The painted walls of Vitry-sur-Seine

Starting point and access: Vitry-sur-Seine station.
- RER - Line C, on the section between Paris and Étampes / Dourdan / Massy-Palaiseau. Take the Rue Pierre Semard exit on the side of track 1 bis, where trains from Paris stop (if arriving in the opposite direction, track 2 bis, take the underground passage).
- Bus - Lines 180, 182, 217.

To avoid going back and forth between sections, the works are indicated directly in the description, simply designated by their motif written in italics. When a photo of the work in question has been taken, a link has been created. N.B. In some places, the density of works is such that it is impossible to mention them all.

(S) Upon exiting the station, head north towards a hotel whose façade is prominently decorated with a fresco called Robotique. Then turn left, pass under the railway bridge and return to the main exit of the station. Cross the avenue at the pedestrian crossing. Then turn right and then left into Rue Émile Zola.

Note the painting of a processor on the right-hand side. The street turns right and leads to a small square (geometric patterns). Then turn left onto Avenue Victor Hugo (painted garage doors on the left-hand side).

At the end, cross Avenue de la République and turn left onto Rue Gabriel Péri. Note the representation of a jungle on the right-hand side, then cross Rue de l'Yser. Next, note the colourful patterns. Continue straight ahead, ignoring the streets on the right, until you reach a crossroads (traffic lights).

(1) Then take the^second right, Avenue Paul Vaillant-Couturier, preferably on the left-hand pavement. At the^first left, Rue Neuve, note the colourful shapes. Continue along Avenue Paul Vaillant-Couturier, cross Rue Désiré Granet and take the next left, Avenue André Maginot. Cross Avenue Jean-Jaurès and continue straight ahead. At the next intersection (painted garage doors), turn right onto Rue des Marguerites.

Cross Avenue Guy Môquet, pass under a porch and you will come out onto Place Jean Martin. Take a quick tour of the square, several of whose walls are painted. Return to Avenue Guy Môquet and follow it to the left. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue Jean Jaurès.

(2) Turn right to see a bird of prey at the corner of Avenue Paul Vaillant-Couturier. Retrace your steps.

(2) Cross Avenue Paul Vaillant-Couturier at the traffic lights, then Rue Louise-Aglaé Cretté. Follow Avenue Henri Barbusse on the right-hand pavement and pass the square of the same name ( pencil sculpture). Then note, through a grille, a fresco in homage to Pierre and Marie Curie.

At the traffic lights, turn left to cross the avenue and note the mural opposite, high up on the wall, depicting half a face. On the other side, first turn left then right and cross the market square, walking alongside the building on your right. When you reach the foot of the church, turn right then left to reach the entrance.

(3) Then turn right and walk along Avenue de l'Abbé Roger Derry at a distance. After about 50 metres, go through a gate on the right and follow Allée Arthur Teisseire between the brick buildings. You will come out onto Avenue Ambroise Croizat. Follow it to the right, slightly uphill.

Shortly before Rue du Château (on the right-hand side), turn left onto Rue Germain Defresne (incorrectly located on the OSM map) and pass the Bourse du Travail building on your right. You will come out onto Rue Audigeois, where you will see a mixed couple opposite.

Follow the street to the right and immediately notice a woman with butterflies on the right. Go up Rue Audigeois and notice a jaguar and a bearded vulture on the left, then a Rastafarian with two roosters. Next, through the gates, notice the mural entitled Black and White.

(4) Immediately afterwards, turn sharply left and follow Allée du Petit Tonneau, walking alongside painted walls. At an intersection, turn right into an alley with two street lamps in the middle. You will come to a square with a tall tower on the left. First turn right then left and walk alongside a building on your right.

At the corner (woman with rooster and chameleon), first turn right then left to pass between two buildings and go down a staircase. Cross an alley, continue straight ahead, pass under a porch (no. 3) and you will come to a square with an abstract sculpture in the centre.

Then turn right and then left to walk along Avenue Youri Gagarine. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue de l'Abbé Roger Derry and continue straight ahead (note the Town Hall on the other side).

(5) After about 100 metres, turn left to go around a car park. At the corner, turn right onto a paved path and walk along the car park on your right. At the end, enter a U-shaped courtyard and walk along the buildings with painted walls. You will come to a portraitof André Malraux and, behind it at the foot of a building, a geisha with a crow on her head.

Then take a passageway between two buildings on the right, in the opposite direction to that indicated by a signpost. You will come out onto a street; follow it to the right. At the intersection that you will soon come to (colourful female face), turn left onto Rue de la Glacière.

At the end, turn left onto Rue Antoine-Marie Colin. Go straight ahead and note a cat at No. 20 and Santa Muerte at No. 10. At the end, turn right onto Avenue de l'Abbé Roger Derry. Note a woman with her hand in her hair on the right.

(6) Take the^first right, Rue Saint-Germain, and walk past a façade decorated with curves and arabesques. At the corner, turn right into a car park to see several paintings at the foot of the building, including a soldier from 1917 and a young woman in a jacket.

Retrace your steps to Avenue de l'Abbé Roger Derry.

(6) Follow the avenue to the right. There are many paintings to see, including a red panda next to the entrance of a building and, on two posts, footballer Neymar and Captain Haddock.

At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue du 18 Juin 1940. After about 40 metres, turn right between two buildings (on the left-hand building, there are figures with computers). Facing a dragon, first turn right then left (aquatic scene on the right) and enter a covered gallery. Cross this richly decorated gallery, which features a portrait of a bearded man and a violent scene between a man wearing a hat and a cat.

Facing a female face, turn left into Square Jacques Alluvial Plain, go down a flight of steps and walk along a building on your right. Go up a few steps and note the peppers and toothbrushes. Turn right at the corner of the building and observe its decorated entrance. Return to Rue Saint-Germain and follow it to the left for about twenty metres.

(7) Then turn left, go through a metal gate and walk along the school buildings on your right. Pass a bust of Irène Joliot-Curie on your left and find a wall painted with characters from Oliver Twist on your right.

Retrace your steps and go back through the gate.

(7) Continue straight ahead, passing a small field with two basketball hoops supported by small painted walls on your left. At the corner of a building (tribute to José Marti), turn left and walk along a car park on your right.

At the end, follow Passage Irène et Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Walk alongside a gym with painted walls on the left (Vitry-Party) and note a man-hare on the right. Continue straight ahead through the passage between a public garden (on the left) and a wall (on the right) painted all along with a variety of themes: roses, sharks, junk food and TV, a smiling sun, a diamond in a rainbow, etc. At the end (mural on the right), turn left onto Rue Camille Groult.

(8) At the traffic lights (building painted opposite on the left), follow Rue de Choisy to the left until you see a painting of a toucan. Retrace your steps.

(8) Continue straight ahead on Rue de Choisy. On the right-hand side, walk alongside a public garden, cross Rue des Granges and then walk alongside Cité Rosenberg with its brick buildings.

At the next crossroads, turn right into Rue du 8 Mai 1945. After the post office, turn left, cross a car park and head towards the colourful façade of the municipal swimming pool. On the left, you will see a metal gate leading to a small car park. If the gate is open, enter the car park and head towards a pair of eyes staring at you. Then turn right to see the paintings Bicéphale and Bicéphale 2 on the wall and outside staircase.

Retrace your steps to Rue de Choisy, at the corner of the post office. Follow Rue de Choisy to the right until you reach a crossroads.

(9) Take the^first right, Rue Gretillat, then the^first left, Rue Georges Martin. Then take the^first right, Rue Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Follow this winding residential street. At the end, turn left onto Rue Ampère. At the T-junction, first turn right then left to follow Rue Balzac.

Turn left^onto Rue Christine Pizan (pedestrian street) and, at the end, turn right onto Rue Colette. At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue Olympe de Gouges. At the next intersection (mural on the right), turn left onto Rue Elsa Triolet. Take the^first right, Allée de l'Horizon (pedestrian street). At the end, you will come to Rue de Choisiy. Turn left and continue straight ahead until you reach the intersection you took earlier.

(9) Then turn right onto Rue Victor Ruiz. On the left-hand side, walk past a school complex and note a moustachioed figure. Continue straight ahead until you reach a crossroads. Cross the D274 road, then cross a car park, keeping to the right. At the end, turn right and you will immediately reach Les Ardoines station (E).

To return home:
- RER - Line C, towards Paris (platform 2 bis, immediate access) or Etampes / Dourdan / Massy-Palaiseau (platform 1 bis, take the underground passage).
- Bus - Line 182.

Train timetables: check the Transilien website.

Good trainers are sufficient for this urban route.

Bars, restaurants and shops along the route, particularly on Paul Vaillant-Couturier, Henri Barbusse and Youri Gagarine avenues.

Detailed map required (at least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 22 January 2020.

The painted or tagged walls and other murals, most of which date from the 2010s, are the main focus of this urban route. The development of street art in Vitry is the result of both the pioneering role of local graffiti artist C215 and the municipality's support for this form of expression. See, for example, the relevant page on the municipality's official website.

The density of the works is impressive and it is impossible to be exhaustive! The description indicates the main sites visited and the corresponding information (author, year, etc.) is included in the captions of the photos that were taken and published on the website, to which a link refers.

For more details, it is useful to consult the "Trompe l'oeil" website, particularly its interactive map of Vitry-sur-Seine. By clicking on a marker on the map, you will find a summary of the work in question, which includes a link to a detailed description.

Many thanks to the managers of the "Trompe l'oeil" website: the map mentioned above was a great help in designing this itinerary, and most of the information in the photo captions comes from it.

In the midst of this ocean of street art, you can visit the beautiful Saint-Germain Church (12th-14th century) (3).