The 12th arrondissement of Paris is one of the largest of the city's districts even without the 2,460 acre ''Bois de Vincennes'', which more than doubles its size. ''Gare de Lyon'' in the 12th will likely be your arrival point if you are coming from Switzerland, Italy, or the south of France.

Get in

''By Metro''

The newest ''Metro'', line 14, serves '''Gare de Lyon''' and '''Gare de Bercy'''.

Line 1 crosses the arrondissement east-west serving '''Bastille''', '''Gare de Lyon''', '''Reuilly-Diderot''', '''Nation''', and '''Porte de Vincennes'''.

Line 8 crosses the arrondissement east-west serving '''Bastille''', '''Ledru-Rollin''', '''Faidherbe-Chaligny''', '''Reuilly-Diderot''', '''Montgallet''', '''Daumesnil''', '''Michel Bizot''', '''Porte Doree''', and '''Porte de Charenton'''.

Line 6 arrives from the left bank, serving '''Bercy''', '''Dugommier''', '''Daumesnil''', '''Bel-Air''', and '''Picpus'''.

The RER-A passes east-west through the 12th serving '''Gare de Lyon''' and '''Nation'''.

See

Landmarks

  • Jardin Yitzhak Rabin. Nestled in the center of the Parc Bercy (below) is a lovely, and truly peaceful, garden with several waterworks and other high-quality landscape-art pieces. If you are one of the many people visiting the 12th on business it would be well worth an hour of your time between meetings and dinner to explore the mound, the fountain, and the bridges, and to watch children play in complete peace, much like the peace to which the garden's namesake dedicated his life.
  • Bercy Village. For a taste of the French countryside, a visit to Bercy Village brings to life the spirit of market shopping inside Paris.
  • Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. Is an indoor sports arena designed by architects, seats around 17,000.

    Museums and Galleries

  • Palais de la Porte Doree. 93 avenue Daumesnil. etro: Porte Doree. Housed in an amazing Art Deco building, purpose-built for the 1931 Colonial Exhibition, featuring an elaborate frieze across the front facade that depicts the achievement of French overseas territories. It houses an Aquarium [http://www.aquarium-portedoree.fr] and an Immigration Museum [http://www.histoire-immigration.fr]. The Aquarium can be seen in about an hour and is popular with families with small children.

    Do

  • Opera Bastille. lace de la Bastille. etro Bastille. ttp://www.opera-de-paris.fr/. One of the truly great venues for the performing arts anywhere in the world, Paris' new opera house actually managed to inspire some neighborhood protest during its planning and contruction. Pretty much everybody is a believer nowadays though. Check out the website for upcoming shows, it might even make sense to plan a trip to Paris around one.
  • Promenade Plantee. If you were a city planner in one of the great cities of our Earth and you discovered that a railroad right-of-way had been abandoned and would never be used again what might you do? Perhaps if you knew your stuff you'd convert it into a 4 mile long park, about half of which is elevated above street level on the old rail viaduct. This long narrow park pretty much allows the visitor to walk in carfree bliss from Place de Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes.
  • Parc de Bercy. Between the River Seine and the rail yards attached to '''Gare de Lyon''' and '''Gare de Bercy''' is a green space which would seem pretty huge if the 12th weren't also the home of the '''Bois de Vincennes'''. The park is a good place to hang out waiting for the line to form for sporting events and concerts at the '''Palais Omnisport'''.
  • Bercy Expo.
  • Bois de Vincennes. etro Porte Doree or Porte de Charenton. ttp://www.boisdevincennes.com. There are many beautiful footpaths, a Buddhist Temple, and a lake with rowboats available for rental (about 10 Euro as of Feb 2009). The lake has many different kinds of birds, and islands accessible by footbridge.

    Buy

    There are any number of shops catering to the needs of travelers in and around '''Gare de Lyon''', where you can easily replace a piece of broken luggage or even buy a suit if you suddenly find yourself with a business appointment.

    The archways of the former railroad right-of-way which now support the promenade plantee are home to trendy restaurants, designer's studios, and art galleries. Taken as a whole it's known as the ''Viaduc des Arts''', and is well worth a stroll for those interested in art and design.

    Another shopping highlight of the 12th is the amazing number of electronics and computer shops, mostly clustered around '''rue Charenton''' near the '''Jardin de Reuilly''', as one would expect the intense competition keeps prices low (for Europe).

  • Cyclades Electronique" alt=". 1 Bd Diderot. 33 1 46 28 91 54. ttp://www.cyclades-elec.fr. on-Fri 9:30am to 6:30pm, Sat 1:30pm to 6:30pm.. A cut above the others, and on the other side of the station, Cyclades is the place to go if you need '''parts'''. Perhaps you have an out-of-production laptop which needs exactly 18.5 volts? They've got the charger. They've also got a full range of capacitors, resistors, transistors, chips, model airplane electronics and mechanics, tools, and much much more.
  • New PC Charenton" alt=". 71 rue de Charenton. 33 1 43 07 02 30. on-Fri 10am to 7pm, Sat 9am to 7pm.. This is just one example out of the many computer shops in the immediate area, included here to help you find them all. Check the prices here, next door, and across the street. When you find the lowest bidder