The Philippe Auguste enclosure and the covered passages of the Sentier

Starting point and access: Sully-Morland metro station.
- Metro: line 7. Take exit 3 Boulevard Henri IV.

(S) When you exit the metro station, note the decorative sculptures on the building at the corner of Quai des Célestins and turn right onto Rue du Petit Musc. At^{the first} intersection, continue straight ahead. Then turn left onto Rue Charles V, then right onto Rue Beautreillis.

Take the^first left, Rue Neuve Saint-Pierre. At the end, turn left onto Rue Saint-Paul. After a few metres, turn right onto Rue Eginhard. After a left turn, you will come out onto Rue Charlemagne. Follow it to the right.

At the next intersection, note a fountain on the right and, opposite on the left, the remains of the Montgomery Tower. Then turn left onto Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul and follow a sports field bordered at the end by the wall built by Philippe Auguste, in which the tower once stood.

(1) At the crossroads, follow Rue de l'Ave Maria to the right. At the crossroads (Hôtel de Sens opposite), take the^{second street} on the right, Rue du Figuier. At the end, first turn right then left to enter the narrow Rue du Prévôt. Pass the Saint-Paul metro station and cross Rue de Rivoli at the traffic lights. Continue straight ahead on Rue Pavée, cross Rue du Roi de Sicile and walk along a synagogue on your right.

At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue des Rosiers. At No. 10, turn right into Jardin des Rosiers (remains of a tower from the walls built by Philippe Auguste; plaque in honour of Jewish children deported during the occupation). Retrace your steps and continue along Rue des Rosiers, ignoring two streets on the left.

Then turn right onto Rue des Hospitaliers Saint-Gervais (on the right, there are two old fountains with bovine motifs). Go around the market hall by turning right onto Rue du Marché des Blancs Manteaux. At the end, turn left then right to follow Rue des Blancs Manteaux. On the right, walk along a square then a church.

(2) Then turn left onto Rue Aubriot. At the end, turn right onto Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie. At the traffic lights, turn right onto Rue des Archives. Continue straight ahead, passing two intersections.

When you reach No. 58 (turrets of the Hôtel de Clisson on the right), turn left onto Rue de Braque (note the gateways and mascarons at Nos. 4, 6 and 8bis). At the end, follow Rue du Temple to the right. Take the^{third street} on the left, Rue Chapon.

Opposite No. 13, go through a gate on the right and cross the Passage des Gravilliers. At the end, turn right and then immediately left onto Rue des Vertus.

(3) At the^first intersection, turn left onto Rue au Maire. At the next intersection, note the half-timbered house on the right and continue straight ahead. Then cross Rue Beaubourg and follow it to the left (you will see the towers of Notre-Dame in the distance).

Take the^second right, Rue Chapon again. At the end, follow Rue Saint-Martin to the left, then Rue du Bourg l'Abbé to the right. Cross Boulevard Sébastopol (pedestrian crossing on the left). Turn right immediately to cross Rue de Turbigo, then left to cross Rue de Palestro.

Enter Passage du Bourg l'Abbé. At the end, turn slightly right then left and follow Passage du Grand Cerf all the way to the end. At the end, cross Place Goldoni to the right.

(4) Then turn right onto Rue Greneta. At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue Saint-Denis. Opposite No. 146, turn left and go back along the Impasse du Saint-Denis. Continue along Rue Saint-Denis and, at No. 164, turn right into Passage de la Trinité.

At the end, turn left onto Rue Palestro. At the intersection, turn left onto Rue Réaumur. At the traffic lights, turn right again onto Rue Saint-Denis. Cross Rue du Caire and, at no. 212, turn right into Passage du Ponceau.

At the exit (large square opposite), turn left onto Boulevard de Sébastopol. Cross Rue de Tracy on the left and, at number 135, turn into Passage Lemoine. Cross several small courtyards and exit through a gate (push button on the right). Then turn right one last time onto Rue Saint-Denis (you will see the Porte Saint-Denis at the end of the street).

(5) After a few metres, turn left onto Rue Sainte-Foy. At the next intersection, turn left, still on Rue Sainte-Foy. Walk along a small triangular square on your left, cross Rue d'Alexandrie and enter Passage du Caire (marked Galerie on the map).

Ignore the passages coming from the left and you will come out at Place du Caire (at the exit, turn around to see the building with Egyptian-style motifs). Cross the square diagonally to the right and follow Rue d'Aboukir to the left. Take the^first right, Rue des Petits Carreaux.

Cross Rue de Cléry, continue along Rue Poissonière and take the^first left, Rue des Jeûneurs. Cross Rue de Mulhouse on the left and continue downhill. At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue du Sentier. Then take the^first right, Rue du Croissant.

(6) At the end, turn left onto Rue Montmartre (note the former headquarters of the newspaper L'Aurore at No. 144). Cross Rue Réaumur and immediately turn right onto Rue Paul Lelong. At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue Notre-Dame des Victoires.

At the corner of the basilica of the same name, turn left onto Place des Petits Pères, cross Rue du Mail and turn into Rue Vide Gousset opposite. You will come out onto Place des Victoires (with an equestrian statue of Louis XIV). Go around it on the right and take the^{first street} on the right, Rue Feuillade.

At the crossroads, continue straight ahead on Rue des Petits Champs. At the corner of a café-restaurant, turn right into Galerie Vivienne. Go straight ahead and, under a dome, ignore a branch of the gallery coming from the right. Go down a flight of steps and turn left. At the exit, follow Rue Vivienne to the right.

(7) Take the^first left onto Rue Colbert. At the end, cross Rue de Richelieu and follow it to the left. After crossing Rue de Louvois, turn right into the square of the same name. Go around the fountain decorated with allegories of French rivers and leave the square on the opposite side.

Then turn left, cross Rue Rameau and immediately turn right onto Rue Chérubini. At the end, first turn right then left to enter Passage Saine-Anne. At the end, turn right into Passage Choiseul. At the exit, follow Rue Saint-Augustin to the left and continue straight ahead at^{the first} intersection.

(8) At the crossroads (Drouant restaurant on the left, fountain on the right), turn right onto Rue de la Michaudière. Pass the theatre of the same name (Art Deco style) and cross Rue du Quatre Septembre and Rue de Hanovre.

At the traffic lights, cross Boulevard des Italiens (pedestrian crossing on the right). Then turn left and follow the boulevard to Place de l'Opéra. Cross the road at the traffic lights and go to the metro station located on the platform in the middle of the square (E).

To return home:
- Metro: lines 3, 7 and 8.
- RER: line A (Auber station, accessible from the metro station).

Good walking shoes are sufficient for this urban route.

There are a few public toilets and water points along the way (shown on the map). Bars, restaurants and shops are also available along the route.

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

Public garden opening hours:
Jardin des Rosiers:
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5.15pm to 7pm, depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Square Louvois:
- Opening times: 8.15am on weekdays, 9am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5.15pm to 8.30pm, depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.

Covered passage opening hours:
- All covered passages are open Monday to Friday. Some are open on Saturdays, others are not. All are closed on Sundays. It is therefore best to visit during the week.
- Depending on the passage, opening hours vary from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and closing hours vary from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Hike completed by the author on 12 December 2018.

From Sully-Morland station (S) to Rue de l'Ave Maria (1):
- Building with decorated doorways at the corner of Quai des Célestins and Rue du Petit Musc (S).
- Fountain, Rue Charlemagne.
- Montgomery Tower and remains ofthe Philippe Auguste city wall along Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul. This is where the longest surviving section of the city wall, built at the end of the 12th century, can be found. The tower is named after Gabriel de Montgomery, who was imprisoned there after mortally wounding King Henry II during a tournament on 30 June 1559.

From Rue de l'Ave Maria (1) to Rue Aubriot (2):
- Hôtel de Sens (late 15th - early 16th century). Arriving from Rue de l'Ave Maria, note the cannonball embedded in the façade at the top left, which has been there since 28 July 1830 (during the republican uprising known as the Three Glorious Days, which led to the establishment of the July Monarchy).
- Jardin des Rosiers: remains of a tower from the walls built by Philippe Auguste; plaque in tribute to the Jewish children deported during the occupation; beautiful fig tree inside the garden.
- Blanc Manteaux Market Hall.

From Rue Aubriot (2) to Rue au Maire (3):
- Hôtel de Clisson (late 14th century), Rue des Archives.
- Hôtel Jean Bart (16th-17th century), Rue Chapon.
- Passage des Gravilliers.

From Rue au Maire (3) to Place Goldoni (4):
- Half-timbered house at No. 3 Rue Volta.
- Passage du Bourg l'Abbé (1828).
- Passage du Grand Cerf (1825).

From Place Goldoni (4) to Rue Sainte-Foy (5):
- Impasse Saint-Denis.
- Passage de la Trinité (narrow, uncovered lane).
- Passage du Ponceau (1826).
- Lemoine Passage.

From Rue Sainte-Foy (5) to Rue Montmartre (6):
- Passage du Caire.
- House with Egyptian-style decorations, Place du Caire.
- Rue des Petits Carreaux.
- House where Mozart lived and where his mother died in 1778, at No. 8 Rue du Sentier.

From Rue Montmartre (6) to Rue Colbert (7):
- Former headquarters of the newspaper L'Aurore at 144 Rue Montmartre. It was here that, on 12 January 1898, Émile Zola handed Georges Clemenceau, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, the article "J'accuse" defending Captain Dreyfus (a plaque commemorates the event).
- Building decorated with figures in niches at 136 Rue Montmartre.
- Equestrian statue of Louis XIV, Place des Victoires.
- Galerie Vivienne (1823).

From Rue Colbert (7) to Rue de la Michaudière (8):
- Fontaine Louvois in the middle of the square of the same name, designed by Louis Visconti in 1844. Its basin is topped by four allegories of French rivers: the Seine, the Garonne, the Loire and the Saône.
- Passage Sainte-Anne.
- Passage Choiseul (1825-1827). At 190 metres, it is the longest covered passage in Paris.

From Rue de la Michaudière (8) to Place de l'Opéra:
- Restaurant Drouant, founded in 1880. Every year since 1914, the Goncourt and Renaudot juries have met in this restaurant to award their literary prizes.
- Fontaine de l'Hôtel Gaillon.
- Palais Garnier (1875) (E), designed by architect Charles Garnier (1825-1898). For a long time, it was the only building to house an opera house in Paris, before the construction of the Opéra Bastille.