From Port de Javel to Pont de Saint-Cloud

Starting point and access: Javel station.
- Metro – Line 10. Take Exit 1, Quai André Citroën. Upon exiting the metro station, go straight ahead, cross Quai André Citroën and turn left, walking alongside the station.
- RER – Line C. Take the Pont Mirabeau exit: at the front of the train when travelling towards Versailles/Saint-Quentin, and at the rear of the train when travelling towards Paris-Austerlitz.

Red and white markings

(S) At the traffic lights, cross the road leading from the bridge and continue straight ahead along Quai André Citroën, keeping to the right of the railway line below. When the road bends to the left, carry on straight ahead and enter Parc André Citroën. Continue straight along a cobbled path, keeping the clumps of bamboo on your left. Ignore a path branching off to the left and head down to the start of a flight of steps on the left-hand side.

No signposting

(1) Carry on straight ahead and go through a stone gate. Then turn right and then left, pass under the railway bridge and go through a metal gate to leave the park. Head to the banks of the Seine for a viewpoint. Retrace your steps back to the start of the flight of steps.

Red and white markings

(1) Climb the steps (on the right as you return from the Seine). At the top, at a junction (with a fountain offering still and sparkling water on the left), go straight on along a gravel path. Note the small themed gardens on the left. At the junction with a paved path, turn right and walk down a slope. On your right, walk alongside a pond bordering a large lawn. Note the two large greenhouses on the left. At a sort of crossroads, cross a wider path and turn left between two low walls.

Leave Parc André Citroën and immediately enter the Jardin Eugénie Djendi. Continue straight on to the paved area where the memorial to soldiers killed on overseas missions is located (Jardin Noir on the map). Carry on straight ahead and leave the garden by passing under some white metal balconies. You’ll emerge onto Rue Saint-Charles; follow it to the right. At the end, turn left into Rue Leblanc and you’ll soon reach Place Balard.

(2) Go round the square on the right and pass under the bridge of the former Petite Ceinture railway line. Then cross Boulevard Victor and the tram tracks (pedestrian crossing set back to the right). Continue along Avenue de la Porte de Sèvres and pass under a footbridge connecting two buildings belonging to the Ministry of Defence.

Cross an access ramp to the Boulevard Périphérique at the traffic lights and pass under it. On the other side, go round a large junction on the right: cross, in turn, an exit ramp from the Périphérique, the tram tracks (a memorial stone on the right) and Rue Henry Farman. Then turn left.

(3) At No. 2, turn right into Parc Suzanne Lenglen. After about 50 metres, turn right onto a tarmac path towards the urban farm. After about 200 metres, turn left onto a concrete path and walk alongside a wire fence on your left.

When you reach a football pitch, take a small dirt track that climbs a hill. Pass a piece of outdoor fitness equipment and head back down. At the bottom, take the^second right onto a tree-lined dirt track that climbs another hill. Pass a fitness station and walk alongside a railing on your left. At the corner of a football pitch on your right, carry straight on, go downhill and cross a tarmac path.

You’ll come out onto a wider tarmac path; follow it to the right. After about 150 m, at a fork in the road, turn right.

N.B. Between points (4) and (5), not all paths are shown on the OSM map (though they do appear on the IGN map when zoomed in closely) and the signposting is interrupted in places.

(4) Cross a tarmac track and look for the start of a tarmac path (bench), slightly to the right. Follow this path and keep left at the various junctions. Turn left to climb a series of widely spaced steps. You’ll come out onto a high roundabout; go round it on the right.

At the next fork in the road, go down a flight of steps on the right. At the three-way junction that appears immediately, turn left and go down another flight of steps. At the three-way junction, turn right and walk past a school on your left. At the next junction, turn right. Shortly after a small building on the right-hand side, turn left and then go down a flight of steps.

(5) Go through a gate to leave the park and cross a boulevard (take care – there are no pedestrian crossings here or in the immediate vicinity). On the other side, follow the boulevard to the left. Take the^first right, Rue Maurice Mallet. When the street bends to the right, turn left onto the Esplanade de Séoul/Guro.

Then enter Square Louis Blériot. Cross the square either straight ahead (signposted) or via the side path on the left (marked on the map). Take the exit on the left and follow Rue Gaston et René Caudron. At the end, turn right. At the traffic lights, cross Rue Camille Desmoulins to reach the foot of Issy-Val-de-Seine station.

Red and white + yellow markings

(6) Then turn left to cross Rue Rouget de Lisle. Follow the street to the right, passing successively under the RER railway bridge, the tramway bridge and a metal footbridge. Then cross the platform in two stages and take the bridge over a branch of the Seine. Halfway across the bridge, turn left into the Parc de l’Île Saint-Germain.

Facing a small pond, take the path on the left. At the start of a gentle bend to the left, go down a flight of steps on the left. Walk alongside a wire fence on your left and keep as close to the Seine as possible. Climb a flight of steps and, at the top, turn left, leaving a children’s playground on your right. Go down a flight of steps.

No signposts

At the bottom, cross a tarmac path and take a dirt track opposite. Pass a sculpture shaped like a tree trunk. Join a gravel path and follow it straight on. Walk alongside a first, circular riding arena, then a second, rectangular one. At the end of the latter, turn left to immediately join a tarmac path.

Red and white + yellow markings

Follow the path to the right. Pass a water point, then a metal gate, and arrive at a junction with a pedestrian crossing.

No markings

(7) Then turn left, leave the park and cross the metal bridge over the branch of the Seine. As you come off the bridge, turn left. After about twenty metres, go down a flight of steps on the left and join the towpath (wooden walkway).

Follow the towpath to the left, keeping the Seine on your right. Pass under the metal bridge and continue along the towpath, which becomes tarmacked. Note the numerous houseboats moored here. Enter a covered passageway with, on the left-hand side, a wall decorated with murals on the theme of the Seine. As you emerge from the covered passageway, climb a flight of steps on the left. At the top, turn right.

Red and white + yellow markings

Cross at the traffic lights at the end of the bridge and continue straight ahead. Take a footpath that runs alongside the Quai de la Bataille de Stalingrad. A little further on, the path veers away from the road.

No markings

Then go down a flight of steps on the right and rejoin the towpath, which is a wooden pontoon. Follow the towpath to the left and walk alongside the Seine on your right-hand side once more. The wooden pontoon soon gives way to a concrete path. Go round the grey building of the Vaugirard river landing stage on the right and walk alongside the D7 road for a few dozen metres.

When you reach a sign indicating the footpaths and cycle paths, turn right and rejoin the towpath, which soon winds its way through the vegetation. You’ll reach the Brimborion tram stop, situated on the left beyond the quay.

(8) Continue along the towpath and note, on your right, the downstream tip of Île Saint-Germain and the upstream tip of Île Seguin. Carry on along a wide concrete path running alongside the river and pass at the foot of the piers of the bridge (now demolished) which linked the Renault factory to the left bank of the Seine.

Yellow markings

Continue along the towpath towards the Musée de Sèvres. Pass under the metal footbridge leading to Île Seguin and continue along the towpath. Note, on your right and through the branches, the spherical silhouette of the Seine Musicale. Leave the buildings of the Port de Sèvres on your right. Then pass under the Pont de Sèvres and you will immediately reach the Musée de Sèvres tram stop, at the foot of the old railway station.

(9) Continue straight ahead along the towpath. Pass between the facilities of a water sports centre, with buildings on the left and mooring jetties on the right. At a fork in the road (marked by a small conical stone structure), turn right and follow the towpath as close as possible to the river (where barges are moored).

After about 250 m, pass the first flight of steps with metal handrails on your left. Climb the next flight of steps on the left, which leads to the edge of a car park. Then turn left onto a wide gravel path. At the junction (fire hydrant), turn right. Cross the tram tracks and then the D7 road in two stages (observe the traffic lights carefully).

(10) On the other side, go through a gate and enter Saint-Cloud Park. Walk straight ahead across a lawn and along a path. At the next junction, take the^second path on the right (at an angle). Walk past a monumental sculpture. Then go round the Grande Waterfall pond on the right. Continue straight ahead along a very wide gravel path. Go through a gate and leave the Parc de Saint-Cloud.

Pass under a road bridge, then climb a large flight of steps. At the top, turn right and cross the quay in several stages. Follow the quay to the left.

(11) Take the Pont de Saint-Cloud to cross the Seine. Then cross the quay in several stages. Follow the Avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny as far as the Boulogne-Pont de Saint-Cloud metro station (E).

To get back home:
- Metro – Line 10, towards central Paris and Austerlitz station.
- Tram – Line T2. At point (11), do not take the bridge; instead, turn left and cross the various tracks in stages (be very careful and obey the traffic lights). Pass under the A13 motorway bridge, walk past the bus stops and head for Parc de Saint-Cloud station.

A good pair of trainers is sufficient for this urban route.

Drinking fountains and public toilets are available in some gardens, marked on the OSM base map. Bars, restaurants and shops can be found along the route, except on the towpath itself.

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

Opening hours of public spaces:
André Citroën Park and Eugénie Djendi Garden:
- Opening: 8.00 am on weekdays; 9.00 am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing times: 5.45 pm to 9.30 pm depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Suzanne Lenglen Park: 24 hours a day.
Square Louis Blériot: no information available. If closed, walk round the square on the left.
Saint-Cloud Park:
- Opening: 7.30 am.
- Closing time: November–February, 8.00 pm; March–April and September–October, 9.00 pm; May–August, 10.00 pm.
N.B. Between 10 August and 5 September, access is restricted due to preparations for and the running of the “Rock en Seine” music festival.

Hike undertaken by the author on 9 June 2020.

From Javel station (S) to Issy-Val de Seine station (6):
- André Citroën Park (1), with its greenhouses and themed gardens.
- War memorial to those who died in overseas operations.
- Bridge of the former Petite Ceinture line (2).

From Issy-Val de Seine station (6) to the metal bridge over the Seine (7):
- Parc de l’Ile Saint-Germain.
- Tour aux Figures, a monumental, colourful sculpture erected in 1988.

From the metal bridge over the Seine (7) to Parc de Saint-Cloud (10):
- A pleasant stroll along the towpath.
- Numerous houseboats moored along the river.
- A mural on the theme of the Seine.
- Île Seguin, where one of the Renault factories operated until 1992.
- La Seine Musicale, a building constructed in 2017, whose main feature is a sphere covered in solar panels.

From Saint-Cloud Park (10) to Boulogne-Pont de Saint-Cloud metro station:
- The pediment of the Palais de l’Industrie (a monumental sculpture).
- The Grand Waterfall.