Bois de Vincennes  invitation to a walk and sports

Traveling to the Bois de Vincennes, located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, is easily done by metro. Metro lines 1 and 8 are the most convenient, as they drop you off at the edge of the city of Vincennes.

Line 1 of the Paris Metro

• Château de Vincennes and Bérault stations: Less than a 10-minute walk from the main entrance, these stations are located in the northern part of the Bois. Château de Vincennes is the terminus of the line and allows you to visit the castle.
• Saint-Mandé Station: Ideal for accessing the southern area of the park, near the Saint-Mandé lake. It takes about fifteen minutes on foot after getting off the metro.

Line 8 of the Paris Metro

• Porte Dorée Station: The most convenient if you want to visit the Vincennes Zoo or the Daumesnil lake, and access the western area of the Bois de Vincennes.
• Porte de Charenton Station: To reach the southern area of the Bois in a 15-minute walk.
• Liberté Station: Ideal for reaching the Saint-Mandé lake and hiking trails.

To explore the hundreds of hectares of the Bois de Vincennes by bike, note that Vélib’ stations are located just steps away from the Bérault and Saint-Mandé stations on line 1, as well as the Porte Dorée and Liberté stations on line 8.

The RER A line provides easy access to the Bois de Vincennes as it runs along its eastern area. Several stations serve the various points of interest in the park.

• Get off at the Joinville-le-Pont station to reach the southern area of the Bois, where the Arboretum and the Hippodrome de Vincennes are located.
• Prefer to access the eastern part of the park, to explore the Jardin d’Agronomie Tropicale, for example? The Nogent-sur-Marne station is where you should get off.
• Finally, stop at the Fontenay-sous-Bois RER A station to go to the Minimes lake, which is located in the northwest of the Bois de Vincennes.

You can take tram line T3a to get to the Bois de Vincennes. In this case, the most convenient route is to get off at the Porte Dorée station and go through Place Édouard-Renard, especially if you plan to visit the Parc Zoologique de Paris, also known as the Vincennes Zoo.

The journey to the Bois de Vincennes can also be made by bus using one of these lines, for example:

• Line 46 serves the Parc Zoologique and Porte Dorée stops, making it ideal for going to the Vincennes Zoo or the Daumesnil lake.
• Lines 112, 114, and 210 allow you to reach the area around the Château de Vincennes. The easiest way is to get off at the stop of the same name.

It's impossible to get bored at the Bois de Vincennes. This natural space is full of activities, such as:

• The Parc Floral de Paris, one of the four sites of the Botanical Garden of the City of Paris.
• The Vincennes Zoo, popular with families and children, with its five large biozones.
• The Daumesnil lake, the largest in the Bois, is located all the way to the west.

While the Bois de Vincennes is open to the public 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, check the opening hours of the parks, gardens, and zoo online. To best prepare your itinerary, visit the Bonjour RATP app, and take advantage of real-time schedules and routes.