Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Bercy Park is a contemporary green space located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, designed between 1993 and 1997 by architects and landscapers including Bernard Huet, Marylène Ferrand and Ian Le Caisne. It occupies the location of the old wine warehouses of Bercy, a historic site linked to the wine distribution since the eighteenth century, marked by the presence of cellars, rails and administrative buildings such as the house of tax collectors. The park is structured into three distinct gardens: the Romantic Garden (with basins, reeds and remains of 19th century cellars), the Parterres (dedicated to educational gardening, including a vineyard and a rose garden), and the Prairies (shadow spaces near the omnisports Palace, today Accor Arena).

The park includes heritage elements such as the ruins of the small castle of Bercy (former cavalry barracks destroyed in 1883), remains of the Saint-Germain market, and neolithic canoes discovered near the Grand Place, a trace of the old village of Bercy. Contemporary works of art are scattered there, including Demeure X by Stephen-Martin, Les Enfants du Monde by Rachid Khimoune (2001), and the Canyoneaustrate by Gérard Singer. A bridge now connects the park to the Accor Arena, while the Simone-de-Beauvoir Bridge (2006) connects it to the Bibliothèque nationale de France, strengthening its anchor in the Parisian urban landscape.

The Musée des Arts Foraines, located at the east end of the park, reconstructs a historic fairground (1850–1950), adding a fun cultural dimension. The site also preserves traces of its winery past, with chardonnay and sauvignon white vines planted in homage to the disappeared warehouses. The architects preserved the orthogonal frame of the old streets and some paved roads, although the park is now cut off from the banks of the Seine by the road docks. La Cinémathèque française, installed since 2005 in a building designed by Frank Gehry (former American Center), and the Paris-Bercy bus station (the most frequented in France) complete this landscape combining history, nature and modernity.

Served by metros 6 and 14 (Bercy and Cour Saint-Émilion stations), the park is a popular place of life, welcoming various activities: skatepark, improvised football matches, exhibitions at the gardening house, and walks on the round path offering views of the Seine and the left bank. Its layout reflects a desire to reconcile industrial memory, biodiversity (with wildlife like herons) and contemporary uses, while integrating infrastructure such as a bus parking lot under the noise-resistant terrace.

In 2019, a driveway in the park was named the 116-victim-du-vol-AH-5017-du-24-July-2014 in tribute to the victims of an air crash. This commemorative choice illustrates the social and symbolic role of the park, a space that is both a haven for history and a dynamic place of life in the heart of Paris.

External links