From Île de la Cité to Porte de Clignancourt

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 see are indicated in italics in the body of 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. Follow Boulevard du Palais to the right. At the end (Tour de l'Horloge on the left), cross Quai de la Corse and cross the Seine on the Pont au Change.

(1) At the end of the bridge, first turn right then left to cross the Quai de Gesvres at the pedestrian crossing, then walk along the Place du Chatelet (central column) on your left. Cross Avenue Victoria and turn right into Square de la Tour Saint-Jacques. Turn left and then right towards the tower. Go around the tower on the right, note the statue of Blaise Pascal at the top of the east staircase and continue to the foot of the tower until you reach a plaque commemorating the Parisian starting point of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

(2) Then turn right and leave the square. Cross Rue de Rivoli at the pedestrian crossing, continue opposite on Rue Nicolas Flamet and cross Rue Pernelle. At the T-junction, turn right onto Rue des Lombards. At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue Saint-Martin and walk past the Church of Saint-Méri. At the corner, turn right onto Rue du Cloitre Saint-Méri. Before the end of the church, turn left and cross Place Igor Stravinsky, walking alongside a pond decorated with sculptures by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint-Phalle dating from 1983 (pond dry and empty of sculptures in December 2022).

At the end, at the corner of the Centre Georges Pompidou, turn left and cross the square. Then turn right into Rue Quinquampoix (17th-century buildings at nos. 36 and 38). Take the^first right, Rue de Venise. At the end (old fountain on the right), turn left. Take the^first left, Rue Rambuteau. At the next crossroads, rejoin Rue Quincampoix and follow it to the right. At No. 83, turn right into Passage Molière (colourful shops). At the end, follow Rue Saint-Martin to the left.

(3) At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue aux Ours. Cross Rue Quincampoix on the left-hand side. Then cross Boulevard Sébastopol and follow it to the left. Take the^first right, Rue du Cygne. At the next intersection (sign with a swan opposite), turn left and pass in front of the entrance to the Church of Saint-Leu and Saint-Gilles. Take the^first right, Rue de la Grande Truanderie. At the next intersection, turn right onto Rue Pierre Lescot. Cross Rue du Cygne and continue straight ahead. At the crossroads, turn left, cross Rue de Turbigot and continue along Rue Étienne Marcel. Note the Tour Jean-Sans-Peur (15th century) on the opposite pavement.

At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue Française, then immediately right onto Rue Mauconseil. At the end, turn right onto Rue Montorgueil (note the snail-shaped sign on the right-hand side). Cross Rue Étienne Marcel and continue straight ahead along Rue Montorgueil (note the historic restaurants at numbers 73 and 78). Cross Rue Saint-Sauveur on the right-hand side and continue along Rue des Petits Carreaux (note the sign at number 10, reminiscent of colonial times). At the traffic lights, cross Rue Réaumur.

(4) Follow Rue Réaumur to the left and cross Rue d'Aboukir and Rue de Cléry. Then follow Rue du Sentier to the right. Take the^second left, Rue du Croissant (a few mansions). At the end, turn right and note the plaque commemorating the assassination of Jean Jaurès on 31 July 1914 on the corner. Follow Rue Montmartre and cross Rue des Jeûneurs on the right, then Rue d'Uzès. Cross Boulevard Poissonnière and continue straight on into Rue du Faubourg Montmartre.

After No. 6, turn right under a porch that leads to Cité Bergère. Note several hotels with Art Nouveau gates. Turn left with the alley and pass under another porch. Cross Rue Bergère and follow Rue de Trévise opposite (the scars of the accidental explosion in January 2019 are still visible four years later). At the next crossroads, turn left into Rue de Montyon. At the end (bas-relief depicting the Annunciation on the opposite wall), take the^second right, Rue du Faubourg Montmartre. At the next crossroads (historic grocery store on the left), cross Rue Richer.

(5) Immediately turn right onto Rue Cadet (pedestrianised). Cross Rue Lafayette and continue along Rue Cadet. Cross Rue Lamartine on the left-hand side and continue straight ahead along Rue Marguerite de Rochechouart. Take the^first left, Passage Briare, and walk along this narrow lane. At the end, cross Rue de Maubeuge, follow Rue Choron for a few dozen metres and turn right onto Rue Rodier. Walk up the hill and note the façade decorated with busts at No. 18. Take the^first left, Rue de l'Agent Bailly.

At the end, turn right and, at the fork that immediately appears, turn left into Cité Charles Godon. Go up and, at the end, go down to the left onto Rue Louise-Émilie de La Tour d'Auvergne. Come out onto Rue des Martyrs and follow it to the right and uphill. Cross Rue Condorcet, Place Lino Ventura and Avenue Trudaine in succession. Then take the^first right, Rue Jean-Baptiste Say. Note the ornate gate at No. 10. At the end of the street, turn left onto Rue Bochard de Saron.

(6) Cross Boulevard de Rochechouart in two stages and follow Rue Dancourt opposite, going uphill. Walk along Place Charles Dulin (theatre) on your right and continue along Rue des Trois Frères. At the crossroads, take^{the second} right, Rue Chappe. At No. 16, note a building with balcony verandas. Climb a staircase, which is simply a continuation of Rue Chappe. Cross Rue Gabrielle and climb another staircase. At the top, first turn right then left to climb another staircase, Rue Foyatier. At the top, turn right and head for the esplanade at the foot of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica (extensive view of Paris).

(7) Retrace your steps, turn right onto Rue du Cardinal Guibert and walk between the Church of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre (12th-15th centuries) on your left and the Sacré-Coeur on your right. At the corner, turn left onto Rue du Chevalier de la Barre. At the end, turn right onto Rue du Mont Cenis and walk past the Château d'Eau de Montmartre.

Continue straight ahead and go down a staircase, still on Rue du Mont Cenis. At the bottom, on the façade of No. 22, note the sea animal motifs. Cross Rue Saint-Vincent and go down a staircase. At the bottom, turn left onto Rue Paul Féval. Take the^first right, Rue de l'Abbé Patureau, which begins with a staircase leading down. Cross Rue Lamarck and go down another staircase.

(8) At the bottom, turn left onto Rue Caulaincourt, then take the^first right onto Rue Nobel (please note that there is no pedestrian crossing here). Go down another staircase and continue along the street. At the end, first turn left then right onto Rue Jules Jouy. At the end (former film studios opposite), turn left, go down a staircase and follow Rue Cyrano de Bergerac.

At the bottom, first turn right then left onto Rue de Trétaigne. At no. 7, note the building dating from 1904, which was originally a Habitation Bon Marché (HBM, the predecessor of social housing). Then cross Rue Duc. At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue Ordener. At the traffic lights, turn right, cross the street and continue along Rue Duhesme. Cross Rue du Poteau and then Place Charles Bernard. Immediately turn left onto Rue Letort and continue straight ahead at the next junction.

(9) At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue Championnet and immediately turn right onto Passage Pénel. At the end (opposite a brick school complex), turn right and walk past the entrance to Sainte-Hélène Church. At the corner, turn right onto Rue Esclangon. At the end, you will come back to Rue Letort. Turn left and follow the street. After about 20 metres, you can make a round trip, turning left into Impasse Sainte-Henriette and right into Impasse Saint-François. Continue along Rue Letort and, at the end, you will find the Porte de Clignancourt metro station on your right (E).

To return home:
- Metro - Line 4.
- Tram - Lines T3b (cross Boulevard Ney).
- Bus - Lines 56, 85, 137, 166, 255, 341.

Good trainers are sufficient for this urban route.

There are numerous bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

Square de la Tour Saint-Jacques opening hours:
- Opening hours: 8:00 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).

Warning:
From Île de la Cité (S) to the descent from Montmartre, after (7), the route is generally very busy. Those with agoraphobia may wish to avoid this walk on Saturdays.

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

Hike completed by the author on 10 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 hours for 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.
Centre Georges Pompidou: every day except Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.