Thursday 22 May 2014

Abandoned Places II: La Petite Ceinture (Porte de Vanves)



The tracks seen from a bridge.


Last summer I came to Paris for a week to attend the Nabokov conference, run by The Enchanted Researchers, and stayed in a hostel down by Porte de Vanves called Arty Paris. Everyday I walked over this bridge and stared down and the tracks, realising that I never saw any trains pass through, and found it odd that it was just there… It wasn't until about six months ago I found out about La Petite Ceinture and realised that this must have been what I had been walking past. So I became hell bent on finding a way in. 



                 The entrance to the tracks.

I found a way in at the back of the Parc George-Brassens, clearly you aren't meant to get in, but as the fence already had a huge hole I figured I may as well go down.
Some kind of small warehouse that was down there.
I only explored the first bit on this occasion, I had promised to bring a friend down so I only went to the start of the first tunnel the first time (that and the tunnels aren't much fun alone, they are very long in places). The pictures below however, are from slightly further down, beyond the first tunnel. I think we ended up climbing out closer to Porte d'Orleans, there was a loose fence panel on the side of the track where a path had been worn into the banks.
Someone's home on the railway.

Tasty >.< 
Remnants of the old station.

The exit onto the platform.


Graffiti on the sides of the tracks.

There were about six different countries painted on the side
of the tracks, I liked this one best because I was born here.
A particularly colourful spot.

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