From Malakoff to Massy via the Coulée Verte

Starting point and access:
Malakoff-Plateau de Vanves metro station (line 13). Take exit 1 Rue Jean Bleuzen.

N.B. At the start of the hike, in the most urban part, the route is generally shared by pedestrians and cyclists. Further on, two parallel paths have been created, one more suitable for cyclists (no steps, in particular) and the other for pedestrians. The hike is described here for pedestrians and, where necessary, the route for cyclists is indicated in brackets.

The entire route is marked with blue "Coulée Verte" signs indicating the name of the town where you are and your position between the start and finish.

Red and white + green markings
In some places, this double marking is tripled by yellow markings (^PR®) and you will come across a few other PR® markings^. For simplicity, stick to the red and white markings and the green markings.

(S) When you exit the metro, turn immediately left (do not enter the underpass opposite). Follow the^GR®655south-west and walk along Boulevard Charles de Gaulle on your left. At the traffic lights, cross Boulevard Gabriel Péri and turn right immediately to pass under the railway bridges. At the exit, turn left into a wide alley. Follow a high wall on your left (the railway tracks are above) and cross three streets in succession. Finally, cross a wide avenue (Avenue de Paris on the map, with a bus station on the right) and a cycle path. Then follow Allée Bernard de Jussieu. Pass an underground entrance to the metro on the left and turn right to reach the Chatillon-Montrouge tram station.

(1) Cross the tram tracks and continue along Allée Bernard de Jussieu. Cross Rue André Gide, then turn left and enter a square (cyclists should continue straight ahead on the tarmac). At the end of the square, cross a playground, go around a large kiosk on the right and take a footbridge on the right (cyclists can pass underneath). At the end of the footbridge, turn left, stay parallel to the cycle path (on your left) and go under a pergola. At the end of the lane, cross Avenue Saint-Exupéry, then turn left to rejoin a tarmac path. Continue straight ahead, ignoring all the turnings on the right, and at the end, cross a street (Rue Étienne Deforges on the map).

(2) Enter Square Léo Malet and describe an arc to the left to exit on the opposite side. Cross a street, turn right onto a cement path that soon turns left. Cross Rue Courtois and Rue Louveau in succession. Continue on a cement path, cross an avenue and continue, keeping the building of a famous telephone company on your right. Then cross Rue Perrotin (bus stop), turn right and follow a TGV maintenance site on your left. At a fork, take the left-hand road uphill (cyclists should take the right-hand road which is flat). Note the building with partially vegetated walls on your right. At the end of the road, cross Avenue du Général de Gaulle, turn left and take the bridge over the TGV tracks.

(3) At the end of the bridge, turn right and follow a footpath (there is a paved cycle path on the right). At the end, turn right, rejoin the tarmac and go under a road bridge. Then go around a rugby field on the left, going slightly downhill and then uphill. Cross a street (signposted "Fontenay") and keep to the right of the sports equipment, a football stadium and, finally, the Fontenay media library.

(4) Cross Rue Boucicaut, leave Avenue Lombart turning left, continue straight ahead and cross another street (Place du Château Sainte-Barde on the map). Continue along a paved road and, when an unpaved road comes in from the right, follow it, leaving the paved road (for cyclists) veering left. Go under a footbridge (cyclists will go over it) and, at the next intersection, turn right. Go under another footbridge (cyclists should go over it and then over a third one) and, at the fork immediately ahead, turn right. Note the small monument to the victims of Nazi barbarism on the left, ignore a path on the right and you will come out onto Rue Robert Marchand (RER access).

(5) Cross the street and turn left onto a cement path. Take the footbridge with blue metal railings that crosses the RER tracks. Keep to the right, passing a playground and then an archery range. Then turn slightly right onto the paved path that goes uphill (cyclists and pedestrians who are afraid of steep slopes should stay on the cycle path, slightly to the left). At the top of the hill (street on the right), turn left and go downhill. Return to the tarmac and follow it to the right. Cross Avenue Paul Langevin in two stages, zigzagging across the road. Continue straight ahead, with the paved cycle path on the right of the footpath. Cross a street (Boulevard Desgranges on the map) and leave the allotments on your left.

(6) Cross another street. Here, the red and white signs indicate to turn left and the green signs indicate to turn right (the two signs meet further on): take the path on the right (green signs). Cross Rue Houdan and continue straight ahead. After crossing another street, zigzag left then right and take a wide gravel path (cyclists should continue straight ahead on the tarmac). Continue south, descending a few steps at a time (note the imposing Lycée Marie Curie on your left). At a small roundabout (signposted "Chatenay-Malabry"), continue straight ahead (cyclists should continue on the tarmac, slightly to the right) until you reach a beautiful viewpoint overlooking the Château and Parc de Sceaux on your left.

(7) Continue south. Go around the roundabout on the right, then turn right onto Rue Jean Monnet. At the next pedestrian crossing, turn left and cross the street. Head south, walking along the lawn on your left. Cross a street (Chemin de la Croix Blanche on the map) and continue with a lawn on your left. At the end of the lawn, continue straight ahead. Cross a street and continue on a paved path with a hedge on your right. At a fork, turn left and go under a road bridge. Go up with the TGV noise barrier wall on your left.

(8) Pass under the A86 motorway bridge. Climb the stairs on the right then turn left (cyclists will make a short climb up a series of hairpin bends). Cross the next street (on the right, small houses with wooden cladding or pastel-coloured render) and follow it to the left (cyclists continue straight ahead). At the "No turning" sign, turn right onto a path. At the fork immediately ahead, take the left-hand path lined with trees. Follow the fitness trail and, at the crossroads after the "Saut de haie" sign, turn right. At the "Souffler" sign, ignore the path on the right (and take a breather if necessary...). Cross the cycle path and you will arrive at Place de Lexington (obelisk).

(9) Cross and, at the next fork, go right. Pass a playground and follow the lawn on your left. Note a small square with a small basin on your right and, at the next intersection (stairs on the left), continue straight ahead. Then ignore all the paths on the right. At the next junction, leave the^GR®655trail on the right onto the Chemin de Compostelle via Chartres and go straight ahead on a variant of^{the GR®655}towards the Chemin de Compostelle via Orléans (signposts). You will come to an avenue (Avenue de la République on the map).

Red and white markings

(10) Cross the avenue and turn right (leave the green markings straight ahead with yellow markings). Immediately turn left and follow the noise barrier on your left. At a fork, turn left and go through a tunnel under a street. At the exit, a red and white arrow indicates to turn right: follow the footpath to the right of the paved cycle path. For an easier route, stay on the paved path: follow the path, ignoring the paths branching off to the sides. Back at the noise barrier, at a fork, go right (ignore a yellow and blue sign telling you to stay close to the wall). At a small roundabout (3 bollards), continue straight ahead down a tree-lined lane until you come to a street.

(11) Cross the street and follow it to the left. Cross the Bièvre and turn immediately right (do not go under the railway bridge). Follow the river on your right, then a fence. When you reach a boulevard (Voie de la Vallée de la Bièvre), follow it to the right. Go around the Rond-Point du 9 mars 1962 on the left and cross Avenue d'Estienne d'Orves.

Yellow signposting

(12) Leave the paved road and follow Avenue des Martyrs de Soweto, keeping slightly to the left and following the road up the hill. Make a wide left turn and, at the T-junction, turn right at an acute angle. Follow a playground. Just after a second playground, at a fork, climb the stairs on the left with a central handrail towards the RER station (sign). At the top, turn left. After a few metres, turn right at an acute angle. Then turn left (benches on the right), cross a street and you will reach Massy-Verrières station (E).

To return home:
- RER - Line B, towards Paris via Bourg-la-Reine or towards Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse.
- RER - Line C, towards Paris via Choisy-le-Roi or towards Massy-Palaiseau and Versailles-Chantiers.

Public transport is by far the best way to access this walk! Apart from the start and finish points, the route passes close to the following stations, which are all alternative options for starting or finishing the walk, depending on where you feel like going:
- Malakoff-Rue Etienne Dolet, before (1): Metro line 13.
- Chatillon-Montrouge (1): tram line 6 and Metro line 13. If you are coming from the Metro, take the underground passage that leads to the tram station.
- Fontenay-aux-Roses (5): RER line B.

Good trainers or low-cut walking shoes are sufficient for this route, which is mostly on tarmac, cement or stabilised paths. Although this is an urban route, there are very few bars or shops.

Additional information:
This walk can be combined with the section of the greenway located within Paris, described in The greenway of southern Paris: from Montparnasse to Porte de Vanves. Complete this other walk first. Once you arrive at Porte de Vanves, there are two options for reaching the starting point of this walk:
- By metro: line 13, towards Chatillon-Montrouge (the journey is only one stop).
- On foot: continue south and walk along the Place de la Porte de Vanves on your left; then walk along the railway tracks on your right; cross two slip roads to the Boulevard Périphérique (covered at this point); turn right and walk along the Boulevard Charles de Gaulle (red, white and green signs). From experience, it is best not to attempt this exit on foot as it is quite congested in Paris...

The route is fairly easy to follow once you are there, but a map is always useful (for example, the one accompanying this description).

The bridge over the Coulée Verte at 57 Avenue de la Division-Leclerc in Châtenay-Malabry is being renovated to accommodate the future Tram 10 line, scheduled for completion in 2023. Renovation work on the bridge began last March and will continue until September 2019.

For safety reasons, and depending on the stage of the work, cyclists and pedestrians under the bridge (on the Chemin de la Coulée Verte) may be:
• reduced in width (2.5 metres wide over a length of approximately 40 metres)
• or closed and diverted above ground, with a safe crossing on Avenue de la Division-Leclerc and dedicated signage.

The narrowing of the Coulée verte under the bridge will take place between April 2018 and June 2018, then from mid-October 2018 to September 2019.
During these periods, the Coulée Verte will be closed and diverted at ground level during the following (provisional) periods:
· 12 April to 15 May 2018
· 18 to 22 June 2018
· 29 October to 16 November 2018
· 1 April to 3 May 2019
· 26 August to 20 September 2019
Traffic on the Coulée Verte under the bridge will not be affected from July to mid-October 2018.

Information signs (attached) will soon be installed to inform users of the Coulée verte about this diversion. These signs will remain in place for the duration of the works.

Hike completed by the author on 24 November 2016.

- Greenery throughout, set in an urban environment.
- Throughout the Hauts-de-Seine department, i.e. from the start to Antony, the route also follows the Promenade des Vallons de la Bièvre. Several information panels mark the route.
- Monument in memory of the victims of Nazi barbarism, before (5).
- View of the Château de Sceaux (7).