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Two possible starting points depending on public transport access:
(S) Suzanne Lenglen station:
- Tram - Line T2. Get off at the front of the tram when coming from Porte de Versailles, and at the rear when coming from the opposite direction.
- Bus - Lines 39, 169, 260.
(1) Place Balard:
- Metro - Line 8. Take exit 4 Avenue Félix Faure. When you exit the metro station, turn around and then turn left onto Rue Leblanc.
- Bus - Lines 30, 39, 42, 88, 169.
The main animal representations and key elements to observe are indicated in italics in the body of the description.
(S) With your back to the Issy-les-Moulineaux heliport, head towards a stele topped by a very large eagle (work by Paul Landowski, 1930, in homage to the first full kilometre travelled by aeroplane, by Henri Farman in January 1908). Cross an exit ramp and pass under the Boulevard Périphérique bridge. On the other side, cross an access ramp and continue straight ahead. Further on, cross Boulevard Victor and the tram tracks using the pedestrian crossing on the left. Then pass under the bridge of the old Petite Ceinture railway line and go around Place Balard on the left (there is no protected crossing on the right-hand side; clusters of grapes are carved on the façade of No. 2).
(1) After crossing Avenue Félix Faure, pass a metro entrance and turn left onto Rue Leblanc, which runs parallel to the Petite Ceinture line. Immediately after, take the first left onto Rue Bouilloux-Lafont (sunflowers framing the gate at No. 17). Turn left with the street. You will come out onto Avenue Félix Faure and follow it to the right. Cross Rue Vasco de Gama and note the scallop shells on the façade of No. 119. At the crossroads (two large lion heads at No. 113), continue straight on along Avenue Félix Faure.
(2) Take the first right, Rue Félix Faure (buildings decorated with plant motifs on the odd-numbered side). When the street turns left, veer right, step over a chain and then pass under a porch. Take a chicane on the left-hand side and walk through Villa Frédéric Mistral. Pass under another porch, cross Rue Lecourbe and continue straight ahead into Rue Théodore Deck. Turn left with the street and note the old sign for "Lion & Fils" at No. 23. Then cross Rue de la Croix Nivert and follow it to the right. Take the first right, Rue Desnouettes. Note the two ram's heads at the corner of Rue Olier.
(3) Then turn left into Square du Clos Feuquières. At the first crossroads, turn left (fountain) and then immediately right. Pass under a pergola and then under an arbour. Leave the square and follow the street to the left. At the end, turn right, then right again into Rue Saint-Lambert (two ram's heads flanking the gate at no. 23). Turn left into Rue Eugène Millon. At the end, follow Rue de la Convention to the right. At the traffic lights, turn left, cross the street and take Rue Blomet. Immediately turn left into Rue de Javel.
(4) Cross Rue Lecourbe again at the traffic lights, continue along Rue de Javel and immediately turn right onto Rue Cournot. Shortly afterwards, turn left onto Rue Jules Simon. At the end, turn left onto Rue de la Croix Nivert. At the crossroads, which you will come to immediately, rejoin Rue de Javel and turn right. At the next traffic lights, join Avenue Félix Faure and follow it to the right. At the crossroads, go straight ahead (Art Nouveau building on the left, fountain on the right). Walk past the Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste on your right and, at the corner, turn right to reach the foot of its entrance steps.
(5) With your back to the church façade, go straight ahead into Rue du Commerce. Cross Rue Lakanal on the right-hand side (mascarons on the corner building) and immediately turn left into Square Yvette Chauviré. Cross via the right-hand path and leave the kiosk on your left. When you reach the playground, leave the square on the right. Follow the street to the left and, at the end, take a narrow street opposite, leaving a square white house on your left. You will come out onto Rue Violet; follow it to the right. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue Émile Zola and follow it to the right (there is a memorial to him here). Cross Rue du Théâtre on the left and take the next left, Rue Henri Duchène.
(6) At the end, turn right onto Rue Fondary. At the crossroads (traffic lights; opposite, caduceus with snakes at the top of the building), find Rue du Commerce and follow it to the left. At no. 27, note the fresco of an old dairy shop depicting several types of farm animals: cows, sheep, goats, chickens... Cross Rue Letellier and continue straight ahead. Take the first left, Rue Tiphaine. At the corner of No. 19, turn right into Passage Sécurité. This leads to Boulevard de Grenelle, which you follow to the left.
(7) After No. 106 (shop with teddy bears on the sign), turn right to cross the boulevard at the pedestrian crossing and go under the elevated metro line. On the other side, take Rue du Soudan. Cross Rue de Pondichéry and continue along Rue du Général de Larminat. Cross Rue d'Ouessant on the right-hand side and continue straight ahead (horse heads framing the gate at No. 7). Cross Rue Alasseur on the left-hand side and continue straight ahead. After No. 11, turn right onto a pedestrian street.
(8) You will come out onto Avenue de la Motte-Picquet; turn left and follow the road. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue de Suffren and continue straight ahead to Place Joffre. Walk along the right-hand side of the École Militaire building dedicated to artillery (dragoons above the gate, ram's heads on the windowsills). Then pass by the equestrian statue of Marshal Joffre, leaving it on your right. Walk along a pond on your left, then pass a fountain on your right.
(9) Turn left into an alley parallel to buildings , some of which are decorated with mascarons. Pass a kiosk on your left. Then turn left and pass a monument dedicated to human rights. At the crossroads, turn right into a wide alley (Avenue Anatole France) with the Eiffel Tower in your sights. You will come to the edge of Place Jacques Rueff and turn left. Continue along Avenue Joseph Bouvard. Turn left onto Avenue Charles Floquet (lion heads at the corner of No. 24; numerous buildings dating from the 1910s).
(10) Turn right onto Avenue du Général Détrie. You will come out on Avenue Suffren. First turn right then left to cross at the pedestrian crossing. Then turn right and left again to take Rue de Presles. Continue straight ahead, ignoring the side streets. You will arrive at Place Dupleix. Go around the square on the left to reach the foot of Saint-Léon Church.
(11) Continue around the square and note the crabs on the gate at No. 22. At the crossroads, take Rue Auguste Bartholdi on the left. At No. 8, there is a building dating from 1904 with a vine carved in bas-relief on the façade, from the roots to the bunches of grapes. At the end, return to Boulevard de Grenelle and follow it to the right. At the traffic lights, cross Rue Humblot on the right-hand side and turn left to cross the boulevard and pass under the elevated metro line again. On the other side, follow Rue de Lourmel. At No. 11, a dry cleaner's has a koala on its sign. At No. 24, note the lion's head above the gate and the mascarons under the first-floor windows.
(12) Then turn right onto Rue Rouelle. Take the first left, Rue Georges Citerne. At No. 6, there is a building with earthenware tiles on the façade. At the end, turn right onto Rue du Théâtre. When you reach Place Saint-Charles, take the first left, Rue Saint-Charles. Continue straight ahead and, at the traffic lights, cross Rue Linois and then Place Charles Michels (carousel with a few horses and other more unusual animals: pig, rabbit, seahorse, lion, tiger, monkey, giraffe, goose, etc.).
(13) At the traffic lights, find Avenue Émile Zola and follow it to the right. After No. 59, there is a mural that appears to depict a rabbit (?). Cross Rue des Quatre Frères Peignot and continue straight ahead (elephant in a shop window between No. 49 and No. 47). Pass a petrol station (graffiti depicting a rabbit). At the corner of Rue Laure Surville, on the even-numbered side, two dragons adorn the front of a pharmacy. Continue straight ahead and you will soon reach the Javel metro station and the RER station of the same name (E).
To return home:
- Metro - Line 10.
- RER - Line C. Cross Quai André Citroën to access the station.
- Bus - Lines 30, 62, 88.
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