From Ivry to Arcueil via Fort de Bicêtre

Starting point and access: Ivry-sur-Seine station.
- RER - Line C, on the section between Paris and Massy-Palaiseau / Étames / Dourdan.
Take the Place Marcel Cachin exit. If coming from Paris, take the underpass at the rear of the train and follow it to the left. If arriving from the opposite direction, exit via the main station building at the front of the train.

No signposting

(S) On leaving the station, go straight ahead, cross Place Marcel Cachin and follow the street opposite, with a bar on the right-hand corner. At the traffic lights, cross the D154 to the right, continue along a forecourt and enter Parc des Cormailles. Go straight ahead along a wide gravel path.

(1) At the end, climb the steps opposite, slightly to the left. At the top, turn right and go up the ramp to reach the top of the hill (viewpoint and light sculpture). Come back down the hill, either entirely via the ramp (route marked on the map), or by taking the steps again halfway down.

(1) In both cases, keeping the steps on your right, continue straight ahead (south-west) along a tarmac path and cross a gravel path. Walk past an educational vegetable garden on your left, leave the park and cross the Esplanade Rol-Tanguy. First turn right then left to follow Rue Francisco Ferrer. At the end, turn right. At the corner of the École Gabriel Péri, take a tarmac path on the left.

Enter the Promenade des Petits Bois and, at the first Fork in the road, take the path on the right. Pass a waterfall sculpture on your left (marked ‘Pacha Mama’ on the map), veer right and walk alongside a hedge.

Pass a playground on your left and follow the winding concrete path. Ignore a path leading downhill to the right and continue on the flat. Go round a small sports ground on the left, then ignore a flight of steps leading down to the right. Pass under two successive archways and emerge onto Rue Celestino Alfonso.

(2) Follow this street-stairway to the left and uphill. At the top, cross Avenue Maurice Thorez and continue straight ahead into Rue Pierre et Marie Curie (metro entrance on the right-hand side). Follow this street straight on almost to the end. Shortly after the Emmaüs centre, cross Place Charles de Gaulle to the left, past the buildings with their distinctive architecture. At the end, turn left then immediately right.

Take the^first right at a sharp angle, into Passage Hoche, lined with small detached houses, some of which look a bit ‘worn’. At the end, follow Avenue de Verdun to the left (D5, under construction in March 2019).

(3) At the junction with Rue du 19 mars 1962 (on the left), cross Avenue de Verdun at the traffic lights and continue straight ahead into Rue Carnot. Walk along the right-hand side of the wall of Ivry Cemetery. Pass Rue de l’Affiche Rouge on your left and turn right, still following the wall.

Shortly afterwards, turn left into an unmarked street (Rue Raymond Lefèvre on the map) and immediately cross the Sentier des Herbeuses on the left. After crossing Rue de la Paix, the blocks of flats give way to detached houses. At the end, turn left into Rue Verollot.

At No. 36, turn right onto Rue de l'Espérance (a cul-de-sac) and go straight on. At the end of the street, pass two chicanes. You’ll come out onto a perpendicular street; follow it to the right then turn left (former workshops). At the end, turn right.

Yellow markings

(4) At the junction, turn left onto Rue Dauphin. At the traffic lights, cross the D7, continue straight ahead onto Rue Thibert and pass under a covered footbridge connecting two buildings. Continue straight up the hill and ignore all side roads.

Cross Rue Sacco et Vanzetti. Then, at^{the first} set of traffic lights, continue straight ahead. At^{the second} set of traffic lights, very close by, cross Boulevard Chastenet de Géry and follow it to the left. At the next set of traffic lights, just after the sign marking the entrance to Villejuif, turn right.

Pass a car park on your right and, when the street bends to the right, leave it and take a concrete path interspersed with steps that branches off to the left. Follow this path, which, between the buildings, veers to the right then turns 90° to the left to run alongside a long building on the right-hand side. Cross an access road to an underground car park (on the left) and continue along a tarmac path running alongside a block of flats. You will emerge onto a street on the boundary between the municipalities of Villejuif and Le Kremlin-Bicêtre (signs).

No signposting

(5) Then turn right (ignore the signposting heading left). Cross Rue Marc Sangnier and walk along the boundary wall of Fort de Bicêtre on your right. At the corner of the wall, continue straight ahead along a concrete path between a block of flats on your left and a lawn and the fort on your right. Pass through a metal gate and continue straight ahead.

When you reach a gate, turn left and then immediately right onto a gravel path running alongside the fort’s perimeter wall. At the corner of the wall, continue downhill into Rue Jean Mermoz. At the bottom, turn left into Rue Benoît Malon. At the Stop sign, continue straight ahead. At the traffic lights immediately ahead, carry on straight across into Rue du Professeur Einstein. At the junction with Rue de l’Horizon, continue down Rue Albert Laurenson.

(6) After about 50 metres, turn right onto Rue Léo Lagrange. Follow this street straight on, downhill. At the stop sign, cross Avenue Gabriel Péri at the pedestrian crossing and take the wide pedestrian path on the left that runs parallel to it. Then take the^first right onto Rue du Ricardo. At the stop sign, turn right. At the next junction, turn left and take the bridge over the A6 motorway.

A few metres after the bridge, go down the steps on the right leading to Arcueil Cemetery (see an alternative route in the practical information). At the bottom, go straight on along a wide path until you reach a balustrade preceded by a covered area. Then go down a flight of steps – either the one on the left or the one on the right. Continue in the same direction as before and go down a tree-lined path (with a military plot on the right). Go round a clump of shrubs and continue straight ahead to leave the cemetery.

Cross the street and go down the steps opposite to reach the Promenade de la Bièvre (the river is covered here).

(7) Then follow a concrete-paved path to the left. Pass under a stone bridge and then under a metal footbridge, and immediately climb a metal staircase on the right. At the top, turn right onto the footbridge. At the traffic lights, turn right onto Rue de la Division du Général Leclerc. Walk along the right-hand side of Square de la Libération, then cross Rue de l’Ardenay on the right-hand side. You will come to a crossroads.

(8) Then turn right onto Rue de la Fontaine. At number 17, turn left into Rue Germaine Tailleferre. Follow this pedestrian street to the end and turn right at the corner of No. 11. Cross the D127 (Avenue de la Convention) and continue straight ahead onto Rue Darius Milhaud. Walk along a lawn on your left and head towards a large white building at the far end of the lawn.

Red and white markings

At the corner of the building (the former gatehouse), turn left and walk past the turrets flanking the entrance. Then cross a small square, come out onto a street and follow it to the right. At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue Émile Raspail and follow it to the foot of the superimposed aqueducts of Arcueil and Cachan.

Yellow + Red and Yellow Markings

(9) Turn right at the traffic lights and climb the steps towards the RER station (do not go under the aqueducts). Then walk up Boulevard Jacques Desbrosses alongside the aqueducts. At the end, turn left, go under an archway and follow Rue du Docteur Gosselin to the nearby Arcueil-Cachan station (E).

To get back home:
- RER - Line B, towards Paris or towards Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse or Robinson.

Train timetables: check the Transilien website.

Good trainers are sufficient for this urban route.

A few drinking fountains and toilets in public parks (marked on the map) and at the exit of Bagneux Cemetery. Bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

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

Opening hours of public venues:
Parc des Cormailles:
- Opens: 08:00.
- Closing: 5.00 pm to 9.00 pm depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Promenade des Petits Bois: 24 hours a day.
Arcueil Cemetery:
- Opening: 8.00 am.
- Closing: from October to March, 5.00 pm; from April to September, 6.00 pm.

Alternative route:
The route through Arcueil Cemetery is suggested to provide a peaceful walk in a densely built-up area near the A6 motorway. If you wish to avoid this section through the cemetery, after the bridge over the A6, continue straight ahead, ignoring the access steps on the right. At the junction, cross Avenue Paul Vaillant-Couturier and take Rue Auguste Delaune opposite. At the end, turn right into Rue du Colonel Fabien. Continue straight on and rejoin the main route at the junction (8).

Walk completed by the author on 12 March 2019.

- Parc des Cormailles, shortly afterwards (S).
- Sculpture fountain depicting a nude woman (Pacha Mama), on the Promenade des Petits Bois... not the most aesthetically pleasing, in my view...
- Former Fort de Bicêtre (mid-19th century) (5), still occupied by the Army.
- Arcueil and Cachan aqueducts (9). The Médicis Aqueduct was first built in the 17th century. The Vanne Aqueduct was built over it in 1874. The structure reaches a maximum height of 38 metres above ground level.