Walk around Auteuil and the Viaduc des Arts

Saturday
Went up to Paris today, but since the trains were messed up (probably due to work on the lines), we took the car. It was yet another dull day - the forecast had suggested there might be some clearing by late afternoon, but unfortunately it never happened. We did another walk in our Eyewitness guide to Paris, in Auteuil, starting with a walk around the Port de Plaisance (top left), then going on to the Viaduc des Arts.
In 1859, the Paris-Strasbourg Railway Company began service on a line that required elevated tracks from the Place de la Bastille to the eastern reaches of Paris. The railroad's brick-and-stone viaduct carried suburban trains until 1969, when newer SNCF long-distance routes and the new RER "A" commuter line made it redundant. A few years later, in the early 1980s, city officials debated whether to tear down the old viaduct or convert it into a pedestrian promenade. Fortunately, the walkway proposal won, and by 1994, the Promenade Plantée from Bastille to Reuilly was open to the public. Dozens of varieties of trees, plants and shrubs have been planted along the "green stream", including cherry, linden, hazelnut, and bamboo. The walk also affords views of interesting Parisian buildings, including some architectural details you wouldn't see so clearly from street level, such as the figures in the bottom left photograph.
Next, the old vaults beneath the rail line were converted into a series of craftsmen's workshops and galleries. Today, the restored railroad viaduct--renamed the Viaduc des Arts-- is host to cabinetmakers, musical-instrument makers, fashion designers, textile restorers, and other businesses related to the arts.
It made for a great walk, as you can see from the rest of my collage. We walked the length of the viaduct, at the end of which the path drops down to street level, and continues as far as the Bois de Vincennes, at which point we took the metro back to the start, so I could get a few shots of the viaduct from street level (top right).