Walking in the Promenade Plantée in Paris

Follow an old railroad east from the Bastille and look in on crafts-people along the way.

Start at the place de la Bastille, famous as the spot where the French Revolution began in 1789. Go past the huge modern Opéra Bastille, heading east on rue de Lyon and fork left onto avenue Daumesnil, where a former railroad has been turned into a lovely landscaped footpath. Beneath the viaduct, the arches have been converted into glassfronted craft workshops and design stores. Kids will enjoy watching the craftspeople at work. At Mahlia Kent (1, 19 avenue Daumesnil), tweeds are woven on looms in the storefront for fashion houses such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton; at Maison de la Dorure (2, #87), see gold leaf being applied to picture frames; at Atelier Le Tallec (3, #95), porcelain is meticulously painted by hand. The Arrosoir Café (4, #75) is a child-friendly stop for lunch or refreshments. At the end of the workshops, take the steps up to the top path and continue southeast; cross the wooden bridge anto the Jardin de Reuilly (5), a small park and playground bordered by a swimming pool. Continue along allée Vivaldi and under rue de Reuilly. Kids especially enjoy the next stretch, which is wilder and more overgrown, passing through a dimly  lit train tunnel and a deep wooded hollow. To exit, turn right onto rue de Picpus and right onto Boulevard de Reuilly – take an ice-cream break at Raimo (6, 59 boulevard de Reuilly), a great old-style Italian ice-cream maker. Cross place Félix Eboué to avenue Daumesnil to return to the Jardin de Reuilly. Head back toward the Bastille along the Promenade Plantée atop the viaduct.

Metro Station : Bastille (Line 1, 5, 8), Daumesnil (Line 6, 8)