Bercy () is a neighbourhood in the
12th arrondissement of Paris, France, the city's 47th administrative neighbourhood.
History
Some of the oldest vestiges of human occupation in Paris were found on the territory of Bercy, dating from the late Neolithic (between 4000 and 3800 BC).
The name of Bercy, or Bercix, appeared for the first time in property deeds in the twelfth century. The area belonged for a time to the
Montmorency family before passing to the Malons family, who had an old manor house expanded by
François Le Vau into the
Château de Bercy
A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...
.
In the eighteenth century, a large site located along the Seine, contiguous to the Paris city limits of the time, began to be used as a warehousing area, particularly for wine. For two hundred years, the area was the thriving centre of the Paris wine trade and a place with a unique life and culture.
Bercy was formerly a
commune. In 1860, when Paris annexed its suburban zone, the commune of Bercy was dissolved. The north-west portion of its territory was consolidated into
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
while the south-east portion, beyond the fortifications, was consolidated into
Charenton-le-Pont
Charenton-le-Pont () is a Communes of France, commune situated to the southeast of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris, to the north of the confluence of the Seine and Marne (river), Marne rivers; the part of ...
.
Features
File:Quartier de Bercy, Paris - OSM 2020.svg, Map
File:Paris - Orthophotographie - 2018 - Quartier de Bercy 02.jpg, Aerial view
The area features a number of well-known landmarks:
* The
Ministry of the Economy and Finance building (often known simply as "Bercy"), built in the 1980s; the extremity of the building plunges into the river Seine, where two fast boats dedicated to VIP transportation are moored.
* The ''
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
Accor Arena (originally known as the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy), also known as Bercy Arena, is an indoor sports arena and List of concert halls, concert hall in the neighbourhood of Bercy, on the Boulevard de Bercy, in the 12th arrondisse ...
'' (POPB) is a large sports hall often used for concerts. It is now called AccorHotels Arena
* The
Parc de Bercy
* The
Cinémathèque Française
A cinematheque is an archive of films and film-related objects with an exhibition venue. Similarly to a book library (bibliothèque in French), a cinematheque is responsible for preserving and making available to the public film heritage. Typically ...
, formerly the American Center, designed by
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions.
Gehry rose to prominence in th ...
* The Cour Saint-Émilion shopping complex
* The UGC Ciné Cité Bercy movie complex
* The
Musée des Arts Forains ("The Fairground Art Museum").
Line 14 of the
Métro crosses the neighbourhood. There are two stations:
Bercy and
Cour Saint-Émilion.
References
External links
English-language overview of the development of the Bercy neighborhood
{{authority control
Districts of Paris
Former communes of Seine