Over the last decade or so, the former warehouse district of Bercy, along the Seine just east of the Gare de Lyon, has been transformed by a series of ambitious, ultra-modern developments designed to complement the grand-scale "Seine Rive Gauche" project on the opposite bank. As you emerge from Bercy metro station one of the first things you notice is the Ministère des Finances, a monster of a building, constructed in 1990 to house the treasury staff after they had finally agreed to move out of the Richelieu wing of the Louvre. Housing some 4700 employees, it stretches like a giant loading bridge from above the river (where higher bureaucrats and ministers arrive by boat) to rue de Bercy, a distance of some 400m.A little east of here squats the charmless Palais Omnisports de Bercy. Built in 1983, its concrete bunker frame clad with grass covers a vast arena used for sporting and cultural events. Beyond it, the area that used to house the old Bercy warehouses, where for centuries the capital's wine supplies were unloaded from river barges, is now the extensive Parc de Bercy. Here, the French formal garden has been given a modern twist, with geometric lines and grid-like flowerbeds, but it also cleverly incorporates elements of the old warehouse site such as disused railway tracks and cobbled lanes. The western section of the park is a fairly unexciting expanse of grass with a huge stepped fountain (popular with children) set into one of the grassy banks, but the area east has arbours, rose gardens, lily ponds, an orangerie, a "Pavillon" for contemporary art exhibitions (Wed–Sun noon–6pm; free) and a Maison du Jardinage, which provides information on all aspects of gardening. Of the new buildings surrounding the park, the most striking, on rue Paul-Belmondo, on the north side, is the ex-American Centre, designed by the architect Frank O. Gehry. Constructed from zinc, glass and limestone, it resembles a falling pack of cards – according to Gehry, the inspiration was Matisse's collages, done "with a simple pair of scissors". Less simple has been the transferral here of the Cinématèque from the Palais de Chaillot. After a few setbacks, it seems work is now under way to construct a museum of the history of the cinema, four cinema screens, shops, a library and restaurant. Work should be complete by 2005; in the meantime, you can follow its progress online at www.51ruedebercy.com. A little east of here, arched footbridges take you over the busy rue Kessel into the eastern extension of the park and the adjoining Bercy Village (M° Cour Saint-Émilion), the hub of which is the Cour Saint Émilion, a pedestrianized, cobbled street lined with former wine warehouses that have been stylishly converted into smart cafés, wine bars and shops. Another set of old stone wine warehouses at no. 53 avenue des-Terroirs-de-France now house the privately owned funfair museum, the Musée des Arts Forains, with its collection of funfair rides, fairground music and Venetian carnival rooms. At the time of writing, it offered Tours to groups only (tel 01.43.40.16.15), though this may change, and at any rate, there's no stopping you peeking in the entrance to see the traditional architecture.
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