Today, Bercy Village attracts visitors for its stores, restaurants and cinema, but it was once the kingdom of wine. Until the 1960s, the area was home to the Halle aux Vins de Bercy, the world's largest wine trading center. Barrels arrived via the Seine or from the Gare de la Rapée, before being rolled to the warehouses via an ingenious network of rails built into the floor. These traces, still visible in the Cour Saint-Émilion, are a reminder of the incessant comings and goings that once animated the district.
If you're strolling through the Cour Saint-Émilion in Bercy Village, take a good look at the ground! You'll find these old rails in the cobblestones, remnants of the golden age of the Paris wine trade. Amidst the cobblestones, the rails may look decorative today, but they were essential for logistics. When the site was redeveloped in the 1990s, the architects were keen to preserve these witnesses to the past.
You'll also see the old wine storehouses with their restored stone vaults, an example of industrial architecture that has stood the test of time. And if you'd like to see more of the old rails preserved in time, take a trip to the Petite Ceinture!
Bercy Village: The shopping center in Paris' 12th arrondissement
Bercy Village is the shopping and leisure center in the 12ᵉ arrondissement of Paris, opposite the François Mitterrand Library. Fashion, beauty, health, leisure, home decor, here's what Bercy Village has to offer. [Read more]
Location
Bercy Village
Cour Saint-Emilion
75012 Paris 12
Bercy Village: The shopping center in Paris' 12th arrondissement
