A walk around the old cemetery in Boulogne-Billancourt (known as the ‘Western’ cemetery)

Start from Marcel Sembat underground station (line 9). Take exit 1 onto Avenue Victor Hugo.
Access is also possible by bus (line 72). Get off at the Victor Hugo stop. From there, follow the Route de la Reine towards the Pont de Saint-Cloud (westwards), i.e. away from Paris. Take the second left, Rue de l’Ouest, to reach the cemetery entrance (1).

(S/E) As you exit the metro station, cross Avenue Victor Hugo at the traffic lights and follow it to the right. Take the first left, Rue de la Belle Feuille. A little further on, cross Rue Gallieni and turn right into Rue de l’Ouest. You will soon find the cemetery entrance on the right-hand side.

The route within the cemetery is a guide only and there are various alternative routes. In the description below, the names appearing on the graves may be highlighted for three different reasons:
1) Graves of notable figures, in which case a lower-case letter in brackets refers to a short entry in the ‘Sights’ section, where the names are listed in the order in which they appear on the route.
2) Particularly original monuments.
3) Useful landmarks on the ground.

(1) Turn right onto a tarmac path and, immediately afterwards, first turn left then right to take a grassy path that starts at the foot of the post marking Section 6. On the left, note the medallion adorning the grave of Louis-Félix Coudray (a). Turn left at the corner of this grave.

Cross a path running perpendicular to this and continue for a further two rows. Then turn right and note, on the right-hand side, a sculpture depicting two cherubs carrying a child. On the left stands the imposing chapel of Paul Marmottan (b).

(2) At a junction, note the Lamarre grave on the left, adorned with four columns, and continue straight ahead. You will soon come across the grave of Edmond Paschal Sexe on the right, adorned with a medallion. Retrace your steps to the previous junction.

(2) Then turn left. Walk between a chapel and a bush and turn left onto a paved path, leaving the Gerout grave on your right. On the left, note the grave of Édouard Jochum (c), whose headstone is surmounted by a large vase decorated with rural scenes.

At the boundary between sections 6 and 7 (post), turn left onto a paved path, leaving the Cantes grave on your right. Opposite the Chambouleyron grave, turn right, leaving the Averbuch grave on your right, and follow a grassy path. At a junction, turn right, leaving the Lançon grave on your left. Two rows further on, turn left at the corner of the Biard-Tavel grave. On the right-hand side, note the Gros grave, adorned with a Virgin Mary in a sort of Lourdes grotto.

Squeeze through between a chapel and a grave and turn immediately left. You’ll immediately notice, on the left-hand side, a small obelisk dedicated to Baron Seuter de Loetzen and, on the right-hand side, the Raiffé-Radot chapel flanked by two mourners. Continue straight on, passing the Debussy grave (the famous composer is not buried here but at Passy Cemetery).

Then turn left at the corner by the Tavernier tomb and note, on the left-hand side, the tomb of Jules Vacherot (d). At the first junction, turn right, then, at the junction just before a tarmac path, turn left. On the left-hand side, you’ll find the tomb of Paul Adam (e), whose headstone features a bas-relief by the sculptor Paul Landowski depicting a Pietà.

Continue straight ahead along the grassy path. At the end, at the foot of a chapel, turn right. Cross a tarmac path and walk one or two metres along the path opposite.

(3) Turn left immediately. Shortly afterwards, on the right-hand side, the Chojecki grave features a marble medallion. Retrace your steps.

(3) Go straight on, passing the Torteau grave on your right. Just after the first row, turn left. Ignore the first grassy path on the right and take the next one, at the corner by the Hulot grave. On your left, you’ll see an angel overlooking the Clarke grave. At the end of the path, turn left at the corner by the Malvezin grave.

Then turn left at the foot of Léopold Savine’s (f) grave, which is adorned with two of his works: a medallion depicting his wife Fernande, who predeceased him, and a statue of a weeping nude woman. Immediately afterwards, you will pass several burial vaults belonging to the Société du Mont Horeb, which, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, enabled Jews to carry out burials in accordance with their own religious rites.

At the next junction, turn right onto a grassy path. At the T-junction, turn left. At the junction that follows immediately, turn left, leaving the Renaud Chapel on your right. Turn right straight away and weave your way between the Bonnet-Gautier Chapel and a grave. You will immediately find the grave of Marcel Noguès (g) on your left.

Just after this, it becomes clear that the Pardo de Leygonie family has not been spared from early deaths: on the left, a woman mourns the death of her son at the age of 24; on the right, a cherub watches over a little girl who died before her first birthday and a young woman who died at the age of 23.

Continue along the path. Then turn left, passing two pink granite graves on your right: the first, a classically styled sarcophagus for the Seard family; the second, in the Art Nouveau style, for the Lenormand de Kergue family. Next, walk between an imposing mausoleum and the Verbouwe-Lambert chapel.

At the junction, turn right, leaving the Jane Demarsy (h) chapel on your left. At the end of the path, weave your way between the Pajout and Thomas graves. Cross a tarmac path and note the rotunda with its central obelisk on your left. Weave your way between the Grinet chapel and the Gonord grave and continue along the path.

On the left, note the statue of a woman mourning the death of her son in the war, in August 1914. At the next junction, turn right, passing a cross bearing the inscription ‘Credo’ (I believe) on your right. Ignore the first grassy path on the right and take the next one, leaving the Humbert grave on your left.

Further on, set back between two chapels on the left, lies the grave of Gabriel Decaix de Saint-Aymour (i). Opposite stands a small obelisk for the Petit family, with a plaque in tribute to Captain Daniel Petit, who died at Donon (Bas-Rhin) in August 1914 and was buried here.

Then weave your way between two graves, emerge onto a tarmac path and follow it to the left. At the Boland Chapel, on the right-hand side, turn left. You will immediately notice the grave of Henri Falcke (j) on the left. Further on, still on the left, is a statue of an angel with a praying child.

At a junction, turn left, leaving the Renaux grave on your right. Four rows further on, turn right, leaving the Charlet grave on your left. At the T-junction, turn right at the corner of the Thorndike grave. At the next T-junction, turn left onto a path.

At the next junction, note a sarcophagus on the right-hand side opposite, resting on bronze lion’s paws. Then turn left at the corner of the Sarazin grave. Note the statue of a woman holding out a flower above the Duchon-Lestrade grave. Then turn right between the Raguet chapel and the Thomassin grave. Note, on the left-hand side, the medallion of Charles Heermann de Hundertmark.

(4) At the junction, continue straight on to the grave of Camille Grenier, who died in the war in March 1915, adorned with a statue of a naked man leaning on a stick and accompanied by a dog. Retrace your steps to the previous junction.

(4) Then turn left. Continue straight on until you reach the grave of C. Jérôme (k), a simple slab of pink granite. Then turn left and left again at the north-east corner of the cemetery. Just before a tarmac path, turn left and weave your way between two graves, leaving the Lambert family grave on your right. At a junction, turn right, passing a grave adorned with a sphinx on your left.

You’ll come out onto a tarmac path; note, on the left, set back from a chapel, a statue of a weeping woman adorning the Loyer grave. Cross the tarmac path, follow the path opposite the one you came along, and immediately note, on the left, the statue of a woman praying on her knees at the foot of Alexandre Cuica’s grave.

Further on, at a junction with the Bardoux Chapel on the right-hand side, turn left. At the end of the path is the elevated sarcophagus of Claudia Victrix (l).

Then turn right. At the next junction, turn right again at the corner by John Maurice Toohey’s grave. Further on, at the corner by the Rodocanachi grave, turn left. Shortly afterwards, turn left again, between the Moreau and Wolckensinger graves. Further on, turn left once more and note, on the right-hand side, the grave of Denis Savignat (m). Note the mosaic adorning the De Chaugnac Chapel on the left.

Then turn right, winding your way past the Depay grave. On the left-hand side, the Delcros grave is adorned with two columns. At the T-junction, turn right onto a grassy path. Note the Moreaux-Picard chapel, which houses the bust of Pierre-Félix Moreaux (n). Then turn left at the corner of the Godard-Le Pion grave.

Shortly afterwards, at a junction (with a large imitation-wood cross on the right), carry on a little further and you will find, on the right, the grave of Georges Thurner (o) with a bust and columns. Retrace your steps back to the large cross and turn right at the foot of the bust of José Frappa (p) and his grave, which also houses his son Jean-José Frappa (q). You’ll soon reach a small clearing with a monument designed to hold funeral urns.

(5) Walk towards the Tuckermann-Charretier chapel, which houses a weeping woman. Turn right at the foot of the chapel and you will soon find, on the left-hand side, the medallion of Raphael Careri, who died in the war in 1915. Retrace your steps to the small square and note the Dupuy grave, whose headstone is adorned with a windmill.

(5) Turn left at the foot of the Dupuy grave. On the right-hand side, you’ll find the bust of Alfred Journoud. Walk past a chapel with four columns. At the end of the path, squeeze between two graves, emerge onto a tarmac path and follow it to the right until you reach the cemetery exit.

(1) Follow Rue de l’Ouest to the left. Cross Rue Gallieni and take Rue de la Belle Feuille opposite. At the end, turn right onto Avenue Victor Hugo and follow it to Place Marcel Sembat (S/E).

A good pair of trainers is sufficient for this short urban walk.

Inside the cemetery, there are drinking fountains marked on the map and toilets on the right just past the entrance. There are bars and restaurants in the surrounding neighbourhood.

Dogs are not permitted, even on a lead.

As there is no map showing the location of the graves, please follow the description carefully. Allow around two to three hours for your visit to the cemetery.

Opening hours for the West Cemetery:
- Opens: 08:00.
- Closing: from 3 November to 28 February, 5.00 pm; from 1 March to 2 November, 6.00 pm.

Please remember that a cemetery is a place of contemplation and that discreet and respectful behaviour is required.

Walk undertaken by the author on 17 October 2026.

Some facts about the history of the Western Cemetery:
The cemetery was built in 1858 following the expropriation of a previous cemetery in 1854 to make way for the construction of the Longchamp racecourse in the Bois de Boulogne. A special section had been set aside for Jewish graves, but its wall was demolished in 1882. One plot consists mainly of British graves, though the reason for this is now unknown.

Graves of notable figures (non-exhaustive list):
a – Louis-Félix Coudray (1827–1891) Sculptor.
b – Paul Marmottan (1856–1932) Art historian, collector and patron of the arts. On his death, he bequeathed his collection, his townhouse in Paris – which became the Marmottan-Monnet Museum – and his villa in Boulogne-Billancourt – which became the Marmottan Library.
c - Édouard Jochum (1839–1915) Ceramicist, mayor of Boulogne-Billancourt from 1896 to 1900.
d – Jules Vacherot (1862–1925) Gardener and landscape architect. His works include the gardens of the Eiffel Tower, the Trocadéro and the Champs-Élysées in Paris, as well as the Royal Park of Laeken and the Heyzel Public Park in Brussels.
e – Paul Adam (1862–1920) Writer and art critic.
f - Léopold Savine (1861–1934) Sculptor.
g - Marcel Noguès (1895–1919) Sportsman, member of the Racing Club de France, and flying ace. Drafted into the army during the general mobilisation of 2 August 1914, he began his service in the artillery. He was transferred to the air force in January 2016. By the end of the war, he had been credited with 13 aerial victories. He died shortly after the end of the war, aged 24, as a result of a blow to the larynx sustained during a rugby match.
h – Jane Demarsy (1865–1937) Born Anne Darlaud, an actress portrayed in paintings by Renoir and Manet.
i – Gabriel Decaix de Saint-Aymour (1842–1900) Historian and archaeologist, who was awarded the honorary title of private chamberlain to Pope Leo XIII.
j - Henri Falcke (1866–1901) A composer and pianist of British origin.
k - C. Jérôme (1946–2000) (born Claude Dhôtel), a pop singer who was very popular in the 1970s.
l - Claudia Victrix (1888–1976) Born Jeanne Bourgeois, an opera singer who performed at the Paris Opera, and an actress who appeared in a number of silent films in the late 1920s.
m – Denis Savignat (1937–1998) Theatre, film and television actor. He provided the voice for Clint Eastwood in some of his films.
n – Pierre-Félix Moreaux (1828–1890). Engineer, designer of numerous bridges in France and abroad (Spain, Portugal, Egypt, etc.).
o - Georges Thurner (1878–1910) Playwright.
p - José Frappa (1854–1904) Painter and ceramicist.
q - Jean-José Frappa (1882–1939): Writer, editor-in-chief of various newspapers, screenwriter and film critic.

Sources: Boulogne-Billancourt Town Hall, Wikipedia and ‘Cimetières de France et d’ailleurs’.