Billancourt, Ile Seguin and Ile Saint-Germain

Starting point and access: Place Marcel Sembat, at the corner of Avenue du Général Leclerc and Rue des Quatre Cheminées.
- Metro - Line 9. Take exit 4. When you exit the metro station, turn 180° and walk to the corner with the street.
- Bus - Lines 42, 123, 126, 175.

(S) Follow Rue des Quatre Cheminées (on the right when coming from Avenue du Général Leclerc). At the end of the street, walk along the Marché de Billancourt (open every Wednesday and Saturday morning only). Cross the small square and continue along Rue Victor Griffuelhes. Walk along the ice rink, cross Allée Émile Pouget (barred on the right) and you will reach Parc des Glacières (information sign at the entrance).

(1) Enter the park. Head straight ahead, roughly opposite the entrance gate. Then turn right and right again to reach an exit gate located after a playground. Return to Allée Émile Pouget. Turn left and you will come out onto Place de Bir-Hakeim. Take Avenue Émile Zola (^2nd on the left).

At the next intersection, turn right onto Allée Ahmed Boughera El Ouafi. Immediately turn left onto Allée Robert Doisneau. Follow this alley to the end and you will reach Avenue Pierre Lefaucheux. On your right, you will see a modern building with a sawtooth roof typical of many factory roofs. Take Avenue Pierre Lefaucheux on the right, go around the public park and turn left onto Cours de l'Ile Seguin.

(2) Just before the Pont Renault bridge and its access ramp (visible from a distance), cross the road. Take the ramp on the left and then the bridge. Cross the Seine and you will arrive on the Ile Seguin, on the forecourt of the Seine Musicale (a large building that cannot be missed on the right, topped by the spherical structure that houses the concert hall).

(3) Continue a few steps and climb the large staircase on the right that leads to the Jardin Bellini. At the top, at the fork at the corner of a small metal building, take the cement path on the left overlooking the Seine. Shortly after, climb the stairs on the right to reach the top of the hill (panoramic view). Retrace your steps and, at the bottom of the stairs, continue right on the cement path and pass as close as possible to the spherical structure and its solar panels. Back at the fork, descend the large staircase you climbed on the way up.

(3) Back on the square, enter the Jardin de l'Ile Seguin opposite. The garden is small, but you can stroll around or take a break. The easiest way is to follow the path to the end and then retrace your steps.
N.B. Access to the metal bridge that used to connect to Meudon is currently closed (as of June 2017).

(3) When you leave the garden, turn right and take the Pont Renault again (take the right-hand lane of the bridge, the same one you came on). Cross the Cours de l'Ile Seguin again, at the same place as on the way there.

(2) Enter the Parc de Billancourt. Follow the main path, heading east-southeast. After passing a playground, leave the park and you will come out onto Cours Émile Zola. Continue along Avenue Pierre Lefaucheux, following roughly the same direction as in the park. Pass a pharmacy on your left and some old Renault buildings (clearly marked) on your right.

At the corner of Maison Saint-François-de-Salles, turn left onto Allée Jules Guesde. Follow this road until you reach Place Jules Guesde. Note the high school, which has incorporated the old entrance gate to the Renault factories into its architecture.

(4) Take Rue Yves Kermen (^third on the right). Follow this street to the end and you will arrive at the Pont de Billancourt. Cross the Quai de Stalingrad and then the bridge, taking the right-hand lane (in the direction of travel). From the bridge, look for a staircase on the right that descends to the banks of the Seine. You will reach the Ile St-Germain.

(5) Go down the stairs immediately on the right (the ones you saw from the bridge) and then turn left. Walk along the Promenade Robinson, following the right bank of the Seine (you are on an island). At Allée Maximilien Luce, continue along the Seine on a path and walk past a sports field on your left. At the end of the path, turn left onto Allée de Billancourt.

At the next intersection, turn right onto Avenue du Bas Meudon. Go past a dead end and, at the next intersection, turn right again onto Allée Sainte-Eudoxie. Follow the right bank of the Seine again (views of Ile Seguin) and head towards the western end of the island (which cannot be reached as it is private property).

(6) At the small square, take Rue Pierre Poli opposite, which makes a hairpin turn to the left and heads back towards the Pont de Billancourt. At the next crossroads, turn right onto Allée Sainte-Eudoxie. When the street bends to the left and continues as Promenade Constant Pape, take a small staircase down to the banks of the Seine (you are now along the left arm).

Follow the Seine along a small path, ignoring the steps that go up on the left. Only go up the last set of steps when the path bends to the left, level with a floating building moored on the other bank called "Marinette". Take Allée des Moulineaux on the left and walk along a large building with a black façade. At the crossroads, take Rue Pierre Poli on the right and follow it to the end.

(7) Turn left onto the avenue (on your right, you will see the Pont de Billancourt bridge over the left arm of the Seine). At the roundabout (traffic lights), cross the avenue and continue straight ahead on Avenue Jean Monnet (information panel on the history of the island on the right-hand side). Walk past a primary school and enter the Parc Départemental de l'Ile St-Germain.

Take the lane on the right (south-east). At the first fork, turn right and go slightly uphill. Keep to the left bank of the Seine, which will be on your right, and continue along this path, ignoring two paths on the left. The path bends to the left and joins the wider path that runs parallel to it. Take this path on the right, cross a paved lane and, immediately after, take another paved lane on the left.

At a junction with two low stone walls running alongside the paths on the left and a large severed tree trunk a little further on the left, take the path on the right which runs alongside a lawn on the right. Cross the "Jardins clos" (enclosed gardens). At the end of the lane, turn left along a wall, then turn right to reach a blue sculpture in the shape of a Greek column, on the right bank of the Seine.

(8) Take the path opposite, which heads north-east along a fence on the left, with the Seine below. Pass a playground with a climbing frame on your right. You will come to a tarmac path; follow it to the left. Go around the hill on your left, on top of which stands the Tour aux Figures (closed to the public due to construction work in February 2020).

Then walk along a lawn on your right. At a small pond, climb the stairs on the left and reach the Pont d'Issy.

(9) Turn left, staying on the left side of the bridge, and cross a branch of the Seine. Cross the Quai du Point du Jour in two stages and immediately turn right to cross the Avenue de la République. Continue straight ahead parallel to the quay, then turn left into the^{first street} on the left, Rue des Peupliers.

Then turn right onto Rue des Enfants du Paradis. After about 50 metres, turn left into the passage of the same name: go under a porch, climb a staircase and you will come out onto Place Marcel Pagnol. Then turn left, immediately onto Place René Clair and turn right onto Rue Fanfan la Tulipe.

(10) At the end (sign for the entrance to Paris), turn left onto Avenue Le Jour se Lève and continue along Avenue Félix d'Herelle. Walk alongside the Pierre de Coubertin stadium and, when you reach the entrance, cross Avenue Georges Lafont at the traffic lights.

Enter Square Coquoin and walk north towards a footbridge visible from a distance. Go around a playground, pass under a small tunnel and turn left until you reach a small gate. Go through the gate, turn right and take the footbridge over the Boulevard Périphérique (note the exterior architecture of the Parc des Princes on your left). On the other side, head straight for the Porte de Saint-Cloud metro station (E).

To return home:
- Metro - Line 9.
- Bus - Lines 22, 42, 62, 72, 175, 189, 289 and PC.

Good walking shoes are sufficient for this urban route.

Water points in a few public parks (marked on the map). Bars, restaurants and shops all along the route except on the two islands.

Moderately dense yellow markings between points (5) and (7). A detailed map is required (at least the one accompanying this description).

Public park opening hours:
Parc des Glacières:
- november to February: 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- mars-octobre : 07h00-23h00.
Jardin Bellini: 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. N.B. Due to a pirate watch plan, bags are being checked (as of June 2017).
jardin de l'Ile Seguin: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Billancourt Park:
- Opening: 8:00 a.m.
- Closing times: November to February, 5.30pm;¹ March to 14 May and 16 September to 31 October, 7pm; 15 May to 15 September, 8pm.
Parc Départemental de l'Ile Saint-Germain:
- november to January: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m
- february: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m
- march: 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m
- april: 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m
- may to July: 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m
- august: 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m
- september: 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m
- october: 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Square Coquoin: 24 hours a day.

Warning:
The Trapèze district and Ile Seguin are undergoing major changes, which has two consequences:
- Access to certain areas may be temporarily restricted: please follow the instructions on site.
- There may be differences between the map and the actual terrain: please follow the description and, of course, the actual terrain.

Alternative route:
Return to Issy-Val de Seine station - At Pont d'Issy (9), turn right and cross the Seine, staying on the right-hand pavement of the bridge. At the traffic lights, cross the quay. Immediately cross Rue Rouget de l'Isle on the left and follow it to the right. You will soon reach Issy-Val de Seine station:
- RER - Line C, towards Paris or Versailles and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
- Tram - Line T2, towards Porte de Versailles or La Défense and Pont de Bezons.

This route has been taken five times by the author, with various variations, the first on 6 December 2014 and the last on 19 February 2020.

Since the end of the 19th century, Renault factories have occupied a substantial part of the Commune of Boulogne-Billancourt, in the area known as the "Trapèze" (due to its shape), on the right bank of the Seine. The Ile Seguin, covering an area of around twelve hectares, was purchased by Louis Renault at the beginning of the 20th century. An assembly plant was built there, covering the entire area, which operated from 1929 to March 1992.

Today, all the factories in the Trapèze and on the Ile Seguin have been demolished. The Trapèze area has already undergone extensive construction and other projects are underway. After many political and administrative twists and turns, construction work on the Ile Seguin began in 2014. For information on current projects, visit the Ile Seguin Rives de Seine website.

The only new building erected to date is the Seine Musicale, a large concert hall inaugurated in April 2017. The building is remarkable for its spherical structure and the solar panels that power it. The Jardin Bellini, located above, offers a close-up view of this structure.

The streets of the Billancourt district are a reminder of the city's industrial past, with the names of former workers and trade union leaders competing with those of resistance fighters. Street signs almost always provide information about the people being honoured.

Note the two fountain columns in the centre of the Porte de Saint-Cloud (E), created in 1937 by the sculptor Paul Landowski (1875-1961). The motifs on these two columns represent city life and country life, respectively.