Les Grandes Carrières, Les Épinettes and Les Batignolles

Starting point and access: Porte de Clignancourt.
- Metro - Line 4 (terminus). Take the Boulevard d'Ornano exit.
- Tram - Line T3b.
- Bus - Lines 56, 85, 137, 166, 255, 341.

On this route, you will occasionally come across a^GR® or GRP^® trail^. In the description below, the corresponding signposts are only mentioned when necessary.

(S) When you exit the metro station, turn left and take Rue Belliard on the right. Note the old Petite Ceinture railway line below on the right and the Jardins du Ruisseau gardens that have been created there. At the first intersection, turn right onto Rue du Ruisseau and cross the bridge over the Petite Ceinture.

(1) If the garden gate (marked "open to all") is open, go down the metal staircase on the right and walk through the small gardens on the former quays in one direction and then the other (please respect the grounds). Go back up the bridge.

(1) Walk a few more steps north and turn left into Villa des Tulipes. Walk back and forth along this cobbled lane lined with houses and wisteria.

(1) Cross the railway tracks again on the bridge, cross Rue Belliard and continue along Rue du Ruisseau. Pass in front of the Church of Sainte-Hélène and note the tall brick chimney of a school on the right-hand corner of Rue Gustave Rouannet. At the next crossroads, turn right into Rue Championnet.

At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue du Poteau, then cross Rue Rouannet again. At the crossroads, turn left at an acute angle onto Rue Damrémont. After the bus stop, turn right onto Passage du Champ Marie, lined with buildings. At the end, cross Rue Belliard, a central embankment, then Rue Leibniz, and continue opposite Passage Saint-Jules.

After a few metres, turn left into Square Maria Vérone. Cross the square, then Rue Paul Abadie, and continue along Rue Bonnet (note the mosaics decorating a former garage on the left). At the end, follow Rue Jean Dollfus to the end.

(2) At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue Leibniz. After about 50 metres, turn right into Impasse du Talus, lined with small houses, and then turn back immediately. Continue along Rue Leibniz and, after about 100 metres, turn right into Passage Charles-Albert.

At the end, turn left at an acute angle onto Rue Bernard Dimey, then cross Passage du Champ à Loup (private) on the left. At the T-junction, follow Rue Vauvenargues to the left. At the traffic lights, turn right, cross Place Noël Veg and turn right into Villa Vauvenargues.

Cross Rue Leibniz, then turn right and follow Rue Belliard again, with the old Petite Ceinture railway line below on your right. At the corner of no. 185 (note the colourful façade), turn left onto Rue des Tennis. At the end, turn right onto Rue Lagille.

(3) Cross Avenue de Saint-Ouen at the pedestrian crossing. Continue a few metres along Rue Arthur Brière and take the^first left, Rue Maria Deraismes. At the corner of No. 19, turn right into Square des Épinettes.

Turn right immediately. Just before a small reception area, turn left. Pass a kiosk on your right, then a playground. At the foot of the statue of Maria Deraismes, turn right. At the end of the road, leave the square on your left.

Continue along Rue Jean Leclaire. At the next intersection, turn right onto Rue de la Jonquière. Follow this street, which winds slightly, ignoring the perpendicular streets.

(4) Before the Pouchet school, opposite Rue des Épinettes, turn left into Cité des Fleurs. Follow this cobbled street lined with opulent, flower-filled houses.

At the end, turn right onto Avenue de Clichy. At the traffic lights, cross Rue Pouchet, then turn left to cross Avenue de Clichy. Continue along Rue Cardinet and take the^first right, Rue René Blum.

(5) At the end of the street, turn left into Parc Clichy-Batignolles Martin Luther King (note the facades of the surrounding buildings). At the fork that appears immediately, take the paved path on the right. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead and pass under a wind turbine on the left.

After a few metres, at the next intersection, follow a cement path to the right. At the fork, take the left path, which climbs slightly. At the next intersection, turn right at an acute angle and descend towards a pond.

Go around the pond on the right (buildings on your right). At the foot of a concrete structure and metal stairs (old railway line beyond), turn left and cross the pond on a wooden walkway. At the crossroads, turn left, still on the walkway.

At the exit, make a zigzag left/right turn to follow a wide cement path. Go straight ahead with a lawn on your left, then bushes, and playgrounds and skateboard areas on your right. At the end, turn right onto a gravel path.

(6) Leave the park, cross Rue Cardinet and continue straight ahead on Rue Truffaut. Cross Rue Brochant and, at the next intersection, turn right onto Rue des Moines. Cross Place Charles Fillion and pass by the side of the Church of Sainte-Marie-des-Batignolles.

At the corner, turn right and enter Square des Batignolles. Immediately follow Allée Barbara opposite. Pass an artificial waterfall and follow a stream on your right. Ignore the bridge over the stream (with a majestic plane tree on the right) and continue along the edge of a pond on your right. At the end, go straight ahead to leave the square. Then follow Rue Cardinet to the left and take the bridge over the railway tracks (the station is on the right-hand pavement).

(7) At the traffic lights, turn right, cross Rue Cardinet, leave the station on your right and continue along Boulevard Péreire. At the fork, follow Rue Georges Picard on the right. Ignore Rue Severiano de Heredia on your left and cross Rue Mère Teresa, then walk alongside the modern buildings. Turn left with the street.

At the T-junction, turn right onto Rue de Saussure. After about 50 metres, pass under a porch on the right and follow Rue Christine de Pisan downhill. At the end (small roundabout), turn left towards the Chapelle Notre Dame de Confiance and pass under a second porch. At the exit, turn left and enter Square Paul Paray. Turn immediately left, then right to exit (red and white sign) and climb a sloping ramp.

Cross Rue de Saussure, climb a staircase and pass under a porch (red and white marker). Pass a fountain on your right, turn left and pass under a second porch. You will come out onto Boulevard Péreire Nord and follow it to the right. At the traffic lights, cross Rue de Tocqueville and then the boulevard and follow it on the left-hand pavement.

(8) After about 50 metres, take the footbridge on the left over the old Petite Ceinture railway line. At the end of the footbridge, turn right onto Boulevard Péreire Sud. Go around Place Wagram on the left and continue along Boulevard Péreire Sud, with the Petite Ceinture railway line below on your right.

Cross Rue Alphonse de Neuville and continue straight ahead. Walk alongside the tennis courts on your right and you will come to Place du Maréchal Juin (E).

To return home:
- Metro - Line 3. Péreire station, access after Avenue de Villiers by going around the square on the left.
- RER - Line C. Péreire-Levallois station, immediate access at the corner of Boulevard Péreire Sud.

Good walking shoes are sufficient for this urban route.

Toilets and water fountains are available in public gardens (marked on the map). There are numerous bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

The route takes you through many dead-end streets and narrow alleys lined with houses: please be discreet and respectful.

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

Opening hours of public spaces:
Square Maria Vérone
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. on weekdays; 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5pm to 8.30pm, depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Square des Épinettes
- Opening times: 8am on weekdays; 9am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5pm to 9.30pm, depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Cité des Fleurs (private road open to pedestrians)
- Opening: 7:00 a.m.
- Closing time: 7pm on weekdays and Saturdays; 1pm on Sundays and public holidays.
Clichy-Batignolles Martin Luther King Park
- Opening: 7:00 a.m. on weekdays; 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5.45pm to 9.30pm, depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Batignolles Square
- Opening times: 8 a.m. on weekdays; 9 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5.45pm to 9.30pm, depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.
Square Paul Parey
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. on weekdays; 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing time: 5pm to 8.30pm, depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.

Hike completed by the author on 5 May 2018.

- The old Petite Ceinture railway line and some of its former stations.
- The Ruisseau Community Gardens (1).
- The Grandes Carrières neighbourhood owes its name to the former gypsum quarries, the raw material for plaster, which were mined there for many years.
- Numerous narrow, flower-filled passageways: Villa des Tulipes, Impasse du Talus, Passage Charles Albert, Villa Vauvenargues, Cité des Fleurs.
- The Parc Clichy-Batignolles Martin Luther King, between (5) and (6). Designed in part with a "let nature take its course" approach, it offers a nice contrast to the modern buildings and construction sites that surround it.
- The Square des Batignolles, before (7), which is not lacking in charm.
- Other squares and gardens along the route.