You'll find the entrance to the Promenade Plantée on l'Avenue Daumesnil just south of the Bastille Opéra where you'll head up the steps. This is a raised promenade (according to Wikipedia the only raised one in the world at the moment) that follows to a large extent the old chemin de fer de l'Est (railway line). It's a real treat that allows you to get away from the hoards, sniff roses and look out over the Parisian rooftops whilst being mown down by passing joggers. (Only joking - pedestrians and joggers can co-exist - the path's generally wide enough).

You'll be walking through the rooftops of Paris, and will see amongst other things reproductions of "The Dying Slave" on top of a police station on the corner of Rue de Rambouillet (see photo above - credited to Paris Walking Tours).

The promenade's 4.5km long so you'll get a decent amount of exercise and it ends a short way away from the Bois de Vincennes. There's also a cycle route running below, joining up with the promenade later, but still split into two paths - so you'll not be mown down by cyclists either.

As an alternative to the raised area, between the arches of the Viaduct (the Viaduc des Arts) a number of artists and artisan workshops were established to complete the renovation of this crumbling piece of engineering in the late 1980s.

To access the promenade, enter up the stairs from Avenue Dausmenil (the nearest metro is Bastille).