Bastille: the column and the railway in the air
The July Column, then the planted viaduct that taught New York how to build the High Line. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Place de la Bastille
Start at the roundabout. The prison's long gone — its footprint is paving stones, not a building — so don't go looking for it. Come for the *place* itself, recently calmed for pedestrians and far more walkable than it used to be.

2. The July Column
The bronze column with the gilded *Génie de la Liberté* on top commemorates 1830, not 1789 — a common mix-up worth getting right. You can't climb it; just orbit the base and read the names.

3. Opéra Bastille
The 1989 opera house — glass and grey granite, loved by few at first, useful to everyone since. If there's a morning rehearsal you'll hear nothing, but the forecourt is a good place to get your bearings before the climb up to the viaduct.

4. Coulée verte René-Dumont
Climb the stairs near Avenue Daumesnil onto the old railway viaduct. Roses, lavender, bamboo, ponds — a planted promenade in the air, ten metres above the traffic. This is the one the High Line copied. Walk the elevated section end to end.

5. Viaduc des Arts
Down at street level, the viaduct's brick arches hold craft workshops — an *ébéniste* (cabinetmaker), restorers, a luthier or two. Glass-fronted, so you can watch the work even when the doors are shut. Drop down and walk the arcade, then climb back up.

6. Jardin de Reuilly
The viaduct widens into a real garden with a suspension footbridge and a big open lawn — the spot to stop if you've brought coffee. After here the planted walk continues at ground level toward the edge of the 12th.

7. Daumesnil metro
Come off the promenade near Daumesnil for the M6/M8 home, or keep walking the Coulée verte all the way to the *boulevard périphérique* if your legs are willing — it runs nearly five kilometres if you let it.

Bastille: the column and the railway in the air