Following the Bièvre from Igny to the Porte d'Italie

Starting point and access: Igny station.
- RER - Line C, on the section between Versailles-Chantiers and Massy-Palaiseau.
Leave the station on the side of the platform for trains arriving from Versailles-Chantiers (if arriving from Massy-Palaiseau, use the underpass).

Yellow markings

(S) With your back to the station, turn left to pass the exit of the underpass and immediately turn right onto a path (forest gate). Descend gently to the Bièvre where you join the^GR®11.

Red and white + yellow markings

Turn right, cross the first branch of the Bièvre via a wooden bridge and follow the second branch of the Bièvre on your left along a hard-packed track.

Red and white markings

(1) At the stone bridge on the left, continue straight on, still following the left branch of the Bièvre and skirting the Verrières golf course on your right. Move away from the river when the path turns right. Turn left again, then right with the path. Cross the right branch of the Bièvre and, at the T-junction that follows, turn left.

Then cross Rue de Paris and enter Verrières-le-Buisson (signposted). Cross the right branch of the Bièvre again and leave the D60 road by turning left into a wooded park. Follow a curve to the left and cross the left branch of the Bièvre. Immediately afterwards, cross a slip road leading to the D60 and continue along the river on your right. Take a wooden bridge to cross the river and continue along it on your left, with the D60 some distance away on your right. Reach the old Moulin du Gras (a large building with an octagonal turret).

(2) First turn right then left and walk for about 1 km between the Bièvre (on your left), a cycle path and the D60 road (on your right).

(3) At an information sign about the river, the Bièvre briefly goes underground. Continue along the road. At the next junction, on the boundary between the towns of Verrières-le-Buisson and Massy, cross Avenue Gabriel Péri and continue in the same direction (the arrow pointing left indicates the upcoming junction). After a few metres, turn left onto the Sentier de la Bicorne (signposted) and rejoin the Bièvre. Continue between the Bièvre and a car park at the foot of some blocks of flats. At the end, cross Avenue Estienne d’Orves, follow it to the right and enter Massy.

(4) Start to go round the 9 March 1962 roundabout on the left and immediately turn left onto a tarmac path (signposted “Coulée Verte”). Leave the road and walk along the foot of the TGV embankment (on your right). At the end of the path, you’ll find the Bièvre on your left. Ignore the arrow pointing left (there are two^{GR® signs} here), cross Rue du Pont de Pierre and turn right to go under the TGV line bridge on the left-hand pavement.

At the roundabout, veer left then cross the road to join the Voie Verte opposite (signposted). Immediately, at the T-junction with another path, turn left towards Antony (signposted). Follow the Bassin de la Bièvre Nature Reserve (fence on your left) and ignore all turn-offs to the right.

At the end of the path (football stadium opposite), turn right onto Rue Georges Suant without crossing it. Just before the footbridge, climb up the embankment on the right (sign on a fence post). At the top, turn sharply left onto the footbridge and cross the road. On the descent, rejoin the Greenway and follow it to the left, passing another football stadium on your left.

Yellow markings

(5) Enter Parc Heller and, immediately, go down the steps on the left. Continue along a path, keeping the Etang d’Or on your right. Cross the stream feeding the lake via a small concrete footbridge. Then turn left to cross the Bièvre via a wooden bridge. At the end of the bridge, opposite a horse training ground, turn right onto a concrete path and follow the Bièvre (on your right).

When the path crosses over the river, leave it immediately and turn left onto the path that runs alongside the Bièvre again as closely as possible (on your left). Just before the open stretch of the Bièvre ends, turn right at the foot of two large plane trees. Then follow a path to the left which crosses a channelled stream coming from a fountain on the left. Turn right, ignore a yellow marker that seems to suggest turning left, and pass between Saran Castle (on your left) and a pond (on your right).

Red and white markings

(6) Opposite a fountain, turn left and, at the ‘Patrimoine Naturel’ information sign, turn right and leave Parc Heller. Turn left immediately and, at the crossroads, cross Rue Prosper Legouté and then Rue des Prairies. Then turn left into Rue de l’Abreuvoir. Continue along this street, ignoring all side streets.

At the end, cross the perpendicular street and go under the railway bridge. Continue straight ahead for just over 50 metres, until you reach Place des Anciens Combattants d'Afrique du Nord.
N.B. Previously, the^GR® took the Passage de la Bièvre immediately to the left upon exiting the small tunnel, but this passage is now closed: you can see a marker on the left and there is no (yet) signposting upon reaching the square.
In any case, turn left into Rue Céline. After about 50 metres, turn right into Rue Madeleine. At the junction, cross Avenue Gabriel Péri and follow it to the right, staying on the left-hand pavement.

(7) At the traffic lights, cross Avenue de la Division Leclerc. Head straight ahead, veering slightly left into a square. Turn right and exit the square, then turn left into Avenue du 11 Novembre. Then turn left into Rue des Iris. Ignore a street on the right, cross Rue Jean Moulin, then turn right into Rue Arthur Blanchet.

Opposite No. 4, turn left onto a path and enter Square Marc Sangnier. Turn right as soon as possible, leaving a playground on your left, and at a fork in the path, follow the middle path (ignore a signpost a little further on to the right). Leave the square and turn left onto Rue Jean Moulin. After the sign marking the entrance to Fresnes, turn left onto Rue du Capricorne. At the fork, turn right onto Rue Louis. At the end of this street, turn right onto Rue Yvon.

(8) Turn left onto Boulevard Pasteur. Walk past some blocks of flats and then an area with shops on the left-hand pavement. Opposite No. 65 and before a bus shelter, turn left into a tiny square where a large poplar tree stands. As you leave, turn left into Rue du Docteur Emile Roux. After a few metres, turn right into Allée Mansart (the ‘Private Property’ sign applies only to motor vehicles). Follow this lane and walk past a school on your left.

At a small roundabout, continue straight ahead, passing between a block of flats on your left and a small square on your right. At the corner of the block, go up the ramp on your left to the footbridge. At the top, turn right, take the footbridge spanning Avenue Paul-Vaillant-Couturier and the A86 motorway, then finally go down the stairs that wind anti-clockwise.

(9) At the bottom of the stairs, turn right along Avenue Paul-Vaillant-Couturier. Ignore the first street on the right and turn into the second, Rue du Docteur Schweitzer. Go straight on, ignoring the turn-offs on the left, then turn left with the street. At the stop sign, turn right into Rue Saint-Exupéry.

At the junction with Rue Paul Valéry coming from the left (EDF substation), turn right onto a path leading into the Parc des Prés de Bièvre (information sign); be careful to spot this turn-off to the right! Ignore a vague path on the right and, at the fork ahead, veer right and cross a stream via a concrete footbridge. Reach the Bièvre (bridge with sluice gates) and turn sharply left to follow the river on your right.

Take a wooden bridge to cross a stream, ignore a path on the left, then cross the Bièvre on another wooden bridge. When the river disappears underground, turn right at a right angle and walk between two hedges. At the end, you’ll find yourself facing the entrance to Fresnes Prison and turn left into Avenue de la Liberté (!).

No signposting

(10) At the traffic lights, cross Avenue Victor Hugo and note Parc La Fontaine on the left; the^GR® used to pass through this park but it is currently closed for works (as of February 2016, see the “Information” section). Continue on the right-hand pavement of Avenue Flouquet, with the Bièvre on your left beyond the railings.

At number 115, turn left, cross the old bed of the Bièvre and walk onto a wide concrete and wooden pontoon with the Bièvre retention basin on your right (Parc de la Bièvre on the map). At the end of the jetty and before reaching a street (post with red and yellow markings), turn right into a lane that runs between the trees, with the reservoir still on your right.

At the end, pass a closed footbridge on the right, then a small pond, and, at the corner, turn right and walk past the foot of a building with white and ochre render. Before reaching Avenue Flouquet, turn left past a wire fence on your left and take a paved path below the avenue. Cross Impasse Pierre de Ronsard (incorrectly named on the map).

(11) Continue into Parc de la Bièvre. Follow a tarmac path and pass the foot of a block of flats on your left. At a fork, with a playground on the left and a slide on the right, turn left to leave the park. At the exit, turn right onto Avenue Larroumès (ignore the yellow and red-and-yellow markers on an electricity pole indicating a left turn).

At the junction, cross Avenue Flouquet and continue straight ahead along Avenue Larroumès, which begins to climb. After a left-hand bend on this avenue, turn right and head up the Sentier des Sureaux. At the top, turn left and head back down, staying on the left-hand pavement. At the traffic lights, turn right and cross the road in three stages.

Red and white markings

(12) Join the^GR®11and enter the Parc départemental de la Roseraie. Walk up the tarmac path, ignoring all the side paths (on the left, there is a lovely view of Paris). At the top of the hill, take the path furthest to the left. Pass the entrance to the rose garden (on your right), turn left, go under a small building and emerge opposite Saint-Léonard Church. Cross Rue Watel and go round the church on the left.

After passing the church entrance, cross Rue des Tournelles and continue along Rue Jean-Jaurès. At the next junction (fountain on the left), turn left onto Avenue Aristide Briand. At the traffic lights, cross Rue des Jardins, continue along the same avenue and begin a gentle descent for a few metres.

(13) At the fork immediately ahead, look for a memorial stone at the foot of a large beech tree; turn right onto Voie des Saussaies, leaving the memorial stone on your left, with the unmarked side facing you. Cross a residential area and, at the end, continue along Boulevard de la Vanne, entering Cachan (signpost).

Walk along the grassy embankment of the underground Loing and Lunain aqueduct on your left. Ignore all turn-offs to the right. Cross Avenue Léon Blum (sloping) then Rue des Saussaies (also sloping). Continue in the same direction, with a fitness trail on your left.

At the junction with Rue du Lunain coming from the right, turn left. Immediately afterwards, let Boulevard de la Vanne turn right and continue straight on along a gravel path lined with street lamps that leads downhill (viewpoints). Cross Rue des Vignes then Avenue Léon Blum, continue down a path interspersed with steps and emerge onto Rue Etienne Dolet (grass verge of the aqueduct bridge directly opposite).

(14) Take the tarmac path (small steps) leading off to the right of the aqueduct bridge. Walk downhill with the aqueduct bridge on your left and cross two streets in succession. Before a third street, at the point where the aqueduct’s overflow discharges into the Bièvre (information panel), turn right at a right angle into a lane between buildings, with the old bed of the Bièvre covered in pebbles.

Cross Rue Victor Schoelcher and continue in the same direction. At the end, turn right into Avenue Louis Georgeon. At the traffic lights, turn left to cross this avenue. Go round a pond on the left, then a roundabout on the left as well (several restaurants). Cross a small car park (table tennis hall on the right) then turn left into Rue Guichard.

(15) At the traffic lights, cross Avenue de Méricourt and follow it to the right. Walk past the Cachan medical and social centre on your left. At the traffic lights, continue straight ahead with the large aqueduct clearly in view. After the nursery, turn left into Jardin Le Vallon. Follow the avenue down below and exit at the end via a flight of steps.

Continue left onto Avenue Cousin de Méricourt, which soon turns right. Pass under the two superimposed aqueducts. Turn immediately left into Rue Besson and walk along the base of the aqueducts on your left.

Red and white + red and yellow markings

(16) At the traffic lights, turn right into Rue Emile Raspail. Opposite the Jules Ferry school, turn right into Rue Aspasie-Jules Caron. After a few metres, take a passageway on the left and walk alongside the Maison des Gardes (an old building with two turrets) on your right. You will come out onto Place des Musiciens; turn left and go up a flight of steps. Then turn right into Rue Cauchy.

After a few metres, take a narrow lane on the left which ends in a flight of steps leading uphill, with the Church of Saint-Denys on your right. Cross a small square then turn right into Rue Emile Raspail. Ignore the signposting for a moment, which suggests taking a detour to the left through Parc Paul Vaillant-Couturier – a detour we have tried and found to be of limited interest. Continue along Rue Raspail and, at the next junction, rejoin the signposted route and carry on along Rue Marius Sidobre (mosaic façade on the left-hand pavement). At the next fork, continue straight ahead and ignore the left-hand lane.

(17) At the next junction, take the second right, Rue Louis Frebault, and head downhill, leaving the media library on your left. When the street turns right, leave it and continue straight on along Mail Gaston Doiselet. At a fork, take the left-hand lane and pass a secondary school on your right. Just before a flight of steps leading up, make a right-left zigzag to take a flight of steps leading down. At the bottom, turn right and walk along the back of Arcueil Town Hall on your left.

Red and white markings

Ignore the red and yellow arrow pointing to the right and, before reaching a road, climb the steps on the left leading up to the town hall (no markings here). At the top of the stairs (petrol station opposite), turn right onto Avenue Paul Doumer and take the footbridge crossing the road (view of the aqueduct on the right). Ignore the two crosses, red and white and red and yellow, and at the next traffic lights, turn left to cross Avenue Paul Doumer and enter Rue de la Division du Général Leclerc.

Red and white + red and yellow markings

At the cemetery on the right-hand side, head down to the left onto Promenade de la Bièvre, then turn right. Follow the road below and join it when it bends to the left.

No markings (it is planned that, in future, the^GR® will cross the park we are walking through here)

(18) At the traffic lights, turn right then leave the avenue to enter the Parc Départemental du Coteau. Pass under the motorway bridge. Make a wide right-hand turn, passing between two football pitches. Take a footbridge and leave the park to rejoin Avenue Raspail.

Red and white + red and yellow markings

Turn immediately right into Rue Gandilhon. At the T-junction, turn left then go straight on, ignoring the side roads. At the end of the street, cross Rue Labourse then turn left to cross Avenue Raspail. Then turn right and follow the avenue. Cross Rue de la Chamoiserie and walk along the left-hand side of the Jardin Pablo Picasso. Turn left to enter the garden through a small gate located in front of a house. Turn right, leaving a pond on your left, and exit the park on the right.

(19) Then follow the boulevard on the left and cross Rue Nicolas Debray. At the next set of traffic lights, at the corner of a bar-tobacconist’s, turn left into Rue de la Division Leclerc. Walk under the media library, take the steps and turn right into Rue Charles Frérot. Then cross Avenue Jean Jaurès (town hall and war memorial on the left) and follow it to the right.

After going down a small flight of steps, turn left into the Jardin de la Paix. Walk along the left-hand side of the former bed of the Bièvre, now covered in pebbles, veer left to cross it and continue along Allée René Cassin. Cross Avenue de la République and go round Saint-Saturnin Church on the right.

Red and white markings

(20) Ignore the red and yellow markings heading left and turn right into Rue Charles Frérot. Note the Chambord (on the left) and Super-Italie (on the right) towers opposite, which are located in Paris and indicate that the finish is near. At the junction with Avenue Gallieni, follow it to the left. At the traffic lights, first cross Avenue Gallieni to the right, then turn left to go under the ring road bridge via Rue de la Poterne des Peupliers. When you reach a sign indicating a bus-only lane, leave the street and turn right into Parc Kellermann.

No signposting

(21) Immediately after entering (map on the right), turn right and go round the pond on the right. At a fork (with a yew tree in the middle), veer left and pass between a weeping willow (on your left) and a poplar (on your right). Head towards a fountain set high on a wall and, just before reaching it, take the steps on your right which curve to the right.

At the top (small pond and terrace with a view on the left), take a small path on the right which also curves to the right to reach a higher level. At the top, turn right, walk along a flowerbed (in season) and leave the park to emerge onto Boulevard Kellermann. At the traffic lights further along, cross the boulevard and the tram tracks in stages. Turn right and head towards the Porte d’Italie (E).

To get back home:
- Metro - Line 7.
- Tram - Line T3a.

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.

For motorists:
Limited parking available on the street leading to Igny station. Porte d’Italie: pay-and-display car park with entrance on Boulevard Kellerman.

The walk follows hard-standing paths, tarmac lanes and roads. It can therefore be undertaken in any season, preferably with walking boots given its length.

The walk includes unmarked sections and, where markings do exist, they may be sparse in some places. A map is therefore necessary (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Public toilets are available at the exit of the Parc départemental de la Roseraie, after (12), and at the Jardin Pablo Picasso, after (18). Bars, restaurants and shops can be found at numerous points along the route.

Opening hours of public parks:
- Parc Heller (5) - Daily: 5.30am–10.30pm.
- Square Marc Sangnier, between (7) and (8) - Daily: 05:00–23:00.
- Parc des Prés de la Bièvre, between (9) and (10) - Every day: 24 hours a day.
- Parc de la Bièvre (11) - Opening: every day, 08:00. Closing: from 1 November to 31 March, 17:00; from 1 April to 31 October, 20:00.
- Parc départemental de la Roseraie (12) - Opens: daily at 8.00 am. Closes: November to January, 5.00 pm; February, 6.00 pm; March and October, 7.00 pm; April and September, 8.00 pm; May to August, 9.00 pm.
- Le Vallon Garden(15) - November to February, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm; March–April and September–October, 8.30 am–7.00 pm; May to August, 8.00 am–9.00 pm.
- Kellerman Park (21) - Opening: weekdays, 8.00 am; Saturdays and Sundays, 9.00 am. Closing: November to February, 5.45 pm; March, 7.00 pm; April and September, 8.30 pm; May to August, 9.30 pm.

Access to the rail network (RER line B) to shorten the walk:
- Rond-Point du 19 mars 19662 (4) - Massy-Verrières station. Take the small street opposite that passes under the TGV line bridge, then turn right onto Avenue de Verrières.
- Rue Céline between (6) and (7) - Antony station. Continue along Rue Céline, then turn left onto Avenue Gabriel Péri.
- At the end of Rue Guichard (15) – Arcueil-Cachan station. Continue straight ahead onto Rue Gallieni and carry on onto Avenue Carnot.
- Crossroads (17) – Laplace station. Turn left into Rue Pierre Brossolette, then turn right into Rue Eugène Fourrière.

Walk undertaken by the author on 11 February 2016.

- Banks of the Bièvre.
- Beautiful views of Paris and its southern suburbs: after (12) and between (13) and (14).
- Numerous parks and gardens.
- Rose garden in the departmental park, past (12), open to the public in spring and summer.
- Fountain and statues in Heller Park (5).
- Bronzac Fountain (1832) in L’Haÿ-les-Roses between (12) and (13).
- Loing and Lunain aqueduct bridge (14).
- The Arcueil and Cachan aqueducts (16). The Vanne aqueduct (the highest at 38 metres) was built in 1874 above the Médicis Aqueduct (17th century), which features a sundial. The remains of the piers of an ancient Gallo-Roman aqueduct (2nd century) can still be seen.
- The "Paris to its Defenders" memorial erected in L’Haÿ-les-Roses (13) by the Department of the Seine in memory of the fighting on 29 November 1870 during the Siege of Paris.