Grande Mosquée de Paris walks

This third and final section of the Bièvre walks follows the course of the river, which is now underground, through the 13th and 5th arrondissements of Paris. The hike takes you along small streets, through lively neighbourhoods such as the Butte aux Cailles and Rue Mouffetard, and through numerous gardens, including the former Petite Ceinture railway line and the famous Jardin des Plantes.

Le Quartier Latin is a labyrinth of streets, each as important as the next, as there is a strong history behind. The Sainte-Geneviève Mountain is home to several prestigious schools, and the presence of numerous students adds to the atmosphere of this magnificent suburb.

In the eastern suburbs of Paris, along the route taken by Saint Columbanus, we find all the signs of the Columbanian influence that shaped our countryside and landscapes. The first part of our 26km route through the Île-de-France region is flat, allowing us to take the time to visit the jewels revealed by the churches of Paris, as well as the towns that witnessed the birth of the monasteries that punctuate the route.

This marked GR® route around the Île-de-France region (with a few forays into neighbouring departments and regions) complements its "little brother", the GR®1, by forming a circular route around Paris, generally with a slightly larger radius. It follows the same overall pattern: first, a radial section starting from Paris (more precisely from the Pont d'Austerlitz, near the former confluence of the Bièvre and the Seine), going up the entire Bièvre valley, then continuing to Villiers-Saint-Frédéric, in the Yvelines. From there, it is a circular route that loops around the Île-de-France region, close to its borders with neighbouring regions. The route passes through beautiful regions, often untouched by intensive urbanisation, regional nature parks and other protected natural areas, and takes in some architectural wonders.

First stage of the Grand Tour of Île-de-France via the GR® 11, starting from the former confluence of the Bièvre and the Seine at the Pont d'Austerlitz in Paris, to the Massy-Palaiseau station in Essonne. It consists of climbing up the lower part of the Bièvre valley, where the river flows mainly underground but is sometimes exposed to the open air following rehabilitation programmes.

Just like Paris’s oldest arrondissement, the gardens of the fifth evoke the past: the Cluny Medieval Garden, Square Viviani, where the capital’s oldest tree, the famous black locust, has watched Paris transform for over 400 years; the Arènes de Lutèce or the Jardin des Plantes, the Royal Garden of Medicinal Plants. A tour through bustling neighbourhoods, blending bookshops, student cafés and ancient alleyways in an authentic, timeless atmosphere that embodies the intellectual soul of Paris.