Beginning just east of the Opéra Bastille with the elevated Viaduc des Arts, it follows a 4.7-kilometre (2.9 mi) path eastward that ends at a spiral staircase leading to the boulevard Périphérique beltway.

At its west end near the Bastille, the parkway rises 10 metres (33 ft) above the surrounding area and forms the Viaduc des Arts, over a line of shops featuring the work of specialized craftsmen.

As it reaches the rue du Sahel, it splits, with one portion continuing to the beltway, and the other terminating in the square Charles-Péguy along the former path of a branch line that once linked to the Petite Ceinture railway.

The west end can be reached from Bastille by walking 300 metres (980 ft) south on rue de Lyon, then left on avenue Daumesnil.

The Promenade Plantée was put into place at the same time in order to reuse the rest of the abandoned line between the Bastille and the old Montempoivre gate to the city.

The first phase of the High Line, a similar park on an old railway viaduct in the West Side of Manhattan in New York City, was completed in 2009.