local, seasonal and sustainable produce, all made in house and very reasonable in price.
Part restaurant, part workshop. farm and education centre. Bang slap in the middle of one of the most busy roads in Paris. A hipster island in a sea of cheap chain shops (notice the KFC next door)
19th arrondissement
Access slope at Rue Curial, the start of one of two sections of track open to the public
Oh the 19th, the 19th! Possibly my favourite arrondissement of all, for its understated beauty, its parks, winding backstreets, pockets of classic brutalist architecture and the beautiful canal de l’Ourcq.
The 19th benefits from beautiful waterside views
There are so many hidey-holes of splendour in the 19th - think guinguettes hosting under-the radar gigs in parks, a banging kosher boulangerie or a Georgian food truck. It’s a great neighbourhood.
One of the two fabulous guinguettes you can find in Buttes Chaumont park - destinations for drinking, dancing and underground concerts - this is Pavillon Puebla, a Napoleonic pavilion with a gorgeous outdoor terrace
La Petite Ceinture in the 19th is equally fabulous. There are two sections of track open to the public, one of which hosts what I consider to be the loveliest place for “l’Afterwork” (French for going for drinks after work) in the whole of Paris - a gorgeous restaurant, with a sunny terrace, overlooking derelict tracks alive with wild flowers. The other section glides over quiet back streets from Rosa Parks station towards the canal and is home to two impossibly fashionable venues.
95 rue Curial to 177avenue de Flandre is a half-kilometre stretch of railway that starts close to Rosa Parks station and the T3 tram. A gentle slope climbs to the tracks from Rue Curial and immediately reveals a large coal shed, with painted walls and a series of tables and chairs arranged outside. This is a fairly new enterprise, known as Au fil du Rail, run by members of the local community, with a focus on circular fashion. It is a gathering place in the evenings, staying open until midnight.
Au fil du Rail - a cultural centre with a focus on circular fashion. Fitting for a circular railway
A couple of hundred metres further on the left is the former station “La Gare au Pont du Flandre” known affectionately as La Gare/Le Gore. Open 365 days a year it hosts free jazz concerts in the former station hall and cheap electro club nights in the basement until morning.
La Gare/Le Gore Jazz concerts and electro club nights, 365 days a year
Between the sections of railway line open to the public, a railway arch by the canal has become a hub for artists. 25 Quai de L’Oise is home to La Vache Bleue - another railway-based venue for live music.
Just after this - it is possible to cross the canal using the former railway bridge. Keep close to the railway arches on the other side of the water and shortly you will come to the second section of railway in the 19th located between 30 rue de Thionville and 2bis rue de l'Ourcq.
Short and sweet: this section of railway runs through residential blocks providing a much-needed area of green before reaching an attractive wood and glass building with access to the street below. This is La ferme du Rail.
Enjoy the fruits of an urban farm at this delightful, bright restaurant, overlooking a particularly tranquil section of La Petite Ceinture.
The farm employs people who have found themselves in vulnerable situations, teaching everything from permaculture to hydroponics . Its onsite restaurant called “Le Passage au Niveau” serves appetising dishes, some with international flavours.
Using local ingredients, including those grown on the farm, La Ferme du Rail is a beautiful spot. The light over the terrace during early evening is just glorious - a real hidden gem.
Trespass towards the 20th
View of La Petite Ceinture from Buttes Chaumont Park. This section of the railway is closed to the public, but can be accessed by a hole in the fence, near the entrance gate at rue de Crimée. There is a section of open track leading to some very long tunnels, which go under the park, under various streets in the 20th, where they resurface, before disappearing under Pere Lachaise cemetery.
The area in Buttes Chaumont park directly under rue de Crimée has become a temporary camp for displaced people. If you look closely, you can see some workers in hi-vis jackets who appear to be visiting the residents. I am not sure what is planned for this section of the track in the future.
This whole section in the park has become a target for urban explorers who enjoy exploring the long tunnels that pass through the park and under the streets on the other side. Some appear to be blocked off, but others are passable, as long as you don’t mind having to endure the foul, stale air, rampant vermin, stagnant water and a total absence of light.
This overgrown section in Buttes Chaumont park is closed to the public, but popular with intrepid urban explorers
A pleasant section of track open to the public in the 20th. A sealed tunnel stretches under the residential streets in the direction of the cemetery.
20th arrondissement
Much of the railway passes under the pleasant streets of the 20th between Buttes Chaumont and Père Lachaise cemetery. There is a very short section open to the public between 11 rue de la Mare and 79 rue de Ménilmontant - just 200m compete with rails and platforms - but with a rather fun addition: sunloungers made from railway sleepers.
Take a nap solo, or with a mate - these lounge chairs are made from railway sleepers.
This concludes part one - more Parisian railway fun in a few months. Do feel free to forward or share or reproduce (as long as you credit me, Lucy Morgan).
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Only Good Things
Thoroughly enjoyed reading your article on Petite ceinture