From Nanterre to La Défense via André Malraux Park

Starting point and access: Nanterre-Ville station
- RER - Line A, on the section between Paris and Saint-Germain-en-Laye / Poissy / Cergy). Take exit 3 Rue Maurice Thorez.

(S) Upon exiting the station, continue a few metres straight ahead, then cross Rue de la Gare to the right and enter Rue Maurice Thorez. Continue straight ahead on this street and cross Rue de Stalingrad, Rue du Docteur Foucault and Place Fredirico Fellini in succession.

After No. 26, turn left into Parc des Anciennes Mairies. At the fork, go right. After a few metres, turn left at the foot of the war memorial and pass between two ponds. At the corner of a large brick house, turn left then right to exit the park (white and red barrier).

(1) Opposite, take Rue du Grand Champ (leaving the Maison de la Musique on your left). At the end, follow Rue Waldeck Rochet to the left. At the crossroads, turn right, cross Boulevard du Levant and turn right into Rue des Venêts. Then take the first left, Rue du 8 mai 1945.

Ignore the^first street on the right, then turn right onto Rue Henri Wallon, keeping to the left-hand pavement. After a few metres, climb the stairs on the left. At the top, turn left and walk along a large white building on your left. After the building entrance and a porch, climb the stairs on the right leading to the media library and you will come out in front of Nanterre Town Hall.

(2) Turn right and walk along the Town Hall on your left. At the corner, first turn left then right. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue Joliot-Curie in two stages. Continue straight ahead into a mall (chicane). Pass a second chicane and, opposite the buildings on the right, enter a small public park on the left.

Walk past a stadium on your left, then turn right (playground). Go down a few steps and follow a tarmac path on the right. At a fork, take the left-hand path downhill. Pass another playground on your left, climb a staircase on the right, come out onto Avenue de la Liberté and follow it to the left. Go around the roundabout and enter Parc André Malraux (barrier) opposite.

In Parc André Malraux, there are numerous numbered markers in the form of coloured studs on the ground (white, yellow, red) or small posts: these are referred to as B1, etc. Ignore the few yellow markers and arrows for a^PR® trail that you will also come across.

(3) Walk a few metres and, at the^first fork (lake on the right), take the wide cement path on the left. At the crossroads at the corner of a dog park, turn left and, at the next fork (B4), turn right. At the next fork (B10), go right and climb up towards the climbing site. At B12, ignore a path coming from the right and continue climbing. Make a right turn and you will arrive at the foot of the climbing wall (B18).

(4) Climb the stairs on the right and walk along the wall on your left. At the top, turn left and you will reach the viewpoint overlooking the lake. Descend on the other side and turn left to rejoin B18.

(4) Take the cement path on the right and descend the switchbacks. After the^second hairpin bend to the left, take the^first path on the right at an acute angle and continue descending. At the fork at the bottom, turn left then right onto the path. At the crossroads, take the^first path on the left then go down the steps on the right to reach the lake shore (B4, signpost).

Then turn right (reed beds) and walk along the lake on your left, staying as close as possible and ignoring all the paths on the right.

After passing a red brick chapel on the right, turn left and you will come to a rotunda with a balustrade above the lake on the left. Walk to the end of the balustrade (B10).

(5) Follow a cement path to the left and ignore a path on the right leading to a dead end. At the artificial waterfall, ignore the path on the right (you will take this on the way back) and continue as close as possible to the lake (B16). Pass a series of flower beds, B15 and a solitary conifer (small sequoia?). Pass a small circular flowerbed, then B14, and reach the lake shore.

Turn back and, after the circular flowerbed and before B15, take a path on the left. Pass more flowerbeds and then leave a kind of kiosk on your left (B95). Then turn left towards the picnic tables. Then turn right (B11) onto a narrow path that zigzags through the vegetation. When you reach the artificial waterfall, turn left and head towards the rotunda.

(5) Continue straight ahead and climb a flight of steps. Turn right and pass a playground on your left (B17).

Near the toilets, turn right and leave the park briefly to take a look at the Saint-Joseph Chapel and the circular building. Return to the park.

Continue right on a wide path along the edge and ignore the side paths. At the crossroads with a signpost, turn left towards the climbing site.

(6) At the next crossroads (B10), turn sharply right. At the three-way junction that follows, turn right again and walk along the path with a view of the Nuage towers (coloured) opposite. The path curves to the left and, at the next crossroads, continue straight ahead to the gate of the Jardin de Collection.

(7) Enter the garden and, at the crossroads immediately ahead, follow a paved path to the right. Climb two flights of steps and, at the top, turn left. At the fork ahead, turn left and go back down the steps.

At the bottom (bench on the left), turn right and, at the next fork, turn left. Climb a few more steps and, at the fork at the top, go left (reeds). Ignore the steps on the right and walk along a small pond on the right below. Descend slightly and, at another fork, turn right and go down three steps.

At the next junction, turn right again and walk past the small pond. Ignore a path on the right and walk along the garden fence on your left. At the next fork, go up to the right towards the reeds (view of the Granite Tower and the Société Générale Tower) and immediately turn left to walk along a second pond on your left.

Continue straight ahead after the pond, ignoring the paths on the left and then on the right, and head towards the clearly visible exit.

After leaving the garden, turn left and pass the B24. At the three-way junction, go down the stairs on the right. At the bottom, continue to the left. At the three-way junction you took earlier, turn left and head towards the white marker no. 10.

(6) Then take the^first path on the right and pass a merry-go-round on your left. Join a wider cement path, continue straight ahead, ignore a gate on the right and exit the park on the right at the green and white pylons.

Go straight ahead on a wide path made of old railway sleepers and lined with glass cubes displaying quotes from General de Gaulle (now partly erased). You will arrive at the Nanterre-Préfecture RER station, at the foot of the Carillon.

(8) Continue straight ahead and pass under a large porch. At the traffic lights, cross Boulevard de Pesaro and continue along Rue Célestin Hébert. Before the next traffic lights, turn right towards La Défense for pedestrians (sign). Continue straight ahead with a lawn on your right and the Grande Arche de La Défense in your line of sight.

At the traffic lights, cross the boulevard, climb the large staircase opposite and walk along the U Arena on your left. At the end, keep to the right, continue towards La Défense on the white, black and red paving stones, and walk along the Jetée (long footbridge) on your left.

You will come to a crossroads (SG and Granite towers on your right) and turn left towards the Axe de La Défense. Walk along the Grande Arche on your left and, at the corner, turn left and you will come to the forecourt and the entrance to La Défense-Grande Arche station (E).

To return home:
- RER - Line A, towards Paris or Saint-Germain-en-Laye / Poissy / Cergy.
- Transilien - Lines L or U.
- Metro - Line 1.
- Tram - Line T2.

Train timetables: check the Transilien website.

Train shoes are sufficient for this route, which is entirely on paved or cemented paths or streets. Bars, restaurants and shops can be found between Nanterre-Ville station (S) and Parc des Anciennes Mairies, as well as in the La Défense district.

A detailed map is essential (at least the one accompanying this description).

Conditions of access to public parks:
Parc des Anciennes Mairies
- Winter hours: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Summer hours: 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Parc André Malraux
- Open 24 hours a day.
- The climbing wall is open to all from 1 May to 30 September, on weekends and public holidays, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- You can walk around or relax on the lawns. The route suggested here is limited to the paths.
Collection garden
- The garden is only open during the day. I was unable to find any general information about opening hours either on site or online. In February 2017, the garden was open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Dogs are not allowed. Picking and collecting plants is prohibited.

Alternatives:
- Collection garden - If the garden is closed, or if you have a dog with you, at the crossroads just before (7), turn left and go around the garden to rejoin the main route between the garden exit and the steps.
- End of the hike - If you do not wish to continue on to the La Défense district, stop at the Nanterre-Préfecture RER station (8). This shortens the hike by approximately 1.25 km.

Hike completed twice by the author, the first time on 12 February 2017 and the second time on 16 December 2017.

- Parc des Anciennes Mairies, front (1).
- Nanterre Town Hall (2).
- Parc André Malraux... in general.
- Saint-Joseph Chapel (1933), shortly before (5).
- Tours Nuage, listed as a historic monument, front (7).
- Collection garden: an enchanting site displaying a wide variety of plant species in a small space.
- Tours Granite and Société Générale de la Défense in the background, between (3) and (E).
- Carillon de Nanterre (8).
- Grande Arche de la Défense (E).