Parc de Bercy

Parc de Bercy is a 14-hectare park in the 12th arrondissement, built on the site of Paris's former wine warehouses. It's less famous than Luxembourg or Tuileries but offers a more relaxed, local-feeling experience for families.

The park is divided into three distinct garden areas. The Romantic Garden features winding paths, rose beds, a small pond, and shady seating. The Kitchen Garden has herb and vegetable beds that kids can touch and smell — a surprising sensory experience in the middle of a city. The open Meadow section provides large grassy areas for running, ball games, and picnics.

Old railroad tracks from the park's warehouse days are embedded in some of the paths, and kids enjoy following them like trails. The playground is well-maintained with equipment for different age groups, surrounded by benches for parents.

The park connects via the Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir footbridge to the Bibliothèque Nationale area across the Seine — a scenic walk with views up and down the river. Next door, Bercy Village (Cour Saint-Émilion) converts the old stone wine warehouses into shops, restaurants, and a cinema, making it easy to extend a park visit into a half-day outing. The park is fully stroller-friendly with wide, paved paths throughout, and significantly less crowded than the tourist-magnet parks of central Paris.