Parc Rives de Seine Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville

Following the success of the former expressway turned park on the Left Bank, this 4.5km stretch of Unesco-listed Right Bank is also now a car-free Parisian playground. The park has cycling and walking paths, pétanque (similar to lawn bowls) and other sporting facilities, along with kids play areas, climbing walls, huge chalkboards to write or draw on to your heart's content, plus year-round bars, and hammocks, sunloungers and umbrella-shaded tables in summer. Free 'timescope' binoculars at various intervals provide cool audiovisual history lessons.