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Starting point and access: Charonne station.
- Metro - Line 9. Take exit 1 Rue de Charonne.
- Bus - Lines 56 and 76.
The main animal representations and key elements to observe are indicated in italics in the body of the description.
(S/E) When you exit the metro station, turn around. At the traffic lights, cross Rue de Charonne and follow it to the left. At the corner of No. 101, walk back and forth through the Cité du Couvent (a former priory from the 17th-18th centuries). Continue along Rue de Charonne and take the first left, Rue Faidherbe (Palais de la Femme on the corner). Immediately turn left into Rue Jean Macé and cross Impasse Franchemont on the left-hand side. Note the lion's head at No. 9 and the large gates at Nos. 8 and 3.
(1) At the crossroads, take the second right, Rue Paul Bert. At No. 22, the interior of a restaurant is decorated with numerous representations of fish, shellfish and crustaceans. Also note the beautiful gates at Nos. 19, 17, 18 and 16. At the end, cross Rue Faidherbe and follow it to the right. At No. 22, you will see an Art Deco building dating from 1926, which used to house a timber trading company. Note the lion's head on the gate at No. 23. After No. 25, turn left into Rue Chanzy.
(2) Take the first right, Rue Charrière, and walk along the left-hand side of a square and then Sainte-Marguerite Church. At the end, rejoin Rue de Charonne and follow it to the left. Take the second right, Passage Charles Dallery. Then turn right into Passage Rauch (at the entrance to No. 1, there is a mosaic depicting a rhinoceros). At the end, turn left onto Rue Basfroi. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue Ledru-Rollin and turn diagonally left onto Passage Basfroi (frescoes high up on the corner building). Then turn right into Passage Charles Dallery.
(3) At the end, turn right onto Rue de la Roquette (at No. 71, carved gate dating from the 18th century with snakes). At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue Popincourt (bull's head sign at No. 12). At the next intersection, turn right onto Rue Sedaine. At the traffic lights, cross Boulevard Voltaire and follow it to the right (lion's head on the gate at no. 128). At the corner of the 11th arrondissement town hall, turn left and walk onto Place Léon Blum (statue).
(4) Cross Avenue Parmentier and turn into Rue Camille Desmoulins opposite. After No. 5, walk to the end of Cité de l'Industrie (a cul-de-sac with plants) and back. Cross Rue Pétion (duck sign on the corner bar) and continue along Rue Camille Desmoulins (lion heads at No. 21, mascarons at Nos. 25 and 24). At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue Saint-Maur. Take the second right, Rue du Chemin Vert. Go straight ahead and note the birds in flight on the gate at No. 125, as well as a lion's head and mascarons at No. 133.
(5) Then turn left onto Rue Pichon. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue de la République and follow it to the right. Soon turn left onto Rue Spinoza. Cross Boulevard de Ménilmontant (large chimney on the left) and turn into Rue Tlemcen opposite (former wood and coal shop at no. 5). Then turn left onto Rue Duris. After about 50 metres, turn right into Jardin Toussaint Louverture. Walk past a playground on your left, then turn left to walk past a basketball court on your left. Then turn right, leave a pond on your left and climb a ramp interspersed with steps. At the top, go straight ahead, leave the garden and you will come out onto Place Carmen.
(6) Then turn left onto Rue des Amandiers. Cross Rue des Panoyaux on the left, then Rue des Plâtriers on the right, and continue straight ahead. At the end, cross Rue de Ménilmontant at the traffic lights (church on the left).
(7) On the other side, take a small street that goes downhill, Rue de la Mare, and go around the back of the church on the right. Cross a street on the left, continue along Rue de la Mare and take the footbridge over the old Petite Ceinture railway line. Go straight ahead and, at the crossroads shortly afterwards, continue along Rue de la Mare (mascarons above nos. 46-48). You will come to a small square (with drawings on the left depicting a zebra, a mouse, a dog, etc.) and turn right into Rue de Savies. Go up and you will arrive at the foot of the Regard Saint-Martin, dating from the 17th century, which was used to monitor the level of an underground canal.
(8) Then turn right (there are numerous drawings on the wall on the right-hand side depicting various animals: dragons, foxes, whales, deer, etc.). Immediately climb the stairs on the left, Rue Fernand Raynaud (drawings of birds, including a dove of peace). At the top, turn left onto Rue de l'Ermitage. Cross Rue des Pyrénées, continue along Rue de l'Ermitage and walk past the old Belleville covered market on your left. Cross Rue des Rigoles and continue straight ahead. Cross Rue Olivier Métra and turn diagonally right onto Rue Charles Friedel.
(9) At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue Pixérécourt and walk along a square on your right. Continue straight ahead and pass a smaller square on your left. At the traffic lights, cross Rue de Belleville and follow it to the right. Cross Rue du Docteur Potain on the left and continue straight ahead (at no. 236, there is a mural with fish). You will soon reach Télégraphe metro station, one of the highest points in Paris (S/E).
To return home:
- Metro - Line 11.
- Bus - Lines 20 and 60.
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