The wildlife of Montparnasse, Plaisance and Denfert

Starting point and access: Paris-Montparnasse station.
- Metro - Lines 4, 6, 12, 13, Montparnasse-Bienvenüe station. Take exit 1 Porte Océane.
- Transilien - Line N. Take the main exit Porte Océane.
- Bus - Lines 28, 39, 58, 59, 82, 89, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96.

The main animal representations and key elements to observe are indicated in italics in the body of the description.

(S) When leaving the station, turn right. Cross Rue du Départ at the pedestrian crossing, then turn right onto Avenue du Maine. Take the first left, Rue du Maine, then the first left again, Rue Poinsot (at the corner, there is a café named after a famous comic book dog). At the end, turn right, cross Place Joséphine Baker and walk along Boulevard Edgar Quinet.

At the crossroads, turn left, cross the boulevard in two stages and take Rue du Montparnasse. Note the male and female mascaron at numbers 60 and 58, which seem to be looking at each other. At the end of the street, cross Boulevard Montparnasse in two stages and arrive at the foot of the Notre-Dame des Champs church.

(1) Follow the boulevard to the right and pass in front of the church entrance. Take the first left, Rue Stanislas, then the first right, Rue Péguy. Turn right onto this street (at the corner, there is a balcony console in the shape of a lion's head). Return to Boulevard du Montparnasse (another lion's head at the corner) and follow it to the left.

Take the first left, Rue Vavin. Cross Boulevard Raspail in two stages and continue along Rue Vavin. At No. 26, note the terraced building dating from 1912, with its façade covered in earthenware. At the next intersection, turn right onto Rue Notre-Dame des Champs. Continue straight ahead until you reach the intersection with Rue de Chevreuse, on the right-hand side (at No. 79, there is a 1930s gate with two bas-reliefs of vases and birds).

(2) Continue straight ahead and immediately notice, at No. 82, a monumental gate surmounted by two caryatids.

(3) Take the first left, Rue Joseph Bara. The doors at numbers 15 and 9 are topped with a mascaron representing a horned human face. The mascaron at number 5 represents a man sticking out his tongue.

At the crossroads, take Rue Michelet diagonally to the right. Note the eagle's head on the door of No. 9 and the animal heads (dog, dragon?) above a window at No. 5. Note the quadriga at the top of the gate of the Institute of Art and Archaeology, then various bas-reliefs along the building: bull, reptile, lioness or panther head, eagle, griffin.

At the next intersection, turn right onto Avenue de l'Observatoire. The building is decorated with bas-reliefs depicting horses and warriors.

(4) At Rue des Chartreux, turn left and enter the Jardin des Grands Explorateurs. Turn right immediately, then left into an alleyway at the foot of a statue (allegory of dawn). At the end (street lamps with feline heads at their base), turn right. Walk along the right-hand side of the Fountain of the Four Parts of the World (1874): four women supporting the celestial sphere; sea horses with fins and fish tails; turtles; fish.

(5) Leave the garden and cross the street at the pedestrian crossing, then cross a small square. Turn right to cross Rue d'Assas at the pedestrian crossing, then turn left. Before the statue of Marshal Ney, turn right onto Rue Notre-Dame des Champs. Continue straight ahead until you reach the intersection with Rue Joseph Bara. At^{no. 119bis}, there are lion heads on the door; at no. 110, there is a pseudo-medieval wrought iron sign depicting, among other things, a miller pulling his donkey.

(3) Continue straight ahead and pass No. 82 again (caryatids). Opposite, at No. 83, there is a large mosaic bird on the façade.

(2) Turn left onto Rue de Chevreuse. At the end, cross Boulevard du Montparnasse in two stages and follow it to the right (gate decorated with foliage at^{No. 120bis}). At the traffic lights, turn left, cross Boulevard Raspail and follow it to the left. Take the second right, Rue Huygens (at the corner, lion heads under a balcony). Go straight ahead and, at the end, cross Boulevard Edgar Quinet in two stages.

(6) On the other side, there are two options:
- If you do not wish to cross the Montparnasse Cemetery, follow the boulevard to the left and take the first right, Rue Émile Richard. Join the main route at point 7.
- As shown on the map, enter the Montparnasse Cemetery. Follow a wide paved path straight ahead until you reach a roundabout (with a memorial statue in the centre). Then turn left onto Allée Transversale. Note the large metal fish on the right that adorns the tomb of painter Alex Berdal (1945-2010). At the intersection of two tarmac paths, turn right onto Avenue de l'Est. Further on, turn left and leave the cemetery.

(7) You will come out onto Rue Émile Richard. Turn right and immediately cross Rue Froidevaux, then turn right. Take the first left, Rue Roger (decorated gate at^{no. 10bis}). At the end, turn left onto Rue Daguerre, then right onto Rue Gassendi. At the traffic lights (building with arched windows opposite on the right), turn right onto Rue Liancourt.

At the end, rejoin Avenue du Maine and follow it to the right. At the traffic lights, turn left to cross the avenue and take Rue Maison Dieu. At the fork, turn left into Rue Asseline (original small townhouse at no. 4).

(8) At the traffic lights, go around the crossroads on the right and cross Rue Édouard Jacques and Rue du Château. Go through a chicane and arrive at Place Jean Pronteau. First turn right then left and walk along the Rosa Parks sports area on your left. Come out onto Place de la Garenne (small fountain in the centre), turn right and enter Jardin Françoise Héritier.

At the intersection that appears immediately, go straight ahead into a paved alley and leave the recycling bins on your right. Then turn left, pass a chicane and arrive at the foot of the Château ouvrier (former social housing building built in 1892). Follow the alleyway on the right that bears its name. Come out onto Rue Raymond Losserand and follow it to the left. Cross Rue Pernety on the left-hand side (mural "La Méditerranée" on the corner) then Rue de Plaisance.

(9) At the next crossroads (beautiful façades at nos. 89 and 91), you have two options:
- Continue straight on Rue Losserand and rejoin the main route about thirty metres further on.
- As shown on the map, turn left onto the narrow Rue des Thermopyles. At the end, turn right twice to take Rue Boyer-Barret in the opposite direction.

At the end, rejoin Rue Raymond Losserand and follow it to the left (at no. 121, there is a five-storey fresco and shelves with books). Continue straight ahead along this busy street until the next traffic lights (lion heads above no. 122). Then turn left into Rue d'Alésia and pass a petrol station.

(10) Immediately afterwards, turn sharply left into Impasse Florimont. Go through a wooden gate and continue to the end of the street, where you will find the small house where Georges Brassens lived from 1944 to 1966 (commemorative plaque; two cat statuettes on the wall). Retrace your steps (at No. 6, the birthplace of Pierre Nicolas, who was Georges Brassens' double bass player for over 30 years).

(10) Continue along Rue d'Alésia (caryatids at no. 177). After no. 134, turn sharply left into Rue de Gergovie (lion heads at^{no. 71bis}). Take the first right, Rue du Moulin Vert (lion heads at no. 73; "Loire Valley" fresco at^{no. 39bis}). Continue straight ahead, crossing Rue Didot and Rue Hippolyte Maindron, and continue along Rue du Moulin Vert, which becomes a pedestrian street here.

(11) At the crossroads, take the second left, Rue des Plantes, and go straight ahead until the next traffic lights. Then turn right into Rue de la Sablière. At the end, cross Avenue du Maine and make the first turn left then right onto Rue Brézin.

Cross Place Jacques Demy and immediately turn left onto Rue Boulard. Continue straight ahead and note, at no. 41, a building with an Art Deco gate and, at no. 40, a mural with a bull. Cross Rue Liancourt on the left-hand side and arrive at a new crossroads.

(12) Turn right onto Rue Daguerre, a pedestrianised street with many shops: note several shops with animal symbols, including a cheese shop with two cows on its roof, a bee (selling honey), a goose (selling foie gras), a shark and an octopus (fishmonger's). At the end (traffic lights), cross Avenue du Général Leclerc and follow it to the left. At the next set of traffic lights, turn right. At the next set of traffic lights (RER station opposite), turn left and cross the avenue.

Cross a square diagonally to the left (stele in homage to A. Charlet) and arrive at the centre of Place Denfert-Rochereau (copper replica dated 1880 of Auguste Bartholdi's Lion of Belfort). Then turn left and cross at the traffic lights to reach a metro station (E).

To return home:
- Metro - Line 4 or 6.
- RER - Line B.
- Bus - Lines 38, 59, 64, 68, 88, 216.

Good trainers are sufficient for this urban route.

There are numerous bars, restaurants and shops along the route. Public toilets and water points are marked on the OSM map, particularly at the entrance to the Montparnasse Cemetery (6).

Opening hours for gardens and public places:
Jardin des Grands Explorateurs
- 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).
Montparnasse Cemetery
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. on weekdays; 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays; 9:00 a.m. on Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5:30 p.m. from 6 November to 15 March; 6 p.m. from 16 March to 5 November.
Françoise Héritier Garden
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. on weekdays; 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing times: 5:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. depending on the season (see detailed schedule).

Useful detailed map (at least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 28 December 2023. The author would like to thank hiker jaco948 for his additional observations, which helped improve the description of this hike.

The main animal representations and notable places are mentioned in the description itself, without claiming to be exhaustive.

The churches are open to visitors during the day, but please refrain from visiting during services.

Other places to visit:
- Montparnasse Cemetery. Many famous people are buried here, and there are many different ways to explore the cemetery, between (6) and (7). Maps showing the most frequently requested graves are available at the entrance. For a more complete list, see the one provided by Wikipedia.
- Catacombs of Paris (E). Entrance at 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy. Open Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:45 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Closed on certain public holidays:¹ January,¹ May and 25 December.