In the footsteps of astronomers and artists between Denfert and Montparnasse

Starting point and access: Place Denfert-Rochereau.
- Metro - Lines 4, 6. Take Exit 1 to Place Denfert-Rochereau.
- Bus - Lines 38, 59, 64, 68, 88, 216.
- RER - Line B. Two options: (i) cross the square to find the metro exit between the Musée de la Libération de Paris and Square Claude Nicolas Ledoux or (ii) start the route at point (1).

(S) Upon exiting the metro station, turn left twice to enter Square Claude Nicolas Ledoux. Cross the square, keeping the sculpture dedicated to human rights on your left. Leave the square, cross a street and enter Square Georges Lamarque. Cross this square and, at the exit, turn left. Cross Rue Froidevaux, follow it to the right and cross Rue Boulard. Take the next left, Rue Eugène Pelletan, which soon turns right. At the end, follow Rue Lalande to the left.

At the junction, turn left into Rue Daguerre. At the next junction, continue straight ahead into the pedestrianised and bustling shopping area of this street. At the end, cross Avenue du Général Leclerc at the pedestrian crossing on the left. Follow the avenue to the left and, at the traffic lights, turn right.

(1) At^{the first} pedestrian crossing (RER station opposite), turn left to cross. Continue straight ahead into a square and pass a memorial on the right-hand side. At the end, turn right and use two successive pedestrian crossings. On a level stretch, turn right to cross at a^third pedestrian crossing. You will then come to two boulevards ahead: take the one on the right, Boulevard Saint-Jacques. Then take the^first left, Rue Leclerc.

At the end, cross to the left across Place de l’Ile de Sein and then Boulevard Arago. Continue straight ahead into Rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques, walk along the left-hand side of the Paris Observatory wall and note the chapel of the Clinique Port-Royal on the right. Take the^first left into Rue Cassini.

(2) At the junction, turn left and head straight for the observatory gates. Note the statue of the astronomer Urbain Le Verrier (1811–1877) opposite and, on the left, the dome of the Lunette d’Arago (1786–1853). Retrace your steps.

(2) Walk down Avenue de l’Observatoire on the left-hand pavement (very shaded). Then cross Avenue Denfert-Rochereau to the left and follow it to the right. Shortly afterwards, turn left, back onto Avenue de l’Observatoire. You will come to a junction (RER station opposite on the right).

(3) Cross Boulevard du Montparnasse in two stages using the pedestrian crossing on the left. Walk past the statue of Marshal Ney and cross Rue Notre-Dame des Champs. Then turn right to cross Rue d’Assas at the pedestrian crossing, then turn left to enter the Jardin des Grands Explorateurs.

Walk around the left-hand side of the Quatre Parties du Monde pond, continue straight ahead and pass a statue representing dawn, then one representing day. Leave the park, turn left, cross Avenue de l’Observatoire and continue along Rue Michelet. Walk past a large brick building on your left, the Institut d’Art et d’Archéologie. At the traffic lights, cross Rue d’Assas and follow it to the left for about twenty metres.

(4) Take the^first right, Rue Le Verrier. At the end, turn right onto Rue Notre-Dame des Champs. Ignore a street on the right and then one on the left. At the corner of No. 82 (note the remarkable caryatids), turn left into Rue de Chevreuse. At the end, cross Boulevard du Montparnasse in several stages (be careful: there is a pedestrian crossing but no traffic lights). Continue straight ahead into Rue Léopold Robert.

(5) At the end, cross Boulevard Raspail and follow it to the right. Take the^first left, Rue Huygens. At the end, turn right twice to enter Square Delambre (note the flower-filled courtyards at the base of the buildings). At the T-junction, follow Rue Delambre to the left. At the end, cross Allée Georges Besse to the left, then Boulevard Edgar Quinet, and turn right to cross Rue de la Gaité.

(6) Continue along Boulevard Edgar Quinet. Take the^first left, Rue Poinsot, and walk along the left-hand side of Square Gaston Baty. At the T-junction, turn right into Rue du Maine. At the end, follow Avenue du Maine to the left. Take the^second left, Rue de la Gaité.

Go straight on along this street and note the many theatres located there. You will come to the junction with Boulevard Edgar Quinet that you passed earlier.

(6) Cross the boulevard in two stages and take Rue d’Odessa diagonally to the left. At the end, cross Rue du Départ in two stages. Continue straight ahead under the arcades of a shopping centre. Then, cross Rue de l’Arrivée in three stages and follow it to the left. Turn right at the corner of a brasserie and rejoin Avenue du Maine.

(7) At No. 21, turn right into Villa Marie Vassiliev (signposted Chemin du Montparnasse on site). Walk up and down this lane lined with artists’ studios.

(7) Continue along Avenue du Maine (to the right as you leave Villa Vassiliev) and cross Rue d’Alençon on the right-hand side. At the traffic lights, cross to the left and then cross Avenue du Maine in two stages. Continue along Rue Vaugirard. Take the^first left, into Villa de l’Astrolabe. At the end, turn right twice and continue along Villa du Mont Tonnerre.

At the end, turn left. Then take the^first left, Rue Falguière. At the traffic lights, turn sharply left into Rue Antoine Bourdelle. Go straight on, passing the Bourdelle Museum on your left, and rejoin Avenue du Maine. Then turn right and, after about fifty metres, you will reach Place Bienvenüe (E).

To get back home:
- Metro - Lines 4, 6, 12, 13 (direct access).
- Bus - Lines 28, 39, 58, 59, 82, 89, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96. Walk past the metro entrance, cross Rue de l'Arrivée and head to the bus station.
- Transilien - Line N, towards Versailles-Chantiers then Mantes-la-Jolie, Dreux or Rambouillet. Walk through the bus station and head to the train station on the right.

Good trainers are sufficient for this urban route.

Bars, restaurants and shops all along the route.

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

Opening hours for public parks:
Square Claude Nicolas Ledoux: 24 hours a day.
Square Georges Lamarque: 24 hours a day.
Jardin des Grands Explorateurs:
- Opening: 8.00 am on weekdays, 9.00 am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
- Closing: 5.45 pm to 9.30 pm depending on the season. See detailed opening hours.

Walk undertaken by the author on 3 June 2021.

Place Denfert-Rochereau (S):
- Formerly known as Place d’Enfer, the square was renamed in honour of Aristide Denfert-Rochereau, who successfully led the defence of the city of Belfort during the 1870 war.
- The Lion of Belfort, named after Aristide Denfert-Rochereau, is a copper sculpture created in 1880 by Auguste Bartholdi, a one-third-scale replica of the sandstone sculpture located in Belfort itself.
- The Catacombs of Paris.
- The Liberation Museum in Paris.

Between Place Denfert-Rochereau (S) and the Paris Observatory (2):
- Rue Daguerre, a pedestrianised street with plenty of shops.
- Chapel of the Port-Royal Clinic.
- The observatory building.
- Arago’s telescope.
- Statue of Urbain Le Verrier.

Between the Paris Observatory (2) and Boulevard Edgar Quinet (6):
- Port Royal Station (3).
- Statue of Marshal Ney (3).
- The Four Corners of the World Fountain.
- Institute of Art and Archaeology, just before (4).
- Beautiful buildings on Rue Le Verrier and Rue Notre-Dame des Champs.
- Small gardens at the foot of the buildings on Square Delambre.

In the circular loop of Boulevard Edgar Quinet (6):
- Numerous theatres on Rue de la Gaité.

Between Boulevard Edgar Quinet (6) and Place Bienvenüe (E):
- Rue d’Odessa.
- Villa Vassiliev and its artists’ studios (7).
- Villa de l'Astrolabe and Villa du Mont Tonnerre.
- Bourdelle Museum.