Based in Saint-Denis (93), inside the last 19th‑century market garden still operating on the edge of Paris, Zone Sensible is a sprawling experimental garden where more than 250 plant species are grown in permaculture.
Designed by the artistic collective Parti Poétique, this one-of-a-kind site has turned an old farm into a genuine center for art and food production. Here, nature is never separated from culture: vegetables share space with art installations, beehives engage in dialogue with performances, and the paths of the vegetable garden become spaces for open-air exhibitions.
Zone Sensible sits at the heart of a powerful story: the former market-gardening lands of the Plaine des Vertus, once feeding Paris as a whole, now largely urbanized. Building on this agricultural heritage, the venue reimagines a new way of thinking about the city—more sustainable, more collective, and more vibrant.
As the seasons unfold, the site offers guided tours, workshops, artist residencies, and a range of cultural events—from outdoor cinema to concerts, including banquets and workshops focused on sustainable eating.
The tour of the site takes visitors through an astonishing landscape, blending permaculture gardens, an urban apiary, experimental greenhouses and outdoor art spaces. The on-site mediators explain how this “open-air laboratory” is organized, where agriculture, contemporary creation and ecological commitment intersect.
Zone Sensible is also a place deeply connected to its locale, running solidarity programs, food distributions, and educational projects that bring together residents, associations, and local schools. More than an urban farm, it invites visitors to rethink the link between nature, culture and food.
Location
Sensitive area
112 Avenue de Stalingrad
93200 Saint Denis
Official website
www.parti-poetique.org
