From the Pont de Neuilly to the Champs-Élysées

Starting point and access: Pont de Neuilly.
- Metro – Line 1. Take Exit 2 onto Avenue de Madrid.
- Bus – Lines 43, 73, 93, 157, 158, 174, 176.

(S) Upon exiting the metro station, head straight ahead and walk past the bus station on your right. At the pedestrian crossing, turn right and walk up the esplanade to a water feature with fountains (view of the towers of La Défense).

Retrace your steps. At the pedestrian crossing, turn right, cross the southern branch of Avenue Charles de Gaulle and follow it to the left. Take the^first right onto Rue de Longchamp. At the fork in the road immediately ahead, keep right on the same street, which is lined with shrubs. At the next junction, turn left onto Rue du Général Henrion Berthier.

(1) At the end of the street, turn right onto Avenue de Madrid. Opposite No. 34, turn right into Parc de la Folie Saint-James.

Walk alongside a pond on your right and, at the corner of a building with pink render, turn left. Pass by a relief map of the park and, at the junction of the paths, turn right. Go down a few steps and walk past a pond with a man-made grotto and a small temple.

Then turn right, cross a gravel path and continue along a concrete path. At a fork in the road, turn left and go under a bridge. At the junction, turn right and, at the next junction immediately after, carry on straight ahead, leaving a bed of small pseudo-menhirs on your right. Zigzag along the path and, at a T-junction, turn right. After a few metres, turn left at the corner of the pink-plastered building and leave the park.

Turn left and retrace your steps along Avenue de Madrid.

(1) At the traffic lights, cross the avenue to the right, then Rue Pierret to the left, and continue along Avenue de Madrid on the right-hand pavement. At the roundabout, cross the southern arm of Avenue Charles de Gaulle. On the central reservation, turn right and walk round a pond featuring a statue of Sisyphus and his boulder.

(2) At the foot of a bust of Eça de Queirós, turn left, cross the northern branch of Avenue Charles de Gaulle and continue along Rue de l’Église. Cross Rue des Poissonniers and, at the next junction, first turn left then right onto Rue Chartran. This street soon turns left. At the end, turn right onto Rue du Château. At the traffic lights, carry on straight ahead onto Boulevard du Château.

(3) At the roundabout, turn right onto Boulevard d’Argenson. Stay on the right-hand pavement of the boulevard and walk past, in turn, the Pavillon Wurtemberg (information board), the apse of the Church of the Institution Saint-Dominique, Square Jean Mermoz and the rear of the town hall, Saint-Pierre Church and Square Jeanne d’Arc.

(4) Cross Place Winston Churchill and walk past the foot of the monument honouring the police. Continue along Avenue du Roule and follow the left-hand pavement. Walk past the Théâtre des Sablons (information board). At the end of the avenue, cross Rue Gustave Charpentier, take the bridge over the ring road, walk past the Notre-Dame de la Compassion Chapel on your left and emerge onto Place du Général Koenig.

(5) Then turn right to cross Boulevard Pershing. Pass the Palais des Congrès de la Porte Maillot on your right and head towards Place des Ternes. Cross Boulevard Gouvion-Saint-Cyr and continue along Avenue des Ternes. Cross Rue Bélidor, then take the first right onto Rue Waldeck-Rousseau.

At the end of the street, cross Boulevard Péreire Nord and first turn right then left to enter Promenade Péreire (through the gate). Then turn left and pass under an arbour. After passing through a second gate, near a kiosk, turn right, cross Boulevard Péreire Sud and head straight on into Rue Brunel. Then take the^first left, Rue Labie, then right onto Avenue des Ternes. At a small triangular square, veer right to reach the forecourt of Saint-Ferdinand Church.

(6) Cross Rue d’Armaillé to the left, then follow Avenue des Ternes to the right once more. After the entrance to an underground car park, near No. 55, turn right under a portico and take Passage Doisy. After a left-hand bend and a right-hand bend, turn left into Rue d’Armaillé. At the end, continue straight ahead and walk up Avenue Carnot on the right-hand pavement, with the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile in your line of sight.

Just before the roundabout, turn right into Rue de Tilsitt. After a few metres, turn left onto Avenue de la Grande Armée. At the edge of the roundabout, go down a flight of steps and take the pedestrian underpass leading to the Arc de Triomphe.

(7) Climb the second flight of steps on the right and follow the queue on the right (the one on the left is reserved for the paid ascent to the top of the monument). Walk around the Arc de Triomphe in either direction, feeling free to pass under the arches where access is permitted. Finally, go down the exit staircase opposite the one you used to go up.

(7) At the bottom, turn right towards the Champs-Élysées. At the end of the underpass, climb a flight of stairs and emerge onto the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Walk along the left-hand pavement of the avenue, crossing the Rue de Tilsitt again and then the Rue Arsène Houssaye. Take the next left onto the Rue Balzac. At the junction, turn right onto Rue Lord Byron, then continue right onto Rue Chateaubriand. At the end, turn right onto Rue Washington.

At number 14, turn left into the Galerie Berri-Washington. Go down the escalator and continue straight ahead. Exit onto Rue de Berri and follow it to the right. At the end, rejoin the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and follow it to the left. Cross Rue du Colisée and, as you approach the Rond-point des Champs-Élysées, cross the avenue to the right to reach the Franklin-Roosevelt metro station (E).

To get back home:
- Metro – Lines 1 and 9.

Trainers are sufficient for this route, which is entirely on tarmac or concrete paths. The time given is walking time, which does not include the numerous breaks you may take or any sightseeing.

There are plenty of bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

Access to public areas:
- Parc de la Folie Saint-James – Opens: 10.00. Closes: 17.00 or 18.00 in winter; 19.00 in summer.
- Promenade Péreire - Opens: 8.00 am on weekdays; 9.00 am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
Closed from 5.45 pm until 9.30 pm depending on the season. Please check the exact opening times.
- Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile – Except during official ceremonies (11 November, 8 May, etc.), access to the foot of the monument is free. There is an admission charge to climb to the top: check opening times and prices. N.B. Due to anti-terrorism measures, bags and pockets are subject to checks: avoid carrying items such as penknives, scissors, etc.
- Champs-Élysées pedestrianisation - On the first Sunday of every month, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is closed to motor traffic: check the exact times. Here too, expect a security check at the entrance. As good things never come alone, on that day, access via the stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe is free. Two good reasons to take this walk on the first Sunday of the month.

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

Walk undertaken by the author on 3 December 2017.

In Neuilly, from (S) to (5):
- All along the route, tall blocks of flats, mansions, detached houses, etc.
- Esplanade Avenue Charles de Gaulle, shortly after (S), with a lovely view of the towers of La Défense.
- Parc de la Folie Saint-James, shortly after (1): ponds, a grotto, antique-style decorations, some fine trees and beautiful flowerbeds...
- Statue of Sisyphus rolling his boulder uphill, before (2).
- The Wurtemberg Pavilion (late 18th century), on Boulevard d’Argenson, further on (3).
- Saint-Pierre Church (late 19th century), from the front (4).
- Théâtre des Sablons, Avenue du Roule.

In Paris, from (5) to (E):
- Notre-Dame de Compassion Chapel (mid-19th century) (5).
- Promenade Péreire, above the former Petite Ceinture railway line.
- Saint-Ferdinand Church (mid-19th century) (6).
- Passage Doisy.
- At 32 Rue de Tilsitt, the building where Jean Rochefort appears in a dressing gown on a ledge in the film *Un éléphant ça trompe énormément*.
- Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile (7).
- Avenue des Champs-Élysées, further on (7). In my view, the title of ‘themost beautiful avenue in the world’ is undeserved… But it is still the Champs-Élysées…
- The façade of the Hôtel Chateaubriand, on the street of the same name.
- Champs-Élysées roundabout (E).