The Trocadéro esplanade and gardens, the Champs de Mars and the Invalides

Starting point and access: Place du Trocadéro.
- Metro: lines 6 and 9. Take exit 6, Avenue Paul Doumer.

(S) When you exit the metro station, return to the square and walk past the entrance to the Musée de l'Homme. Then turn right onto the Trocadéro esplanade (Parvis des Libertés et des Droits de l'Homme). Walk to the end for the viewpoint.

With your back to the Seine and the Eiffel Tower, turn right onto the large staircase that descends to the foot of the statue of Apollo. On^{the first} landing, take the staircase on the right, then a staircase on the left to reach the foot of the esplanade.

(1) Go around the large pond on the left. About halfway down the slope, go through an opening on the left and climb a short ramp. Cross a gravel path and take another ramp.

Head towards the aquarium and immediately turn left onto a tarmac path that goes uphill. Pass an artificial waterfall on your left and the aquarium on your right. At a T-junction, turn right and walk past the foot of the Palais de Chaillot auditorium.

At the corner of the building, go down a tarmac path on the right. At the bottom, go down some steps on the left and cross Avenue Albert de Mun. Turn right, cross Avenue d'Iéna and follow it to the left. Walk along Place d'Iéna (statue of George Washington).

(2) Turn right onto Avenue du Président Wilson. Ignore the stairs on the right leading down to the Seine. After about 100 metres, turn right and walk under the arcades of the Palais de Tokyo. Cross the courtyard and go down the stairs on the left.

Pass by the monument in honour of the Free French Forces and continue left, following the signs to the entrance of the Museum of Modern Art.
N.B. The site is undergoing construction until September 2019, which requires this detour.
At the museum entrance, turn right and walk along Avenue de New York on the right-hand pavement (Palais de Tokyo side). Then cross the avenue at the traffic lights.

(3) Take the Passerelle Debilly (pedestrian bridge) to cross the Seine. At the end, cross the Quai Branly in two stages. Then take the entrance to the Quai Branly Museum garden to cross it.
N.B. The route for this crossing is indicative (the entrance and exit are precisely located).
First, turn left and, when you reach a café-restaurant, turn right towards the ticket office. Then turn left towards the museum entrance and, just before you reach it, turn left towards the exit onto Rue de l'Université.

Follow the street to the right. Cross Avenue de la Bourdonnais and arrive at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, opposite the ticket office. Go around the tower on the left and arrive at the foot of its east pillar.

(4) Leave the alley and take a gravel path on the left (red and yellow markings; do not go past the east pillar). You will come out onto a wide path. First turn left then right to reach a small square with a small pond. Leave the square on the other side.

At the crossroads that immediately appears, turn right and walk along a playground on your left. Cross a perpendicular path and then Avenue du Général Ferrier. You will come out onto Avenue Anatole France and follow it to the left (red and yellow markings). Go straight ahead and cross Place Jacques Rueff in two stages.

Continue straight ahead on Avenue Anatole France. After about 100 metres, turn left. Cross a wide alley and continue along the path that curves to the right, leaving the Guignol on your left (still following the red and yellow markings).

Pass in front of the Human Rights monument, continue straight ahead and go around a bandstand on the left. Then go around the Grand Palais Ephémère on the left, cross a car park and arrive at the edge of Place Joffre (the "Cavalerie" building opposite).

(5) Follow the square to the left and then cross at the pedestrian crossing. Turn left and cross at the traffic lights in two stages. Turn right at the corner of a restaurant and then turn left onto Avenue de Tourville.

Cross two streets on the left-hand side, then cross Boulevard de la Tour Maubourg. Walk along the moat of the Hôtel des Invalides.

(6) Enter the courtyard of Les Invalides on the left. First, walk around the Jardin de l'Intendant on the left (indicative route). Then pass between the Army Museum ticket office on your left and the church with its golden dome on your right. Enter the Corridor de Nîmes (covered) and, at the end, you will come out into the Cour d'Honneur.

Cross the courtyard and exit on the north side, passing under the arcades (note the two sundials). Walk down a paved path and exit Les Invalides. Turn right immediately and walk along the moat, where cannons are lined up.

(7) At the traffic lights, turn right into Square d'Ajaccio. Cross the square (approximate route) and exit at the other end. Then follow Boulevard des Invalides to the right and cross it to the left at the next set of traffic lights.

Continue along Rue de Varennes and walk alongside the Rodin Museum. When you reach the main building of the Ministry of Agriculture, turn right onto Rue Barbet de Jouy. At the end, turn right onto Rue de Babylone and note the old pagoda, now a cinema. Take the^first left onto Rue Monsieur. At the end, turn left onto Rue Oudinot. Cross two streets on the right-hand side, then cross Rue Vanneau and continue a few metres along Impasse Oudinot.

(8) At the end, push open a gate on the right and continue to the left to pass under a porch. At the exit, turn left and enter the Jardin Catherine Labouré. Turn right immediately. After about 50 metres, turn right into Jardin du Potager and walk around it. When you come out, first turn left then right to cross Jardin Catherine Labouré and exit onto Rue de Babylone.

Follow the street to the right. Cross Rue du Bac and walk along the Bon Marché buildings. Cross Rue Velpeau and immediately turn right into Square Boucicaut. Cross the square diagonally to the left, pass a gatehouse on your right and exit, leaving the monument in honour of Mme de Hirsch on your left. Immediately on your left, you will find the Sèvres-Babylone metro station (E).

To return home:
- Metro: lines 10 and 12.

Good trainers are sufficient for this urban route.

Toilets and water fountains in public gardens (marked on the map). Bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

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

Public garden opening hours:
Trocadéro Gardens: open 24 hours a day.
Palais de Tokyo Gardens: no information available... If closed, go down the stairs in front of the palace and follow Rue de la Manutention to the Debilly Footbridge (3).
Jardin du Musée du Quai Branly: from 9:15 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Champ de Mars: open 24 hours a day.
Hôtel des Invalides: open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Outside these hours, there are two options:
- Avenue de Tourville: turn left onto Boulevard de la Tour Maubourg and go around the site on the left to rejoin the route at (7).
- At (6), continue straight ahead, then follow Boulevard des Invalides to the left and cross at the next traffic lights to reach Rue de Varennes.
Catherine Labouré Garden and Potager Garden:
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Square Boucicaut:
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.

Consequences of the Vigie-Pirate plan:
- Access under the Eiffel Tower is now prohibited, except for paying visitors.
- Bags are inspected at the entrance to the Quai Branly Museum and Hôtel des Invalides gardens. Avoid carrying pocket knives or other similar objects with you.

Hike completed by the author on 18 November 2018 and, in a shortened version, on 26 December 2021.

From Place du Trocadéro (S) to Place d'Iéna (2):
- Musée de l'Homme.
- Esplanade du Trocadéro: also known as the Esplanade des Droits de l'Homme, in memory of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948 in the Palais de Chaillot. View of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower on the opposite bank.
- Palais de Chaillot.
- Trocadéro Gardens: numerous sculptures, large pond, etc.

From Place d'Iéna (2) to the Eiffel Tower (4):
- Palais de Tokyo and Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris.
- Garden of the Quai Branly Museum.
- Quai Branly Museum, dedicated to primitive arts.
- Eiffel Tower. Does it need any introduction? Check prices and opening hours.

From the Eiffel Tower (4) to the Jardin d'Ajaccio (7):
- Champ de Mars. At its south-eastern end, the Wall for Peace was erected in 2000, where the word "peace" is written in around fifty languages.
- Hôtel des Invalides: Jardin de l'Intendant; church with its golden dome; Cour d'Honneur; Army Museum; esplanade.

From the Jardin d'Ajaccio (7) to the Sèvres-Baylone metro station (E):
- Rodin Museum.
- Jardin Catherine Labouré and Jardin du Potager: havens of silence with a view of the bell tower of the Chapelle Laennec.
- La Pagode, a house built in Japanese style in 1896 and converted into a cinema in 1931.
- Monument in tribute to Clara de Hirsch (1833-1899) in Square Boucicaut.