From La Seine Musicale to the French Playing Card Museum

Departure from the Indigo car park on Cours de l'Île Seguin (at the foot of the Pont Renault bridge).
P Indigo – Cours de l'Île Seguin (at the foot of the Pont Renault bridge)
53 cours de l'Île Seguin, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt

(S) From the car park, go onto the bridge, then cross the Seine to pass in front of the Seine Musicale and reach the southern footbridge of Île Seguin.

(1) Keep left on the towpath, then right to pass the tram before keeping left. Continue straight ahead on the cycle path to the left of Rue Troyon until you reach Place de la Résistance.

(2) Continue straight ahead on the cycle path along Quai de la Bataille de Stalingrad. Cross a road on the right, then cross it again on the left to reach the Ponts de Billancourt. Keep going and take the cycle path on the other side. Continue to Place de l'Europe.

(3) Then turn left onto Place du Parc de l'Europe and cross the footbridge.

(4) Immediately afterwards, turn right to reach the Tour aux Figures.

(5) Once in front of the tower, leave the Île de Saint-Germain park and head towards the Mare aux Grenouilles.

(6) Continue straight ahead to Pont d'Issy-les-Moulineaux.

(7) Turn right and continue on the D50 until you reach the roundabout. Then follow Boulevard des Frères Voisin, taking the third exit. Continue on this boulevard until you reach Rue Horace Vernet (second on the right).

(8) Follow it to the right and then, at the end, turn right onto Rue du Général Leclerc. On the right, pass by the Issy-les-Moulineaux Tourist Office and then take the second left onto Rue Auguste Gervais to arrive at the Playing Card Museum (E).

To return to the starting point, we recommend parking your car atthe Indigo Issy les Moulineaux car park, Hôtel de ville, 60 Rue du Général Leclerc (92130, Issy-les-Moulineaux (the car park is 200 metres from the museum). Walk down Rue Diderot and turn right onto Rue du Général Leclerc.

You will find toilets at La Seine Musicale, La Tour aux Figures and the Playing Card Museum.

Near the Playing Card Museum is the Issy les Moulineaux Tourist Office, with toilets next door. As an ACCUEIL VÉLO-certified establishment, the staff will be able to answer all your questions.

At the start of the route, discover La Seine Musicale.

La Seine Musicale: a major cultural and artistic venue on Île Seguin

Located at the downstream tip of Île Seguin, in Boulogne-Billancourt, La Seine Musicale is an international cultural centre that opened in 2017. Designed by architects Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines, this innovative structure is part of an architectural, ecological and artistic approach. In addition to its musical and theatrical vocation, La Seine Musicale also stands out as an open-air art trail, punctuated by monumental sculptures.

Art plays a central role at La Seine Musicale. Several major sculptures line the building's surroundings, enriching the cultural experience of visitors. Among the works on permanent display are:

Le Pouce (The Thumb) – César Baldaccini

This famous enlarged thumb is one of César's most iconic works, representing both humanity and the power of creative expression.

La Défense – Auguste Rodin

A bronze sculpture representing an allegorical figure. Less well known than The Thinker, it nevertheless expresses great dramatic and historical force.

Agali – Jean-Bernard Métais

This cubic steel work invites a sensory experience: you can enter it, listen to sounds, and observe the play of light. Métais often works on the relationship between time, space, and perception.

Ether – Kohei Nawa

This twenty-five-metre-high column materialises the inverted and suspended fall of a series of water droplets, a way of addressing the equality of all beings and all things in the face of the principle of gravity.

These sculptures interact with the architecture of the site, the surrounding nature and the water of the Seine, creating a unique atmosphere where music, art and the environment come together.

The Tower of Figures: A labyrinth of shapes and colours by Dubuffet

The Tower of Figures is part of the Hourloupe cycle, an imaginary world invented by Jean Dubuffet, which originated in ballpoint pen drawings scribbled on a sheet of paper in 1962. From these hatches and flat areas of red, blue, white and black cut out and placed on a black background, works of art are born.

Standing 24 metres tall, the Tower of Figures was created based on a model designed by the artist in 1967. Its reinforced concrete frame is covered with a shell made up of 90 panels moulded in epoxy resin. On its polychrome "skin", lines intertwine to give rise to bodies and faces, "human and non-human" figures. On the south side, the figure of a woman appears in full length, while on the north side, two heads overlap. Elsewhere, the shapes compose other figures, uncertain and fleeting, which appear and disappear depending on the viewer's gaze, thus highlighting the illusory nature of the world we believe to be real.

The internal structure can be visited. It is a long climb that opens up in places into small, more or less flat esplanades. This second work, entitled Gastrovolve by the artist, evokes rotation and the visceral intimacy of an organism. Visitors are invited to experience an astonishing interior labyrinth: its walls, painted with black lines on a white background, are revealed in fragments. Visitors walk on the painted floor, climbing or descending a few steps, without ever seeing the whole. For the artist, Gastrovolve encourages the solitary walker to daydream and allows visitors to enter the images.

In this building, the 117-metre climb evokes a mountain walk, interrupted by landings and ramps that wind their way up to a high room at the top.

The French Playing Card Museum: A journey into the world of cards and the imagination

Located in Issy-les-Moulineaux, this is a unique place in France dedicated to the fascinating world of playing cards. Opened in 1997, it traces the history, art and manufacture of cards from^{the 15th} century to the present day. Its rich collection of more than 11,000 card games, engravings, matrices and objects related to the graphic arts makes it a world reference centre. The museum also explores the symbolic, playful, political and artistic aspects of these everyday objects. Housed in a contemporary building integrated into the former Arnauld mansion, it offers an immersive and interactive experience. Visitors can also discover the history of the town of Issy, its links with aviation and modern artists. The museum regularly hosts temporary exhibitions, workshops and cultural events. It is aimed at all audiences, from graphic art enthusiasts to the simply curious. Classified as a Musée de France, it is a real cultural gem on the outskirts of Paris.