The murals of the 13th arrondissement

Starting point and access: Place d'Italie.
- Metro - Lines 5, 6, 7. Take exit 1, Bd. Auguste Blanqui.
- Bus - Lines 27, 47, 57, 59, 61, 64, 67, 83.

To avoid having to go back and forth between sections, the murals are indicated directly in the description, simply designated by their motif written in italics. Where a photo of the mural in question has been taken, a link has been provided.

(S) When you exit the metro station, turn slightly left onto Rue Bobillot. At the nursery school, turn right into Passage du Moulin des Prés (bird on a blue background). At the end, follow Rue du Moulin des Prés to the right. Then take^{the first} left, Rue Gérard. At the junction with Rue Samsom, turn right into Rue Jonas (graffiti).

At the crossroads that immediately follows, turn left onto Rue des Cinq Diamants. Note the heavily graffitied shop front at no. 29 and the metal shutter decorated with a boy with his finger in his nose at no. 31. Cross Passage Barrault on the right and note the sprawling mural.

At the end of the street (bouquetin), turn left and take Rue de la Butte aux Cailles (piranha). Note the metal curtain decorated with portraits of Jacques Brel and Léo Ferré at No. 13. Shortly afterwards, turn right into Passage Boiton (graffiti-covered walls). Note the hippopotamus on the left.

At the end, turn left and you will come to a small square. Cross it, keeping to the right, and continue along Rue du Moulinet. Pass the building with the Donkey Kong mural (referring to a video game).

Further on, cross Rue du Moulin des Prés and continue straight ahead for about 20 metres. Then turn left into Passage Vandrezanne and continue to a small square.

(1) Turn left onto Rue Vandrezanne to see the long mural entitled Cinq visages on the right-hand side. Retrace your steps.

(1) Back at the small square, turn left and continue along Rue Vandrezanne. Pass under a tower and turn right onto Place André Masson to see the small fresco with childlike motifs at no. 7. Continue along Rue Vandrezanne.

At the traffic lights, cross Avenue d'Italie and follow it to the left. At No. 17, turn right, pass under a colourful mosaic and enter a covered passageway (retoucherie). Go straight ahead, go down a flight of steps and you will come out onto Avenue de Choisy.

Follow the avenue to the left and, after a few dozen metres, cross it at the pedestrian crossing. Then cross Avenue Edison and continue along Avenue de Choisy until you reach Place d'Italie.

Then turn right at the corner of a fast food restaurant. After about 50 metres, at the traffic lights, cross Boulevard Vincent Auriol in several stages. Continue straight ahead through a small green space.

(2) At a roundabout, turn right and use the pedestrian crossing to cross the street parallel to the square. Continue straight ahead on Rue Godefroy and note a long mural with paper aeroplanes and two figures wearing aviator helmets.

At the end, go around Place des Alpes and take the^{second street} on the left, Rue Stephen Pichon. Turn into the^first street on the left, Rue Édouard Manet, and note Déjeuner sur l'herbe revisité on the left.

At the end of the street, follow Boulevard de l'Hôpital to the right and walk alongside the large Arts et Métiers building. At the traffic lights, turn left to cross the boulevard. Note the mural entitled Mécanismes on the corner of Rue Watteau.

Then turn right and continue slightly downhill on Boulevard de l'Hôpital. Cross Rue Titien on your left, then Rue Duméril. At the next traffic lights, turn right to cross Boulevard de l'Hôpital again. Then turn left and right to cross Rue Esquirol and arrive at Place Louis Armstrong (Wallace fountain).

(3) Walk along the square on your left and, at the end, turn left and right to enter Rue Jeanne d'Arc, which features several murals. First, two photographers frame the doorway of No. 110, a woman and then a man. The next building has a façade decoratedwith coloured ellipses. At the corner of this building, note a toddler in shorts.

At the same height as this last mural but on the odd-numbered side, at the corner of No. 107, turn right into Square Gustave Mesureur. At the fork that immediately appears, turn left and cross the square at the foot of the buildings.

Just before the exit, note the monumental mural on the right depicting a couple embracing. Leave the square and immediately note a portrait of Philippe Pinel, after whom the square is named, on the left. Walk around the square in a counterclockwise direction and note a portrait of a woman on Rue Esquirol.

Reach Boulevard Auriol and follow it to the left. Immediately note a figure at the corner who appears to be opening a sliding door. Walk along the elevated metro line on your right and note a building on your left with a facade decorated with blue patterns.

There are then two murals to see on the left: a dancer at the junction with Rue Jeanne d'Arc, then a face seen in profile at the junction with Rue Jenner.

(4) At the traffic lights, turn right, cross Boulevard Auriol in two stages and pass under the elevated metro line. On the other side, follow Boulevard Auriol to the right and immediately note two murals: the Madre Secular (turning around) and then an embrace.

At the corner of this last building, turn left and climb the stairs towards Square Dunois, keeping the blue and black birds on your right. At the top, turn right into a covered passageway (acting studio). Go under the arcades and turn right at the T-junction. After about 20 metres, turn left at the corner of a wall sculpture. You will come out onto Rue Dunois; turn right and follow the road.

Return to Boulevard Auriol and follow it to the left. Cross Rue Jeanne d'Arc again and note a female face in red tones. Then cross Rue Nationale and, turning around, note a cat on a blue background on the left and, higher up, the face of Marianne surrounded by the motto of the French Republic.

(5) Enter Square de la Raffinerie Say and look up to see a female face. Cross the square, ignore the^first exit on the left and turn left. Take the^second exit on the left and walk along the left-hand side of a building with the number 202.

At the end of the alley, follow a pedestrian street on the left (Rue Yéo Thomas). At the end, note a door on the left opening onto a setting sun. Cross Rue Nationale at the pedestrian crossing and turn right. Cross Rue du Docteur Richet on the left, then Rue du Docteur Hutinel, and continue along Rue Jean-Sbéstien Bach.

Immediately on your right, you will see a portrait of a mother and child. Then look for a frog on the left. At the end of the street, look for blue arabesques on the right. On the left, Rue Clisson, look for a portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach.

(6) Follow Rue Clisson to the right. At the corner of this street and Rue Lahire, note a map of the neighbourhood framed by portraits of Joan of Arc and her companions in arms. Cross Rue Lahire, which leads to Place Nationale, and go around it on the left.

Take the^{second street} on the left, Rue Nationale, and after a few metres, take Rue Baudricourt on the right. Continue straight ahead and walk alongside the Centre Pierre Mendès-France. At the traffic lights, cross Rue de Tolbiac and continue straight ahead. Note the fresco Les lettres on the left. Continue straight ahead and, at the next traffic lights, cross Avenue d'Ivry.

(7) Follow the avenue to the left. At the corner of an Asian grocery store, turn right towards the post office. Immediately turn left onto Rue Simone Weil and leave the post office on your right. At an intersection, make a left-right turn to enter Jardin Baudricourt. Cross the garden, passing a fountain and leaving the toilets on your right.

At the exit, cross the street and enter Jardin de la Dalle d'Ivry. Follow a paved path lined with metal barriers. After a chicane, turn right and go through a gate. Go straight ahead and pass a playground on your left. Turn around and look at the blue fish. Leave the garden and cross Avenue de Choisy at the pedestrian crossing.

Note the colourful mural on the corner, follow the avenue to the left and pass the Notre-Dame de Chine church. On the opposite side, note a blue heron with a panda at its feet. Continue along the avenue and you will soon reach the Porte de Choisy (E).

To return to your starting point:
- Metro - Line 7. Immediate access on the right. N.B. In January 2020, the Porte de Choisy station was closed for works. In this case, take the T3a tram towards Pont du Gagliriano and get off at the next station, Porte d'Italie, where the metro station is open.
- Tram - Line T3a. Station on the right, in the middle of Boulevard Masséna (cross at the traffic lights).
- Bus - Line 183.

Good walking shoes are sufficient for this urban route.

Water fountains and public toilets are available in some gardens, marked on the OSM map. There are numerous bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

A detailed map is required (at least the one accompanying this description).

Public garden opening hours:
Square Gustave Mesureur:
- Opening hours: 8 a.m. on weekdays; 9 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing times: 5.45pm to 9.30pm depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Square de la Raffinerie Say:
- Opening times: 8am on weekdays; 9am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5pm to 8.30pm depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Jardin Baudricourt:
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. on weekdays; 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing times: 5.45pm to 9.30pm depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Jardin de la dalle d'Ivry: Open 24 hours a day.

Hike completed by the author on 10 January 2020.

The murals, most of which date from the 2010s, are the main attraction of this urban trail. The density of works found here is the result of the determined efforts of the 13th arrondissement of Paris, particularly Jérôme Coumet, mayor since 2007, and the Gallerie Itinerrance, which has been based in the arrondissement since 2004. Not to mention the inventiveness of the artists who have been entrusted with these walls, some of which are gigantic...

It is obviously impossible to be exhaustive! The description systematically indicates which frescoes have been visited, and the corresponding information (artist, year, etc.) appears in the captions of the photos that have been taken and published on the website, to which a link is provided.

For more details, please visit the "Trompe l'oeil" website, which features an interactive map of^{the 13th} arrondissement. Clicking on a marker on the map will bring up a summary of the work in question, including a link to a detailed description.

Many thanks to the people responsible for the "Trompe l'oeil" website: the map mentioned above was very helpful in designing this itinerary, and most of the information in the photo captions comes from it.