The Jardin de Ruisseau, a well-kept secret, is a little haven of peace and quiet blossoms quietly under a bridge by a disused railway in the Porte de Clignancourt area. Far from the madding crowds, gardenless Parisians will be pleased to be able to retreat to a pretty oasis of blooming flowers and local cultural activities creating a much sought-after ‘vie de quartier’ that seems to be disappearing in the concrete jungle Paris is becoming. If you have had enough of the city’s parks seething with bodies basting in the sunshine, you need look no more. Stop off at the end of line 4 and saunter down to the end of rue du Ruisseau, and under the bridge to what used to be the Ornano metro station up until the 1950s.

The Jardin du Ruisseau, literally meaning ‘garden of the brook’, is mainly on the north side of the tracks. Here, the association, Les Amis du Ruisseau, created something by combining a garden with an allotment primarily to educate school children in the area about the ecosystem. At the weekends the garden is open to all passers-by for a picnic or a concert along the railway. One thing is clear, the Jardin du Ruisseau initiative is an example to be followed all over the world’s cities. Not only does the garden bring vegetation to an area where there is no park nearby, but it also brings the community together and educates children about the local fauna and flora.
>more