This post was written a few years ago. One of my favorites, I’m reposting it.
The weather was so perfect I wanted to preserve it in a bottle: cobalt-blue sky, blazing sun and a cool breeze blowing in from somewhere. Impossible to stay indoors! I jumped on the metro and crossed town to my favorite large park in Paris.
On the number 14 line, there are two metro stops that serve the Parc de Bercy, one at either end: Cour Saint-Émilion which takes you directly to Bercy Village, and Bercy, at the far end of the park. Personally, I prefer Bercy because it allows me to walk through the elongated, beautiful park that runs parallel to the river Seine.
Inaugurated in 2006, this is the Simone de Beauvoir footbridge that leads to the famous BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) on the other side.
Bercy Village is located at the end of Bercy Park (metro stop Cour Saint-Émilion on the number 14 line.) Tastefully designed and spread out along a single pedestrian street, it houses an even number of shops and restaurants. It’s what I call a “feel good” place.
Here’s a favorite shop of mine. Fragonard sells gorgeous soaps, bath products, body creams as well as clothes, jewelry and a few home furnishings. If you’re looking for gifts, this is the place to go. It’s also beautifully air-conditioned.
Their signature glycerine soaps cost 5 euros apiece. I bought a green one (Verveine which is lemon verbena). I also bought a gift box of four jasmine soaps for only 12 euros per box. The prices at Fragonard are reasonable, the quality excellent.
To see more photos of Bercy Park (and the open-air swimming pool on the river Seine) from a blog post written three summers ago, click here –
We visited Bercy with Parisian friends a few years ago. Honestly, I see no reason that I would want to return. The gardens are pleasant but could be anywhere. The village strikes me as sterile, trying to hard to be futuristic, but instead is rather stale. But, I am more the traditionalist when it comes to what I expect from Paris.
I like the whole area, Sherman. The park, the river, the trees and flowers, the cool breeze, etc.