Parc de l'île Saint-Germain, the magnificent floating garden in Issy-les-Moulineaux (92)

As you walk along the banks of the Seine from the Parc André Citroën, just a few kilometers away, you'll see an island looming on the horizon. Surrounded by barges, sometimes moored, sometimes moving freely on the Seine,Ile Saint-Germain is one of the green treasures ofIssy-les-Moulineaux (92), with its immense park where you'll feel like you're in the countryside, just for a stroll.

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It wasn't until the 1860s, with the construction of the Comptoir Général de Crédit Bonnard et Cie (according to Hauts-de-Seine department sources) and then the Pavillon d'Agriculture at the1867 Universal Exhibition, that the site, previously farmland, began to be transformed. A century later, after much discussion, the island was finally transformed into a park rather than a port area, as the authorities had hoped. Work began in 1973, and seven years later, the Parc de l'Île Saint-Germain, a beautiful 12-hectare green space, opened to the public.

As you stroll along the park's paths, you'll come across the Tour aux figures, a strange white, red and white sculpture with thick black outlines, towering 24 metres above the park. This work by sculptor Jean Dubuffet - and its fantastic immersive interior walkway, not visible from the outside - can be visited every Saturday and Sunday afternoon from March to October ( booking essential).

Don't miss the park's lavender garden, for a short immersion in the Mediterranean coast, the unexpected gardens rich in biodiversity, the messicole garden and its unusual wild plants, the discovery garden and its snail-shaped organic vegetable garden, or the former garden and its fruit orchard, a reminder of the island's past.

Within the park, you can enjoy a game of ping-pong on the tables set up, play a game of basketball on the appropriate court, take advantage of thechildren's playground or discover Guignol in his little open-air theater (admission charge, all information on the theater page). There's just one restaurant on the island, in the shape of a large mountain chalet: this is where you can have lunch, dinner, a drink or a snack, with a lovely view over the park.

Parc de l'Île Saint-Germain is open every day, all year round, with opening times varying according to the month of the year and the time of sunset. Most trails are accessible to people with reduced mobility, as is the tour of the Tour aux figures.

To get there, take RER line C (Issy Val-de-Seine stop), metro line 9 (Marcel Sembat stop, 18 min walk) or metro line 12 (Mairie d'Issy stop, 17 min walk). Have a nice walk in the Parc de l'Île Saint-Germain!