Petite Ceinture is an abandoned railway inside Paris that goes all around the city. It is closed to the public and sometimes hardly accessible so you normally cannot go there but there is such a crazy ambiance there that so very few people know about.
I consider this place to be the perfect Lomo location, especially if you like to have photos with no people in them, which is quite impossible if you’re in big cities.
Once up there you can walk around for hours, following the old railways and enjoying being in another world than the usual crowded streets of Paris. It’s such a magical place: an abandoned train station (it may actually remind you of 28 Days Later or any other post-apocalyptic movie), tunnels, hidden gardens (yes some people grow their stuff there, why not?), vintage train equipments, graffiti, etc.
It goes all around Paris, so this probably accounts for 10 or 20 kilometers all in all. Sometimes after walking for like an hour you finally get stuck in front of an enormous closed door. But you can get out quite easily (much easier than to get in) walk a little bit to the “real” Paris and come again to the Petite Ceinture for a new trip. Until now I’ve tested the East and North East entry points and I’m really eager to go there again very soon.
However if you do go there try to bring along some companions, you never know who’s hanging around there – although that’s what makes it even more of an adventure right? :)
On the map, I indicated the place where I entered last time (it’s quite easy from the Parc les Buttes Chaumont, no need to climb there), but if you look closer on Google Maps you may see that it really goes all around Paris.
17 comments
stouf
Great shots ! Et c'est vrai que ça fait une petite trotte... : )
mikahsupageek
super ! j'irai certainement faire quelques photos la bas pour un projet =)
pulex
Cool! Im going to paris next week! I need to go there!
breakphreak
[Assets:,396107,396106,396105,396104,396103,396102,396101,396100,396099,396098,396097,396096,396095,396094,396093,396092,396091,396090,396089]
- can't see the pictures for some reason :(
jeabzz
super spot! bon boulot elvis ;D
jaalvarez
I like the railways very much ... This article and location is a great surprise to me !!
Your photos (of course ...) are great !!!
Congrats !
yann-m
elvismartinezsmith
thank you everybody! I went there again yesteday, alone, and began entering a 1km long tunnel... Was so creepy, I went almost halfway in the total dark, but the end still seemed far away haha, I decided not to make it till the end... So new advise: bring a light torch if you go there, so that you don't feel like a little boy when inside :)))
vicuna
super location!
clickiemcpete
I wish I was going to Paris because that does look like an amazing spot. :)
elvismartinezsmith
some more albums of the Petite Ceinture under the snow :)
http://www.lomograph(…)ter-horizon
http://www.lomograph(…)ter-spinner
http://www.lomograph(…)y-after-lca
parky
these are all such brilliant pictures, gutted I didn't know about this place when I was last in Paris!
pushkar
cool article & pics.. want to shoot here... hopefully soon
coquelicot
Oh, ça fait des années que je rêve d'aller m'y balader, surtout que j'habite juste en face des Buttes et que je sais où descendre. Mais je dois convaincre quelqu'un de venir avec moi!
En tout cas, super photos!
juliasintari
le_ors
elvis, j'ai aimé vraiment ce lomolocation :)
lovely pictures :)
oliviermenard
Il y a des vues magnifiques sur les voies, les trains et toutes les gares de l'ancenne petite ceinture dans les collections de cartes postales anciennes