With a surface area of 139 747m², Bercy Park was, in the 12th century a seigniory, then later on, the property of a rich family before the domain was cut in two by the fortifications of Thiers in 1845 and dismantled. The area was then converted into a huge wine depot : linked by the Seine where wine casks were unloaded from Burgundy. Bercy is just beyond the city toll, the ideal position for a thriving commercial trade. Disused in the 1970s, the wine store houses were abandoned for some years before the whole area was replanned. The park opened in 1994. It comprises of three distinct parts : THE LARGE MEADOW, a succession of lawns scattered with trees and small kiosks. THE PLANT BEDS : nine squares of plants inspired by the gardens divided into compartments of the former aristocratic residences of Bercy. The vegetable garden has a pedagogical role since it is Parisian school children who daily cultivate it. Here is the ROMANTIC GARDEN. The eastern part of the park is reached by footbridges. Also, the belvedere, the hillock and the valley where the Philosopher's Garden surrounds a lake and its island. Here stands the "House of the Lake" which holds exhibitions on gardens and nature in Paris as well as slide talks in winter on garden arts. Basketball court.