Petite Ceinture du 17e arrondissement

You are approaching a rare vestige of industrial history that once acted as the city's lifeline. The Petite Ceinture, or little belt, was a circular railway constructed in the nineteenth century to physically link the major Parisian train stations that were otherwise disconnected. Before this line existed, passengers and freight had to navigate through dense city streets to transfer between the competing railway companies that controlled different terminals. By creating a continuous ring around the capital, the city finally enabled a fluid movement of goods and people that bypassed the congested center entirely.