The Bestiary of Les Ternes and La Plaine Monceau

Starting point and access: Porte Dauphine.
- Metro – Line 2. Take Exit 3 onto Boulevard de l’Amiral Bruix.
- Tram – Line T3b.
- RER – Line C, Avenue Foch station.
- Bus – Line PC.

The main depictions of animals and the key features to look out for are highlighted in italics within the description.

(S) As you exit the metro station, you have two options:
- Turn right and follow the side road off Avenue Foch.
- As shown on the map, turn left and take a path through the Pierre Brossolette Lawn. Cross the first path and continue straight ahead across the lawn. At the second path, turn left.
In either case, turn into Rue Pergolèse (to the left if you chose the first option, straight ahead if you chose the second).

Keep going straight on. At No. 53, there is a canopy above the gate and a mascaron. At No. 51, there are salamanders on the façade. At No. 46, there is a rooster (perched on a pile of manure?). At the end, cross Avenue de Malakoff.

(1) Follow the avenue to the right and immediately turn left onto Avenue Alphand. At No. 8, there are caryatids and a female sculpture above the gate. At No. 3, lion heads on the first floor and ram heads higher up. At the end, turn left then immediately right into Rue du Bois de Boulogne. At the end, turn right onto Rue Le Sueur. Just before reaching Avenue Foch, turn sharply left into Rue Chalgrin. Turn right as you follow this street.

(2) Take the first left, Rue d’Argentine. On the corner, there is a commemorative plaque featuring a bird on the left and a sheep’s head at the bottom right. At No. 11, there are lion heads. At the end of the street, turn left onto Avenue de la Grande Armée: there are lion heads on the corner and after No. 27. At the traffic lights just after the metro entrance, turn right and cross the avenue.

On the other side, note two buildings adorned with columns, lion heads high up and statues at the top. Cross Rue des Acacias, then Rue Villaret de Joyeuse, and turn right into Rue Brunel. You’ll reach Place Saint-Ferdinand (central sculpture) and turn right into the street of the same name. At the end, you’ll reach the entrance to Saint-Ferdinand Church (bas-reliefs on the façade, a lion at the foot of the armoured soldier on the left).

(3) Turn left into Place Tristan Bernard. Cross Avenue des Ternes at the traffic lights and continue along Rue Pierre Demours. Pass Rue Marcel Renault on your right and turn immediately left into Rue Lebon. At the junction, turn left into Rue Lebon (pedestrianised). At the next junction, turn right into Rue Torricelli, then right again into Rue Bayen. Pass under an archway. You will then rejoin Rue Pierre Demours; follow it to the left.

(4) Take the first left into Rue du Sergent Hoff. At the next junction, turn right into Rue de Saint-Senoch. At No. 14, there are two lion heads. At the end of the street, turn right into Rue Laugier. Cross Rue Pierre Demours and walk past a small square on your left (the Wallace Fountain, decorated with dolphins, tritons and scallop shells). Cross Avenue Niel, follow it to the left for about fifty metres and you’ll come to Rue des Renaudes on your right.

(5) Then turn right into Rue Pierre Demours. At the junction, turn right into Rue Rennequin. At the next junction (lion’s head on the corner of Rue Fourcroy), turn left into Rue Gustave Flaubert (lion’s heads at no. 7). Cross Rue Théodore de Banville (lion’s heads on the corner building on the left) and continue along Rue Gustave Flaubert.

Cross Rue de Courcelles at the pedestrian crossing on the left. At No. 138, slightly to the left, note the lion-headed corbels on the first-floor balcony and, higher up, a coat of arms featuring two snakes. Follow Rue de Courcelles to the right and cross Avenue de Wagram.

(6) On the other side, on the corner, is a building dating from 1907 whose rich decoration is well worth a look. Continue along Rue de Courcelles until you soon reach No. 132.
- On the first floor, there are bas-reliefs celebrating family values.
Head back towards the junction with Avenue de Wagram.
- Just past No. 134, a balcony corbel featuring baby birds in a nest being fed by one of their parents.
- Just after that, birds taking flight above ears of wheat.
- On the corner, a first-floor window framed, on the right, by a squirrel in the branches and, on the left, by an adult bird and a chick on the ground.

(6) Turn right onto Rue Jouffroy d’Abbans and continue examining the building’s façade.
- The next window is framed by bas-reliefs featuring two cats.
- Several birds on a branch.
- A balcony on the first floor featuring: on the right, an owl on a branch; below it, two snakes amongst the ferns; on the left, a cockerel.
- Above the balcony, beneath the windows, there are frogs and beetles.

Continue along Rue Jouffroy d’Abbans, cross Rue de Prony and carry on straight ahead. At No. 94, there are two statues in niches. At No. 88, there is a lion’s head high up. Further on, cross Avenue de Villiers.

(7) Then turn left into Rue Brémontier and walk past the Church of Saint-François de Salles (the old church). At the traffic lights, turn right at an acute angle into Rue Ampère. Walk past the Church of Saint-François de Salles (the new church). At the crossroads, veer right, cross Rue Jouffroy d’Abbans, follow it to the left and cross Avenue Malesherbes. Cross Rue Daubigny (lion’s head on the left-hand corner) and continue straight ahead.

(8) At the next junction, turn right into Rue de Toqueville. After about a hundred metres, look out for the metal gate to Impasse Léger (private) on the right. This wrought-iron gate, dating from 2016, features (if I’m not mistaken) four squirrels, three birds—one of which is holding an earthworm in its beak—a rabbit, two butterflies and three dragonflies.

Continue for a few dozen metres along Rue de Toqueville and turn left into Passage Cardinet. At the end, go down a flight of steps on the left. You’ll come to Rue Jouffroiy d’Abbans; follow it to the right. At the traffic lights, turn left to cross the street and now follow it along the left-hand pavement. At the junction, cross Boulevard Péreire and you’ll immediately reach Pont Cardinet station (E).

To get back home:
- Metro – Line 14.
- Transilien – Line L, towards Paris-Saint-Lazare or Versailles Rive Droite, Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche or Cergy.
- Bus – Routes 21, 30, 54, 68, 74, 80, 95.

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

There are plenty of bars, restaurants and shops all along the route.

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

Walk undertaken by the author on 28 July 2024.

The main depictions of animals and notable sites are mentioned in the description itself, though this is by no means an exhaustive list.

Visits to the churches are free during the day, but you should refrain from visiting during services.