From Italie to Didot via Butte-aux-Cailles and Petit Montrouge

Starting point and access: Place d’Italie.
- Metro - Lines 5, 6, 7. Take Exit 4 (Marie) in the 13th arrondissement.
- Bus - Lines 27, 47, 57, 59, 61, 64, 67, 83.

(S) Upon exiting the metro station, turn left, walk past the 13th arrondissement town hall and cross Avenue des Gobelins at the traffic lights. Then take the^first right onto Avenue de la Soeur Rosalie. At the end, turn left onto Rue Abel Hovelacque, then immediately right onto Rue des Reculettes. Walk down the street, turn left with the street and then right. At the bottom, follow Rue Croulebarbe to the left. Turn left at the corner of No. 63, then turn left again into Rue Corvisart, which slopes slightly upwards.

At the traffic lights, cross the^first section of Boulevard Auguste Blanqui, pass under the elevated metro archway, then cross the^second section of the boulevard. Follow Rue Eugène Arget opposite: pass under a porch and climb a flight of steps. At the top, turn sharply left. Then cross Rue des Cinq Diamants and follow Rue Jonas.

At the end, turn right into Rue Samson and go straight on. You will come out onto Rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles; follow it to the right. Cross Rue des Cinq Diamants on the right-hand side and reach Place de la Commune de Paris.

(1) Turn left, leaving the triangular square on your right, and follow Rue de l’Espérance. Take the^first right, Rue Michal. At the end, turn right and, shortly afterwards, left into Rue Daviel. At number 10, note the typical Petite Alsace building on the right-hand side and take a detour to the left into Villa Daviel, lined with small houses. Continue down Rue Daviel. Cross Rue Vergnaud and continue opposite, along Rue Daviel.

(2) At the end, turn left onto Rue de la Glacière, preferably using the wide pavement on the right. Walk past the Church of Saint-Albert-le-Grand and continue straight on until you reach a junction. Go round the junction on the right, cross Rue d’Alésia, walk along Avenue Reille and take the^first right, Impasse Reille.

At the end, climb a flight of steps, cross a small square and a street, and enter the Jardin Marie-Thérèse Auffray. Go straight on along a concrete path; note on the right, behind a gate, the remains of a Gallo-Roman aqueduct, then, on a slight rise, the inspection chamber of a former 17th-century aqueduct. Leave the garden at the end of the path. Turn right and walk alongside the Jardin partagé de l’Aqueduc. Turn right again and go down Rue Thomas Francine.

At the end, turn left onto Avenue de la Sibelle, then left again onto Rue d’Alésia. Continue straight ahead and pass under a railway bridge (RER Line B). Cross Avenue René Coty in two stages.

(3) Then turn left and climb the steps on Rue des Artistes. At the top, follow the street to the left. Cross Rue de l’Aude and continue straight on to the foot of the Montsouris Reservoir. Then follow Rue Saint-Yves to the right, keeping a brick church in sight (Chapelle Saint-François d’Assise). At the junction, turn right into Rue de la Tombe Issoire.

After about 40 metres, turn right and walk back and forth through Villa Seurat, lined with artists’ studios. Continue along Rue de la Tombe Issoire and cross Rue de l’Aude again on the right-hand side. Then take a detour to the right into the narrow Cité Annibal. Continue along Rue de la Tombe Issoire and you will soon come to Rue d’Alésia.

(4) Then turn left to cross Place des Droits de l'Enfant (statue) and follow Rue Sarette to the left. Take the^first right, Rue Couche. Cross Rue d'Alésia and turn right into Rue de Bigorre. At the junction, turn right into Rue du Commandeur, which curves to the left.

At the T-junction, follow Rue Bézout to the right. At the junction, turn left into Rue d’Alembert. At the next two junctions, go straight on. You will reach Rue Hallé; note a very large brick house on the right-hand side and, opposite, a row of townhouses in a semicircle.

(5) Follow Rue Hallé to the left. At the three-way junction, turn right into Rue Sophie Germain. At the end, cross Avenue du Général Leclerc at the pedestrian crossing on the left. On the other side, follow the avenue to the right and cross Rue Mouton Duvernet. Then take the^first left onto Rue Ernest Cresson. Pass Square Henri Delormel on your left (private access) and continue straight ahead.

At the end, first turn left then right onto Rue Charles Divry. Take the^first left, Rue Saillard. After a few dozen metres, turn right and cross the square between a park on the left and the 14th arrondissement town hall on the right.

(6) Follow Rue Pierre Castagnou to the left and pass the annex of the town hall, a brick building featuring a large Art Deco stained-glass window. Cross Rue Mouton Duvernet at the pedestrian crossing and walk alongside a square on your left. Cross Rue Brézin, then turn right onto Avenue du Maine. First turn left then right to enter Rue de la Sablière.

At the traffic lights, turn left onto Rue des Plantes, preferably using the left-hand pavement. Continue straight ahead, passing Rue Bénard on your right and Villa Moderne on your left. Walk past a small triangular square on your right and cross Rue du Moulin on your left.

Immediately afterwards, turn left into Impasse du Moulin Vert and you’ll find some beautiful houses at the very end. Retrace your steps and continue left along Rue des Plantes.

(7) At the traffic lights immediately ahead, cross Rue d’Alésia and follow it to the left. Take the^first right, into Villa d’Alésia. At the three-way junction, turn right, still on Villa d’Alésia. Follow this cobbled lane lined with colourful, converted old workshops.

At the junction, rejoin Rue des Plantes and follow it to the left. Go straight on at the two successive traffic lights. Then turn right onto Rue de l'Abbé Carton.

(8) Just before a set of traffic lights, turn left into Rue Joanès, lined on the right-hand side with small, colourful houses. At the end, turn right onto Rue Boulitte. This leads onto Rue Didot; follow it to the left. Immediately afterwards, take a short detour to the left into Villa Duthy.

Continue along Rue Didot, passing Villa Deshayes on the left and then Rue Ledion. Take a detour to the left into Villa Collet with its beautiful houses. Continue along Rue Didot and you will soon reach the gate leading to the Petite Ceinture in the 14th arrondissement.

(9) Unless you are returning by metro (see below), cross the old Petite Ceinture line and go straight on to reach Porte Didot (E) very quickly.

To return home:
From Porte Didot (E):
- Tram - Line T3a. The stop is in the middle of Boulevard Brune, slightly to the left.
- Bus - Line 58.
From the Petite Ceinture gate in the 14th arrondissement (9):
- Metro - Line 4. Go through the gate on the left and go down a large metal staircase. Follow this route from point (5) to Porte d’Orléans station. It’s about 1 km.
- Metro - Line 13. Turn right onto a footpath and follow this route in the opposite direction between point (5) and Rue Raymond Losserand (red and white markings). Then leave the route and follow Rue Losserand to the left to Porte de Vanves station. Allow for around 700 m.

Good trainers are sufficient for this urban route.

Numerous bars, restaurants and shops all along the route.

Opening hours of the public gardens:
Marie-Thérèse Auffray Garden:
- Opening: 9.30 am on weekdays; 9.00 am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing: 5.00 pm to 8.30 pm depending on the season. See detailed opening times.
Petite Ceinture du 14e:
- Opening: 9.00 am on weekdays.
- Closing: 5.00 pm to 8.30 pm depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.

Detailed map required (at least the one accompanying this description).

Walk completed by the author on 20 January 2022.

From Place d’Italie (S) to Rue de la Glacière (2):
- Rue-escalier Eugène Atget.
- Murals on Rue Samson and Rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles.
- The Petite Alsace complex (1912) and Villa Daviel at 10 Rue Daviel.

From Rue de la Glacière (2) to the junction of Tombe Issoire and Alésia (4):
- Saint-Albert-le-Grand Church (1963).
- Remains of a Gallo-Roman aqueduct and a 17th-century aqueduct in the Marie-Thérèse Auffray Garden.
- Rue des Artistes.
- Villa Seurat and its artists’ studio houses.
- Cité Annibal (narrow cul-de-sac).

From the Tombe Issoire and Alésia junction (4) to the 14th arrondissement town hall (6):
- Petit Montrouge neighbourhood.
- Beautiful houses at the junction of Alembert and Hallé (5).
- Square Henri Delormel (private).

From the 14th arrondissement town hall (6) to Rue Joanès (8):
- Art Deco stained-glass window (1933) on the façade of the town hall annex, by the painter and glass artist Jacques Le Chevalier (1896–1987).
- Impasse du Moulin Vert.
- Villa d'Alésia, flanked by former studios, including that of the painter Henri Matisse (1869–1954).

From Rue Joanès (8) to Porte Didot (E):
- Small colourful houses at the start of Rue Joanès.
- Villa Duthy.
- Villa Collet.
- Former Petite Ceinture railway line (9).