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) Upon exiting the metro station, head back towards 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 to reach the viewpoint.

With your back to the Seine and the Eiffel Tower, head right towards the grand staircase leading down to the foot of the statue of Apollo. At^{the first} landing, take the staircase on the right, then another on the left to reach the foot of the esplanade.

(1) Walk round the large pond on the left. About halfway up the slope, go through an opening on the left and walk briefly up a ramp. Cross a gravel path and take another ramp.

Head towards the aquarium and immediately turn left onto a tarmac path that leads 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 Chaillot Palace auditorium.

At the corner of the building, go down a tarmac path on the right. At the bottom, go down a flight of steps on the left, then 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 a flight of steps leading down to the right towards the Seine. About a hundred metres further on, turn right and walk under the arcades of the Palais de Tokyo. Cross the courtyard and go down the steps on the left.

Walk past the base of the monument honouring the Free French forces and continue to the left, following the signs to the entrance of the Museum of Modern Art.
N.B. The site is undergoing renovation until September 2019, which means you’ll need to take this detour.
At the museum entrance, turn right and walk along the right-hand pavement of Avenue de New York (on the 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 garden of the Musée du Quai Branly to walk through it.
N.B. The route described here is for guidance only (the entrance and exit are precisely marked).
First, head to the left and, when you reach a café-restaurant, turn right towards the ticket office. Then turn left towards the museum entrance and, just before reaching it, take the left-hand exit towards 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. Walk round the tower on the left and arrive at the foot of its eastern pillar.

(4) Leave the path and take a gravel track on the left (marked in red and yellow; do not go past the eastern pillar). You’ll 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 junction immediately ahead, turn right and walk past a playground on your left. Cross a path running perpendicular to the road, then Avenue du Général Ferrier. You’ll come out onto Avenue Anatole France; follow it to the left (marked with red and yellow signs). Continue straight ahead and cross Place Jacques Rueff in two stages.

Continue straight on along Avenue Anatole France. After about a hundred metres, turn left. Cross a wide path and follow the route as it curves to the right, leaving the Guignol on your left (still following the red and yellow markings).

Walk past the Monument to Human Rights, carry on straight ahead and go round a bandstand on the left. Then go round the Grand Palais éphémère on the left, cross a car park and arrive at the edge of Place Joffre (with the ‘Cavalerie’ building opposite).

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

Pass two streets on your left, then cross Boulevard de la Tour Maubourg. Walk alongside the moat of the Hôtel des Invalides.

(6) Turn left into the entrance courtyard of the Invalides. First, walk round the Jardin de l’Intendant on the left (indicative route). Then walk 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, emerge into the Cour d’Honneur.

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

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

Continue along Rue de Varennes, passing the Rodin Museum. When you reach the main building of the Ministry of Agriculture, turn right into Rue Barbet de Jouy. At the end, turn right into 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. Pass two streets on the right, then cross Rue Vanneau and continue for a few metres along Impasse Oudinot.

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

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

To get back home:
- Metro: lines 10 and 12.

A good pair of trainers is all you need for this urban walk.

Toilets and drinking fountains are available in the public gardens (shown on the map). Bars, restaurants and shops can be found along the route.

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

Opening hours of the public gardens:
Trocadéro Gardens: open 24 hours a day.
Palais de Tokyo Gardens: no information available... If closed, go down the steps in front of the palace and follow Rue de la Manutention to the Passerelle Debilly (3).
Quai Branly Museum Gardens: 9.15 am to 7.30 pm.
Champ de Mars: open 24 hours a day.
Hôtel des Invalides: open from 10.00 to 18.00. Outside these opening hours, there are two options:
- From Avenue de Tourville, turn left onto Boulevard de la Tour Maubourg and walk round 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 it at the next set of traffic lights to reach Rue de Varennes.
Catherine Labouré Garden and Potager Garden:
- Opening times: 8.00 am on weekdays, 9.00 am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing times: 5.45 pm to 9.30 pm, depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Square Boucicaut:
- Opening times: 8.00 am on weekdays, 9.00 am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing times: 5.45 pm to 9.30 pm, depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.

Consequences of the Vigie-Pirate plan:
- Access beneath the Eiffel Tower is now prohibited, except for paying visitors.
- Bags are checked at the entrance to the gardens of the Musée du Quai Branly and the Hôtel des Invalides. Avoid carrying a pocket knife or any other similar item with you.

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

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

From the Place d’Iéna (2) to the Eiffel Tower (4):
- Palais de Tokyo and the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art.
- The gardens of the Musée du Quai Branly.
- Quai Branly Museum, dedicated to world art.
- Eiffel Tower. Does it really need any introduction?... Check opening times and admission prices.

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, featuring the word ‘peace’ written in around fifty languages.
- Hôtel des Invalides: Jardin de l’Intendant; the church with its gilded dome; Cour d’Honneur; the Army Museum; the esplanade.

From the Jardin d’Ajaccio (7) to the Sèvres-Baylone metro station (E):
- Rodin Museum.
- Catherine Labouré Garden and Potager Garden: havens of tranquillity with a view of the bell tower of the Laennec Chapel.
- La Pagode, a house built in a Japanese-inspired style in 1896 and converted into a cinema in 1931.
- A monument in honour of Clara de Hirsch (1833–1899) in Square Boucicaut.