From Paris' Promenade Plantée to NYC's High Line: The World's Best Elevated Parks
Cities all over the world are turning old industrial infrastructure into pedestrian-friendly gardens in the sky. It’s not an especially new concept, but it’s one that’s proven hugely effective at revitalizing neighborhoods. That’s why places like London, Houston, and Seoul are developing their own greenways over the next couple of years.
PROMENADE PLANTEE
The Back Story: The world’s first elevated rail-to-trail park opened in Paris in 1993, one of then-president Mitterrand’s ongoing Grands Projets, which included the Louvre Pyramid and the Opéra Bastille.
Total Mileage: 2.9
What Makes it Great: In a city that can feel overrun by tourists, it’s refreshing to share communal space -- filled with cherry trees, rose bushes, and lavender -- with locals.
Top Spot for Photo Ops: On the walkway above the intersection of the rue de Charenton and the rue Montgallet, snap a shot of the park as it slices through a building.
Factoid the Locals Don't Know: The original rail line was spared because, by the time Mitterrand debuted his Grands Projets, it was already surrounded by apartments.
HIGH LINEThe Back Story: Since 2009, more than 23 million visitors have walked this artfully manicured pedestrians-only park along Manhattan’s once-gritty, now-gentrified far west side. Not bad for a project dreamed up in 1999 by two local guys whose mission was to save the railroad tracks from demolition (and from being replaced by luxury high-rises).
Total Mileage: 1.45
What Makes it Great: It doubles as an art attraction: There are frequent installations by stalwarts like Olafur Eliasson and Adrián Villar Rojas.
Top Spot for Photo Ops: From the Tenth Avenue overlook at 17th Street, point your phone down at the speeding yellow cabs and cyclists below.
Factoid the Locals Don't Know: The last train to use the High Line wasn’t carrying passengers -- it was packed with frozen turkeys.
BLOOMINGDALE TRAIL
The Back Story: Chicago’s new $95 million greenway sits on a onetime elevated freight train line that runs through Northwest Side neighborhoods like Bucktown and Logan Square. It’s part of a larger project, The 606, that’s just one piece of the city’s ambitious plan to invest nearly $300 million in more than 800 parks by 2017.
Total Mileage: 2.7
What Makes it Great: It sees significantly fewer tourists -- at least so far -- than perpetually packed Millennium Park.
Top Spot for Photo Ops: At Western Avenue and Winnebago, a double overpass carries the El above the park, setting up an only-in-Chicago backdrop.
Factoid the Locals Don't Know: Local artist Frances Whitehead and the Adler Planetarium collaborated on the celestial observatory at the park’s western terminus.
LUCHTSINGEL
The Back Story: Linking central and northern Rotterdam, this pedestrian bridge, rooftop garden, and park is entirely crowd-funded. The semi-obvious pitch: “The more you donate, the longer the bridge.”
Total Mileage: 0.24
What Makes it Great: It has energized a formerly dreary corner of downtown Rotterdam with a Michelin-starred restaurant (FG Food Labs) and a third-wave coffee shop (Lokaal).
Top Spot for Photo Ops: On the footbridge, square up to the imposing Schieblock, a beautifully austere post-war office building.
Factoid the Locals Don't Know: ZUS, the Dutch design firm that created Luchtsingel, is working on a project to protect New Jersey’s Meadowlands region from flooding.
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