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Starting point and access: Porte de la Villette.
- Metro - Line 7. Take Exit 1 Boulevard MacDonald / Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie.
- Tram - Line T3b. The station is very close to Metro Exit 1.
(S) Head towards the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie. After passing through the underpass beneath the “suspended” building on the corner of the boulevard, turn right into a cobbled alley. At the entrance to a restaurant (a well-known national chain), turn left then right onto a cobbled path. Pass the Folie Horloge on your right, continue straight ahead and pass the WIP Villette pavilion on your right.
At the end, turn left towards the Grande Halle (signposted) and follow the Galerie de la Villette, a wide path partly covered by a corrugated roof. When you reach the south-west corner of the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie (with the Géode on your left), turn right towards the Folie L3.
(1) Turn left and walk alongside lock no. 1 of the Canal Saint-Denis (fence). Walk along the right-hand side of the Bassin de la Villette and then the Canal de l’Ourcq, which flows into the canal here. Go under the footbridge spanning the canal and stay on the quay.
After about a hundred metres, at the foot of a signpost, turn left towards the Géode. After a few metres, before Folie 4, take a concrete path on the right that zigzags along the edge of the pine trees. Leave the Géode on your left and head towards the Argonaute (dry docked submarine).
Go round the Argonaute on the right and continue along a path that turns left then right. Leave the Folie Escalier on your left, veer right and reach the foot of another footbridge over the Ourcq. Cross the canal via the footbridge (lovely view to the left of the Grands Moulins de Pantin). At the end of the footbridge, go down the stairs on the left.
(2) At the first landing, turn left twice and take the metal ramp that winds downwards (Jardin des Voltiges). Then go round the outdoor gym equipment on the left. At the bottom of the descent, ignore the two staircases on either side and continue straight ahead. At a Fork in the road, take the left-hand path lined with green low walls (Jardin des Frayeurs Enfantines) and go under a footbridge. At the end, turn left and then immediately right.
Cross the Allée du Belvédère and walk about 50 metres towards the Grande Halle (sign). At the foot of the next signpost, turn sharply right into the Jardin des Bambous. Please note: do not take the very first right, which is a flight of steps leading down, but follow a path lined with bamboo on the right-hand side. Ignore the footbridges on the right and, at the end of the path (where it bends), cross the Allée du Belvédère again and then the Allée du Cercle.
(3) Then enter the Jardin de la Treille and cross it widthways. Before the steps leading up opposite, turn left, still under the arbour. Go round a small pond below on the left and leave the garden. Cross the Allée du Belvédère again and follow a paved path between the Grande Halle on your left and some old white and red pavilions on your right.
At the corner of the Grande Halle, turn left into the Galerie de la Villette. After a few metres, before the bookshop on the left, take a metal ramp on the right that descends alongside a playground on the right. At the end, take a sharp left, wind your way through the Jardin des Miroirs (large upright granite slabs) and pass under a footbridge. At the end, turn left and go up a metal ramp.
Then turn right and continue along the Galerie de la Villette. At the corner of the Grande Halle, veer left and walk past the base of the Fontaine aux Lions. Continue towards Avenue Jean-Jaurès to leave the Parc de la Villette at the Porte de Pantin metro station (E).
To get back home:
- Metro - Line 5.
- Tram - Line T3b. On leaving the park, cross Avenue Jean-Jaurès and follow it to the left until you reach the station.
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