New green havens open in Paris.
From rooftop gardens to rainwater parks, Paris is rewilding. Paris is creating eco-friendly spaces for walks, swimming, and relaxation outdoors. The city may be dense, but it’s growing greener every year.
In the 18th arrondissement, the new swimming pool, the Piscine Solita-Salgado, pays tribute to a legendary swimmer and Resistance heroine. Built with bio-sourced materials and surrounded by vegetation, it is a living ecosystem with bird-nesting boxes and rooftop gardens.
In the 13th arrondissement, the Square Marie-Curie has re-opened after its transformation into a peaceful promenade above an underground rainwater reservoir. Japanese maples and heart-shaped lime trees now line the path between Gare d’Austerlitz and Pitié-Salpêtrière.
The Coulée Verte (Green Corridor) in the 15th arrondissement has been extended with a brand-new 257-metre section along the Quai de Grenelle. This is Phase 4 of the restoration of the famous leafy urban walkway.
Also in the 15th arrondissement, on the side of the old Petite Ceinture (Little Belt) – the old railway line that has been converted to a green corridor – a new 655-metre (2,150-foot) section is now accessible, which extends the existing walkway. Of the 655 metres, 300 metres (985 feet) runs through a tunnel. The extension of the green railway corridor now links Rue Olivier-de-Serres to Rue Brancion and adds 1.5 hectares (15,000 square metres) of restored natural space.
In total, the rehabilitated railway path now stretches 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) across 5 hectares (50,000 square metres) of land, connecting two major parks: Parc André Citroën and Parc Georges Brassens. This transformation not only supports local biodiversity but also creates new spaces for relaxation, walking, picnicking, and rediscovering a unique piece of Paris’s urban heritage.
The aim of the additional green havens is to boost biodiversity, provide natural recreational spaces, showcase unique urban heritage locations, and offer residents an easy way to reconnect with nature in the heart of Paris.
