Now if you've been to Paris in the past couple of months, you might have noticed a new addition to its many attractions. A mile-long stretch of road along the Left Bank of the Seine has been turned into a new riverside walkway with bars, floating gardens and sports areas. Our correspondent Hugh Schofield has been cycling along it. Twilight, early autumn, Paris and here I am, cycling along the edge of the River Seine, along what they call the "berge", the quayside. The point is, just a few weeks ago, this was roadway. It was the main drag out of Paris on the Left Bank. It would have been chock-a-block with cars. Now it's been completely redone and pedestrianized and around me there're bars, groups of people picnicking, people with their feet dangling over the edge, children, people jogging, cyclists. On a beautiful evening like this one, it really is quite magical. It's a stretch of a mile that's been opened up from the Eiffel Tower to opposite the Louvre, nothing to do with the summer Paris-Plage, which is an ephemeral thing on the other bank. This is a big permanent change to the Paris cityscape and one which both Parisians and visitors to the city have already taken to their hearts.
If you have been to Paris in the past two months, you will have noticed that its attractions have changed. A few kilometers of road on the left bank of the Seine has been transformed into a riverside corridor with bars, floating gardens and fitness venues. Our reporter Hugh Schofield is riding down the corridor. At dusk in early autumn I was riding on the edge of the Seine in Paris, in what they call the "berge". It was originally planned to be a parking lot, but now it has been reorganized and turned into a pedestrian zone. Around me there were people at bars and picnicking, people dangling their feet on the river bank, children and adults jogging and cycling. On such a beautiful night, everything is so magical. This several-kilometer corridor stretches from the Eiffel Tower to the opposite side of the Louvre. It has nothing to do with the Paris waterfront in summer, but something to do with the other side of the river. This is a permanent change in the Parisian cityscape that has penetrated the hearts of Parisians and tourists alike.
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