[May 2026] We easily arrived at Cour St-Emilion station, the nearest metro station to our reserved hotel, via Metro Line 14 from Orly Airport in Paris, France.
It was smoother than we expected; we arrived at the hotel exactly one hour after landing at 10 AM.
This time, our base was the Bercy district of Paris.
We stayed at the Ibis, a chain hotel near the metro station.
The location was very good, but the staff training was somewhat lacking.
Check-in was at 2 PM, so we left our luggage and explored the area.
We had a restaurant reservation for 1:30 PM, but since we had some time to kill, we went to the restaurant first and asked if we could come in early.
They said they opened at 12 PM and readily agreed, saying, “You can come anytime after that.”
Apparently, this Bercy district was originally a wine warehouse district.
In the 1960s, the lease agreement wasn’t renewed, causing businesses to gradually relocate to the suburbs of Paris, leading to the area’s decline.
It was redeveloped in the 1980s.
And it was reborn as Bercy Village.
Now, Bercy Village is a neat and tidy area lined with restaurants and shops.
It’s stylish, safe, and a nice place, but it lacks the gritty, historically significant atmosphere of Paris.
Incidentally, the name “Village” is often used for outlet malls, isn’t it?
This place also has a somewhat superficial, outlet-mall-like atmosphere.
Fortunately for us, who wanted to kill time, there was a large park right next to this village.
Its name is Bercy Park.
Unlike British parks that emphasize nature, it’s clearly a French garden that has been manicured, and it felt very well maintained.
There was a rose garden, a pond, and so on.
I looked it up, and apparently the whole park is 14 hectares.
It was the weekend, but there weren’t many people, making it perfect for a walk.
The weather was beautiful, too.
We did see a large brown rat, though.
