In the footsteps of artists between Clamart and Meudon

Departure from the RER C station at Meudon-Val Fleury

(S/E) From the station, head towards Place Henri Brousse and take the first street on your right, Rue Henri Barbusse. Continue straight ahead until you reach the roundabout.

(1) Take the second street on the left, Avenue du Bois, and turn left onto Rue de Rushmoor. Take a small path into the Bois de Clamart and, keeping to the left, exit onto Rue de Rushmoord. Turn right and continue to the next intersection. Turn right onto Rue des Châtaigniers to reach the Arp Foundation.

(2) Go down to the bottom of the street and go up Rue des Fougères and Rue du Cèdre. Turn left, then right to go up Rue Père Brottier and reach Parc Paumier.

(3) Continue straight ahead to reach the Fondation des Apprentis d'Auteuil.

(4) Continue and turn left onto Rue de la Belgique. Go straight ahead to reach Rue des Peupliers on the right. Take this street, then turn left onto Rue des Marais and continue to the end of the street. Keep right to reach the Rodin Museum.

(5) Continue straight ahead and turn right onto Rue du Lieutenant Raoul Batany to reach Avenue Henri Barbusse.

(6) Continue along Rue de Verdun, then Rue Ferdinand Buisson and stay on the first road on the right, Rue Marcel Sembat, until you reach Pont des Vignerons.

(7) Take the bridge, then Rue Brissard to reach the Centre d'Art Contemporain Chanot.

(8) Continue straight ahead and take the third left onto Rue Pierre Brossolette, which you will follow until you reach Rue d'Estienne d'Orves on the left at the end of the road.

(9) Follow this street to the left, keep going straight ahead and take Rue Louis Dupont. Go around the Parc de la Maison Blanche on the left until you reach the corner.

(10) Turn right to join Rue Georges Huguet and, at the roundabout, take Rue Chef de Ville opposite until you reach Rue de Bièvres.

(11) Keep right and continue straight ahead until you reach Rue de l'Église. Turn left. Then turn left to follow Place Ferrari and continue straight ahead until you reach Rue de Bièvres. Turn right to arrive at the old village of Clamart.

(12) Continue straight ahead and follow Rue de Bièvres, then, at the end, turn right onto Avenue Jean Baptiste Clément until you reach Rue du Docteur Roux. Go up this street.

(13) Continue right and then take Route de la Porte de Chatillon. At the end, go down Route du Vieux Cimetière. Go up Avenue des Platanes on the left until you reach Avenue des Acacias.

(14) Then turn right twice to rejoin Rue du Parc. Next, take the third street on the left, Rue des Épis d'Or, until you reach Rue de la Porte de Trivaux.

(15) Turn right, cross the station and go up Avenue Claude Trébignaud on the right via the cemetery road, then left via the cemetery road until you reach Route de la Fontaine aux Lynx. Follow this road and pass close to the Étang de la Garenne to join another road. Turn right towards Hangar Y.

(16) The route continues through the forest opposite and climbs towards the Meudon and Villebon ponds. Keep going until you pass the second pond and reach the Route Royale de Meudon.

(17) Take this road straight ahead to reach the entrance to the Meudon Observatory.

(18) The route descends to the left, then right onto Rue Terre Neuve (steep slope), which you follow until you reach Avenue des Sablons. Continue on the right to arrive at the Meudon Museum of Art and History.

(19) Continue straight ahead until you reach Rue Langlois, then take the first left and turn left onto Rue Rabelais, then right onto Rue Léonie Rouzade, then left onto Avenue Louvois to arrive at the Meudon-Val Fleury RER C station (S/E).

Arp Foundation: visits on Thursdays and Fridays at 2.30pm and 4pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2.30pm, 3.30pm and 4.30pm. - Closes at 6pm on Sundays. Thursdays by appointment for groups only. Tel. 01 45 34 22 63.

When leaving the Arp Foundation, it would be a shame not to walk the last few metres up the hill. This leads to Rue des Fougères, where no fewer than eight original, strange and poetic houses were built by architect Jacques-Émile Lecaron.

Parc Paumier: open from 1 October to 31 March: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from 1 April to 30 September: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. – Water fountain

Rodin Museum: Museum (admission fee), open every weekend until the end of September: Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00. - Tel. 01 41 14 35 00 - Bike racks. The route runs alongside the Percy Hospital and the railway line, then crosses it at the Pont des Vignerons. Access is possible 400 metres away at Clamart SNCF station, line N, Place de la Gare exit: Vélib’ bike hire station – bakeries, cafés and a pharmacy are available on Avenue Jean Jaurès and Rue Hébert. – Bike racks.

Chanot Contemporary Art Centre: open during exhibitions on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm to 6pm, except on public holidays. - Tel. 01 71 16 76 32. Free admission. Outside exhibition periods, the CACC is closed to the public.

Old village of Clamart: Water fountain (opposite 9 Rue Chef-de-Ville). Numerous shops, cafés and restaurants around the Place de la Mairie. – Vélib’ bike station 150 metres away: 27 Rue du Trosy. Toilets (on the right-hand side of the church). Water fountains (on the right at the entrance to the forest park and at the boules court).

Hangar Y: open on weekends, public holidays and during school holidays. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Bike racks are available nearby. Water fountain and toilet. ACCUEIL VÉLO-certified establishment.

Meudon Observatory: the estate is open from 1 April to 30 September: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., from 1 October to 31 March: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., except for special events or exceptional closures. – Café – Water point.

The Meudon Museum of Art and History: open Tuesday to Sunday from 2pm to 6pm, closed on public holidays, during Christmas week and in August. Tel. 01 46 23 87 13 – Toilets, water point.

1 - Arp Foundation
The Arp Foundation is a place where time stands still, a direct testimony to the pioneers of modern art, Sophie Taeuber and Jean Arp. Forms and materials reign in harmony. Discover an original house made of stone and concrete, designed by Sophie Taeuber, and the artists' studio, which opens onto a poetic sculpture garden.

2 - Paumier Park
In 1860, Pastor Louis Paumier bought this estate, which has been listed since 1961. His grandson Émile Paumier, a pioneer of aviation, donated it to the Fondation de France. The town of Meudon turned it into an unusual 33,000 m² park, ideal for games and adventure on the heights of Val-Fleury. A Nature and Tree House is open nearby. You can stroll among many remarkable trees.

3 - Fondation des Apprentis d'Auteuil
The Saint-Philippe orphanage, founded by the Duchess of Galliera, boasts superb neo-Gothic buildings (the château, the priory, the chapel, etc.) set in 14 hectares of landscaped grounds with breathtaking views over the whole of western Paris. Today, the Village Educatif Saint-Philippe, run by Apprentis d'Auteuil, helps more than 500 young people in difficulty to integrate into society and find employment. Some services related to youth training and the prestigious setting are open to the general public, including the sale of seasonal fruit and vegetables grown organically, flowers and seasonal plants.

4 - Rodin Museum Meudon
The Villa des Brillants, where Rodin lived for the last 20 years of his life with his wife Rose Beuret, is located on the hillsides of Meudon. The dining room, adjoining living room and workshop allow visitors to immerse themselves in the daily life of the master. Not far from the house, the plaster cast gallery offers a glimpse into the heart of the artist's creative process. The sculptures are displayed in their successive stages, allowing visitors to understand the different stages of Rodin's creative process. The vast park overlooking the Seine Valley is home to Rodin's tomb, topped by The Thinker, and other masterpieces such as The Kiss and The Man Walking on a Column

5 - Chanot Contemporary Art Centre
Dedicated to contemporary art, the Chanot Contemporary Art Centre was inaugurated in 1980. This former artist's studio, converted into an exhibition space, is an intimate venue for discovering all forms of art: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video, new technologies, performance, and more. A place for exchanges and encounters, it also offers activities such as guided tours, meetings with artists, readings, conferences, and masterclasses.

6 - Old village of Clamart
Rue Chef-de-Ville is the main street in the old village of Clamart, known as the place where the philosopher, mathematician and politician Marquis de Condorcet was arrested in 1794. At number 9, a richly decorated residence built under Louis XVI is one of the last vestiges of the era. Nearby are the vineyards of Clamart: until^{the 19th} century, wine growing was one of the village's main agricultural resources. Since 1987, the Confrérie du Clos de Clamart has been perpetuating this wine-making tradition, which dates back to 1712. The route passes close to Clamart Town Hall, which consists of the former Château de Barral (^{17th century}), the Tour Ronde (^{14th century}) and an old^18th-century bourgeois house, then runs alongside the Ferrari hospice, which was built between 1878 and 1888 and inspired by^{mid-19th-century} Parisian hospital buildings (Lariboisière Hospital or Hôtel Dieu). Free until 1914, it was intended for domestic staff. The route leaves Place Ferrari via Rue du Guet, then climbs a steep 350-metre slope up Rue de Bièvres, following the woods. It then runs alongside the forest park via Rue de la Porte de Chatillon. At the end of Route du Vieux Cimetière, on the left, along the wall, a small 30-metre path leads back to the road. The route passes in front of the Antoine-Béclère Hospital, where Amandine, France's first test-tube baby, was born.

7 - Hangar Y
A former metal carpentry hall from the 1878 World's Fair, Hangar Y was reassembled in Chalais-Meudon in 1879 to serve as a hangar for balloons and airships. In 1964, Marc Chagall used Hangar Y to paint and assemble the red and gold ceiling of the magnificent auditorium of the Opéra Garnier. Listed as a historic monument in 1982, Hangar Y has become an iconic symbol of global aeronautical history. With its unique proportions, Jean-Pierre Jeunet filmed scenes from A Very Long Engagement there in 2003. Located in the heart of an unusual place that has marked history and science, Hangar Y is a versatile and modular site that encourages exploration, discovery and wonder. Its grounds are designed as a living space where you can stroll, have lunch and learn. There is a restaurant nearby.

8 - Former Royal Estate of Meudon
Formerly owned by the Marquis de Louvois and then by the Grand Dauphin, eldest son of Louis XIV, the Domaine de Meudon enjoyed its heyday in^{the 17th} century. Its majestic terrace, designed by Le Nôtre, offers an exceptional view of Paris, its region and the former Château de Meudon, which became the Paris Observatory in 1878. The Orangery, the last remaining vestige of the old castle, is one of the last still in use as such in the Île-de-France region. From October to May, the orange trees from the estates of Meudon, Saint-Cloud and the Tuileries spend the winter here. The Observatory is not open to the public.

9 - Meudon Museum of Art and History
The Museum of Art and History is located in a charming residence where the surgeon Ambroise Paré lived, followed by the actress Armande Béjart, wife of Molière. It houses a rich collection of French landscape paintings and works of art from the second half of^{the 20th} century. Extend your visit with a stroll through the sculpture garden, a veritable open-air museum.