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Tuileries (Map; line 1) Huge collages of B&W and colour photographs depict events in Paris since 1900.

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GARE DE LYON, NATION & BERCY

Drinking; Eating; Shopping; Sleeping

The southern part of the 12e arrondissement is a fairly well-to-do quartier, and at the weekend hordes of cyclists and soccer players head for the woods. Walkers can stroll along the Promenade Plantée, a path along the viaduct above av Daumesnil. Within the arches, there are upmarket shops, galleries and cafés. On the other side of the Gare de Lyon, there’s the Parc de Bercy, where an orchard, vegetable patch and garden have replaced the old wine market.

Long cut off from the rest of the city but now joined to the Left Bank by the driverless Météor metro line (number 14), the vehicular Pont Charles de Gaulle and the stunning new Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir footbridge linking Parc de Bercy with the Bibliothèque National de France, Bercy has some of Paris’ most important new buildings, including Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, serving as both an indoor sports arena and a venue for concerts, ballet and theatre; the giant Ministère de l’Économie, des Finances et de l’Industrie; the stunning Cinémathèque Française and the Docks en Seine, across the river. The development of Bercy Village, a row of former chais (wine warehouses) dating from 1877 that now houses bars and restaurants, and the arrival of river barges fitted out with music clubs have given the 12e a new lease on life after dark.

VIADUC DES ARTS Map

Gare de Lyon or Daumesnil

The arches beneath this disused railway viaduct running along av Daumesnil southeast of place de la Bastille are a showcase for trendy designers and artisans; if you need your Gobelins tapestry restored, porcelain repainted or the bottom of your antique saucepan re-coppered, this is the place to come. The top of the viaduct forms a leafy, 4.5km-long promenade called the Promenade Plantée (Map; 8am-5.45pm to 9.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5.45pm to 9.30pm Sat & Sun seasonal), which offers excellent views of the surrounding area. Don’t miss the spectacular Art Deco police station (Map; 85 av Daumesnil, 12e) at the start of rue de Rambouillet, which is topped with a dozen huge, identical marble torsos.

MAISON ROUGE Map

01 40 01 08 81; www.lamaisonrouge.org; 10 blvd de la Bastille, 12e; adult/student, senior & 13-18yr €6.50/4.50, under 13yr free; 11am-7pm Wed-Sun, to 9pm Thu; Quai de Rapée

Subtitled ‘Fondation Antoine de Galbert’ after the man who endowed it, this cutting-edge gallery shows contemporary artists and has good access to seldom-seen works from private collections. There’s a decent restaurant here and an excellent art bookshop called Bookstorming.

PARC DE BERCY Map

rue Paul Belmondo, 12e; 8am-5.45pm to 9.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5.45pm to 9.30pm Sat & Sun (seasonal); Bercy or Cour St-Émilion

This park, which links the Palais Omnisports with Bercy Village, is a particularly attractive, 13.5-hectare public garden. On an island in the centre of one of its large ponds is the Pavillon du Lac du Parc de Bercy ( 01 53 46 19 34; 10am-6pm Apr-Sep, 11am-5pm Oct-Mar), with temporary exhibitions. The Maison du Jardinage ( 01 53 46 19 19; 41 rue Paul Belmondo, 12e; 1.30-5.30pm Tue-Fri, to 6.30pm Sat & Sun Apr-Sep, to 5pm Tue-Sun Oct-Mar) in the centre of the park takes a close look at gardening and the environment, and offers courses.

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TRANSPORT: GARE DE LYON, NATION & BERCY

Bus Gare de Lyon for 65 to Bastille, République, Gare de l’Est. Gare du Nord (via rue du Faubourg St-Denis); place de la Nation for 86 to Ledru Rollin (Marché d’Aligre), Bastille, Pont Sully (Île St-Louis) & Odéon; Bercy (rue de Bercy) for 24 quai St Bernard, blvd St-Michel, Pont Neuf, quai du Louvre, place de la Madeleine & place de la Concorde

Metro & RER Bercy, Cour St-Émilion, Daumesnil, Gare de Lyon, Nation

Train Gare de Lyon

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CINÉMATHÈQUE FRANÇAISE Map

01 71 19 33 33; www.cinemathequefrancaise.com;