From Île de la Cité to Porte d'Auteuil

Starting point and access: Cité station.
- Metro - Line 4. Take the only exit.
- RER - Line B or C, Saint-Michel - Notre-Dame station. Take exit 5 Hôtel-Dieu/Parvis de Notre-Dame.
- Bus - Lines 21, 27, 38, 47, 58, 70, 75, 96.

The main places and buildings to look out for are indicated in italics in the description.

(S) Upon exiting the metro station, turn right three times and head towards the Palais de Justice de Paris with the Sainte-Chapelle on your left. Cross Boulevard du Palais at the traffic lights and follow it to the left. At the next traffic lights, turn right onto Quai des Orfèvres (note the Paris Criminal Court tower). At the corner of the building, turn right onto Rue de Harlay, then left onto Place Dauphine (17th-18th century mansions). At the end (opposite the equestrian statue of Henri IV), turn left and cross a branch of the Seine on the Pont Neuf.

(1) At the traffic lights, cross Quai des Grands Augustins and turn right to cross Rue Dauphine. Continue for a few metres, turn left under a porch and follow the narrow Rue de Nevers. Shortly before it ends in a cul-de-sac, turn left into Rue de Nesle. At the end, rejoin Rue Dauphine and follow it to the right. Just after No. 30, go through a gate on the right to enter Passage Dauphine. Go under the first archway, follow the cobbled street, go under the second archway and leave the passage through a second gate.

Come out onto Rue Mazarine and follow it to the right. At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue Jacques Callot. At the end, follow Rue de Seine to the left (old gate at No. 36) and, after about 20 metres, turn right onto Rue de l'Échaudée. At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue Jacob and then take the first left, Rue de Furstemberg. Go around a small square (former studio of the painter Eugène Delacroix and museum dedicated to him). At the end of the street, turn right onto Rue de l'Abbaye. At the corner of a square, turn left and you will reach the entrance to the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and its Romanesque bell tower.

(2) Continue, cross Boulevard Saint-Germain in two stages at the pedestrian crossing on the right and follow Rue de Rennes opposite. Take the^first right, Rue Bernard Palissy (at no. 4, two caryatids supporting a balcony). Ignore a street coming from the left and, at the T-junction, follow Rue du Dragon to the left. Note the medallion at No. 24 depicting Bernard Palissy, who lived and worked in this house, and the plaque at No. 30 commemorating Victor Hugo, who also lived here. Then take the^first right, Rue de Grenelle. Pass in front of the Hôtel de Berrule (1776) at No. 15, then turn^left onto Rue de la Chaise.

(3) Shortly afterwards, turn right onto Rue de Varenne and cross Boulevard Raspail in two stages. Immediately turn left onto Rue de la Planche, which becomes Rue de Commaille when it turns right. At the end, turn left onto Rue du Bac (mansions dating from 1715 at nos. 118 and 120, the writer Chateaubriand having lived and died in the latter). Cross Rue de Babylone and walk along the left-hand side of the historic building that was Paris's first department store. At no. 140, you can make a detour to the right to visit the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal. Continue along Rue du Bac and pass under a footbridge.

(4) At the crossroads (Virgin and Child in a niche opposite), turn right onto Rue de Sèvres. On the right-hand side, note the Laennec Hospital, then the entrance to the Vaneau metro station and, just after that, a neo-Egyptian style fountain dating from 1808. Cross Rue Vaneau on the right-hand side and note the building with arched windows on the left-hand side at the corner of Rue Saint-Romain. Shortly afterwards, turn right onto Rue Pierre Leroux and continue straight ahead. At the end, turn left onto Rue Oudinot. At the corner of Rue Rousselet, on the left-hand side, note the building with arched windows.

At the traffic lights, cross Boulevard des Invalides and follow Rue Eblé. At the next intersection, continue straight ahead on the same street, which becomes pedestrianised. Cross one branch of Avenue de Breteuil, then the grassy esplanade (beautiful view of the dome of Les Invalides on the right). Then turn left and walk along the second branch of the avenue to a roundabout (central monument in honour of Louis Pasteur).

(5) Go around the roundabout on the right, cross the first branch of Avenue de Saxe, then turn right to walk along the central reservation with the Eiffel Tower in your line of sight. Note the plaque at No. 52 commemorating Marshal Foch's stay in November 1918, and the Ukrainian Embassy at No. 21. At the end of the central reservation, cross Avenue Ségur, follow Avenue de Saxe on the left-hand pavement and walk alongside the UNESCO headquarters. Then cross Place de Fontenoy and arrive at the foot of the austere monument to those who died in the 1870 war (opposite, the École Militaire with the Eiffel Tower in the background).

(6) Turn left and follow Avenue de Lowendal, preferably on the left-hand pavement. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue de Sufren and continue straight ahead. Walk along Square Cambronne on your left (inside, there is a sculpture dating from 1891, depicting a lion on a rock under which a man is trying to take shelter). At the traffic lights, turn right, cross Rue du Laos and follow Boulevard de Grenelle, keeping the elevated metro line on your left.

At the next traffic lights, cross Avenue de La Motte-Picquet in two stages and follow it to the right for about 50 metres. Then turn left into Rue d'Ouessant. At the crossroads, go straight ahead into Square La Motte-Picquet. When you reach the side of Saint-Léon Church, turn left and walk along the church on your right.

(7) Enter Jardin Franck Bauer and cross it, going around the central kiosk. On the other side, turn left into Place Dupleix and, after No. 18, turn right into Allée du Général Denain and walk along a square on your right. At the gate to the square, turn left onto Rue André Leroi-Gourhan. Continue straight ahead, cross Rue Daniel Stern and continue opposite, preferably on the left-hand pavement.

At the traffic lights, cross Boulevard de Grenelle in two stages, passing under the elevated metro line. On the other side, turn right, cross Rue de Lourmel and Rue Viala, then turn left into Rue du Docteur Finlay. Continue straight ahead and cross Rue Saint-Charles. Shortly before the end of the street, turn right into Rue Nélaton. Note the several buildings on the left-hand side dating from 1907 and designed by architects Veber and Michau. On the right-hand side, pass in front of the small Jardin mémorial des enfants du Vél' d'hiv' (Memorial Garden for the Children of the Vél' d'hiv'). At the end of the street, turn left, cross Quai de Grenelle at the traffic lights and take Pont de Bir-Hakeim.

(8) At the stone arch engraved with "Viaduc de Passy", go down the steps on the left and take Allée des Cygnes. Cross the long artificial island and pass under a railway bridge. At the intersection that soon appears, there are two options for going up to Pont de Grenelle:
- Continue straight ahead.
- As shown on the map, turn left, go down a staircase, pass under the bridge and reach the foot of the replica of the Statue of Liberty. Turn right, pass under the bridge again (gym equipment) and climb a staircase. At the top, climb the staircase on the right and then turn right to reach the bridge.

(9) Turn right to cross the Seine. On the other side, go straight ahead and cross Avenue du Président Kennedy to reach the foot of the Maison de la Radio. Then first turn left then right to cross Rue de Boulainvilliers and follow it to the right. Take the^first left, Rue du Pré aux Chevaux. At the end (opposite, at no. 9, a building with arched windows), turn right. Ignore a street on the left, then, at the fork, turn right into Rue Gros. Take the^first left, Rue Agar, and at the T-junction, continue right along the same street.

You will come out onto Rue Jean de La Fontaine. Turn left and follow the street. Note the private villas on either side. At the crossroads, go straight ahead, past the Institut des Apprentis d'Auteuil, and take the^first right onto Rue Ribera. On the right-hand side, you will pass Rue Léon Bonnat (with a view of the Chapelle Sainte-Thérèse) and then Rue André Colledeboeuf. Note the buildings from 1894 designed by architect Jean Boussard, with caryatids (no. 41), atalantes (no. 42) and a bas-relief depicting a horse-drawn chariot (no. 45).

(10) At the end of the street, cross Avenue Mozart and a small square (metro station), then turn left onto Rue Jasmin. On the right-hand side , note another building by Jean Boussard, dating from 1916, with female sculptures on the^first-floor balconies. At the crossroads, go straight ahead. At the end, turn left down Rue Raffet. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead into Rue de la Mission Marchand, then turn left into Rue du Capitaine Olchanski. At the end, you will come to Avenue Mozart again. Turn right and follow it.

Go around the crossroads on the left and take the^second exit, Rue Pierre Guérin. Cross Rue Leconte de Lisle on the left (at no. 33, porch with caryatid and atalante) and continue straight ahead.

(11) At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue d'Auteuil. Pass the Hôtel de Verrières, dating from 1715, on your left and a small triangular square on your right. Cross Rue Michel-Ange on your left and then Rue Isabey on your right. Take the next right, Rue Géricault. At the end, follow Rue Poussin to the left. At the traffic lights, turn left and, after a few dozen metres, turn right to cross the avenue and reach the Porte d'Auteuil metro station (E).

To return home:
- Metro - Line 10. N.B. At this station, all trains go in the direction of Boulogne. To return to central Paris, towards Gare d'Austerlitz, get off at the^first station, Boulogne-Jean Jaurès, and take a train in the opposite direction from the same platform.
- Bus - Lines PC1, 32, 52, 123. Cross Boulevard Exelmans and Boulevard Murat to reach the bus station.

Good sports shoes are sufficient for this urban route.

Numerous bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

Public garden opening hours:
Square Cambronne
- Opening hours: 9:30 a.m. on weekdays; 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. depending on the season (see detailed opening hours).
Franck Bauer Garden
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. on weekdays; 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: not specified.
Jardin Mémorial des Enfants du Vél' d'hiv'
- Opening hours: 9:00 a.m.
- Closing time: 6:00 p.m. in winter; 7:00 p.m. in summer.

Useful detailed map (at least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 14 December 2022.

The main places and notable buildings are mentioned in the description itself, without any claim to exhaustiveness.

Visiting churches:
- Visits are free during the day, but please refrain from visiting during services.

Opening days and times of other places to visit:
Sainte Chapelle: October to March, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; April to September, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Musée Eugène Delacroix: Wednesday to Monday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; booking recommended.
Closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.
Eiffel Tower (off the route, following Quai Branly to the right before Pont de Bir-Hakeim): booking recommended; see prices and opening hours.