Ile Seguin walks

We start by exploring Billancourt's industrial past on the former Renault factory sites, with a detour to the Ile Seguin. We then continue on to the Ile Saint-Germain, with its residential area and large green park. We end with a tribute to French cinema. This is an urban itinerary, but numerous parks and gardens, as well as many passageways, alleys and even footpaths, allow you to avoid the inconveniences of traffic.

After enjoying the sweeping views from the Observatory Terrace, we wind our way through the many paths of Meudon. The Longs Réages cemetery holds a surprise in the form of a Neolithic dolmen converted into a modern burial site... This route ends along the Seine and on Île Seguin, where a concert hall complex with an apt name has now been built.

The first section of this women's march of 5 October 1789 follows fairly closely what we know today about the route taken at the time. Starting from the centre of Paris, we follow the course of the Seine and then cross the districts of Auteuil and Billancourt. We cross the Ile Seguin, where the Vieux Pont de Sèvres bridge used to be, and end up in Sèvres, where the 1789 procession made a stop. All along the way, there is a rich heritage to discover.

For what will no doubt remain a long time to come, the names of Billancourt andÎleSeguin are associated with the Renault factories, which closed their doors in 1992. Boulogne-Billancourt’s industrial and working-class past is not limited to car manufacturing but also encompasses other sectors: laundries (to which we owe the fact that no railway line runs through the town), ice works, aeronautics, telecommunications equipment, cinema and the record industry… This urban walking tour, inspired by the brochure and information panels provided by the town’s Tourist Office, aims to retrace this working-class past. It also offers an opportunity to observe how the urban landscape of a town in the Petite Couronne of Paris has changed radically over the course of a few decades.

Here are four hikes that take in iconic locations from the French Revolution. One of them takes place in Versailles, where it all began in May 1789. Another takes place in Paris, which was the scene of many events, including the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. The other two connect Paris to Versailles, attempting to reproduce the women's march of 5 October 1789.

Although densely urbanised, the Hauts-de-Seine department offers wonderful opportunities for walkers, with a rich heritage and often a little elevation. This series of hikes, almost all of which are accessible by public transport, takes you on a journey of discovery through this department, avoiding major roads as much as possible and favouring footpaths and alleys, public parks and wooded areas.