Welcome to the 14th arrondissement! We’ll take you to a part of Paris that has preserved its village spirit.
Come with us and discover the charm of the shops and bistrots on the rue Daguerre. Then continue in the small hidden passages and hop over to rue Mouton-Duvernet before enjoying a slower pace in Flora Tristan square, beneath the shade of the two century-old plane trees.
Next, head with us to the village of Pernety and stroll along the oh so pretty rue des Thermopyles, continuing through the squares and gardens before ending in apotheosis, by a colorful courtyard, hidden behind an emblem of modernity, an unaltered village spirit.
1 / Rue Daguerre
© Studio TTG
With its balanced mix of food shops, bookstores, depots and cafés, rue Daguerre - which is pedestrian for most of its length - perfectly embodies the typically Parisian "market street". We start our walk at its western entrance, the quietest, on the Avenue du Maine side, towards Avenue du Général Leclerc.
63, rue Daguerre: the Cité artisanale
Along the way, at number 63, you will discover a large carriage entrance surmounted by the inscription "Cité artisanale". This private place is not open to visitors, but if the door opens, do not hesitate to take a look! You will discover a wonderful green courtyard lined with low buildings with workshop windows. Until the 1970s, the Cité artisanale welcomed printers, dental technicians and cabinetmakers who had their workshops there. Today, architects and graphic designers have taken over.
Continuing towards the Avenue du Général Leclerc, shops multiply, the street becomes pedestrian and the terraces of the cafés extend their arms on all sides. Enjoy it, if the weather allows it (or take shelter under an awning, like the Parisians, who like to sit on a terrace in all circumstances) and enjoy the inimitable village spirit of the pretty rue Daguerre...
Good to know: While seated on the terrace of a street café, you may have the chance to meet one of the emblematic figures of the "Daguerre village": "the man with the pigeon", a man who always carries with him a tamed pigeon in a wicker cage...
Rue Daguerre - accessible at 111 avenue du Maine or 4 avenue du Général Leclerc, Paris 14th
More info on rue Daguerre
More info on pedestrianized areas of Paris
2 / Rue Mouton Duvernet
If you leaving rue Daguerre by rue Boulard, you’ll enter the heart of the "Petit Montrouge" village. Cafés, bakeries and other tempting small shops make you want to settle in Paris for good? Perfect! Town hall, for all administrative matters, is just on your right when you come to rue Mouton-Duvernet.
If you are lucky enough to take this walk on a Tuesday or Friday morning, know that it is market day, so be sure to buy something and enjoy a delicious picnic on one of the benches in Aspirant Dunand's pretty square.
Did you know? Up until its integration into the city of Paris in1860, le Petit Montrouge belonged to the nearby suburb of Montrouge, hence its nickname. Feel free to discover this pretty city, just across the “Périphérique” (the highway circling Paris), after the Porte d'Orléans.
Rue Mouton-Duvernet, Paris 14th
3 / Rue and Villa Hallé
On the way to rue Hallé, our walk takes us to rue Sophie Germain, named after the well-known philosopher, physicist and mathematician, who died in 1831.
Once you are on rue Hallé, look at the gates on your left, at number 34. They protect the private driveway of Villa Hallé and its pretty houses with their green gardens. Here you are in front of what was once a subdivision, created in 1830 under the name of "Nouveau village d'Orléans".
If you continue just a few more meters, the subdivision keeps going and you’ll find yourself on a small crescent shaped square, located at numbers 12 to 32, known as a hemicycle plot. In front of you, there are lovely houses bordered by small gardens. A taste of yesteryear, a village square spirit and the desire to stay for a while to enjoy it.
Villa Hallé - 36 rue Hallé, Paris 14th
Hemicycle plot - No. 12 à 32 rue Hallé, Paris 14th
4 / Rimbaut Passage
On the way to another village in the 14th arrondissement, enjoy a few minutes of calm in the Rimbaut Passage. Bordered by modern buildings and old houses, this small road is a haven of peace between two avenues full of life: Avenue du Général Leclerc and Avenue du Maine.
Passage Rimbaut, Paris 14th
5 / Impasse of the Moulin Vert
© Marc Bertrand
Before discovering the village of Pernety, take a walk through the bucolic impasse of the Moulin Vert. At your feet are cobblestones polished over the years. To your sides, wisteria flows along old walls. Behind you? Old houses and children's laughter. Suddenly, you are no longer in Paris... from the city to the countryside there is only one step...
Impasse du Moulin Vert - access through n° 29, rue des Plantes, Paris 14th
6 / Rue du Moulin Vert
Between rue des Plantes and rue Hippolyte Maindron, rue du Moulin Vert has been restored to pedestrians. It’s the perfect opportunity to stroll around and enjoy the calm of the area.
Rue du Moulin Vert, Paris 14th
7 / Place Flora Tristan
© Elodie Gutbrod
Going up rue Didot, you will discover on your right a small village square without cars. On the cobblestones, coffee tables await you, protected by two beautiful hundred-year-old plane trees. No, you are not in Provence, but in Flora Tristan Square, on the edge of the village of Pernety.
Do as the locals do and take the time have a coffee on the terrace and relax.
Place Flora Tristan, Paris 14th
8 / Cité Bauer
© Studio TTG
The village spirit of the 14th arrondissement continues to win you over with the discovery of the houses of the Cité Bauer. This small street is not to be outdone in terms of charm. Low houses and colorful shutters, pretty portals and wisteria, Virginia creeper, flowers...
Did you know? At number 19, the splendid Art Nouveau-inspired painted wooden and wrought iron portal was designed in 1959 by Alexandre Mezei, an artist of Hungarian origin who lived there.
Cité Bauer, Paris 14th
9 / Rue des Thermopyles
© OTCP Marc Bertrand
With its old worker’s houses and their colorful doors, its indolent cats sleeing its wisteria and the absence of a car, the rue des Thermopyles is one of the most famous alleys in Paris and the most perfect incarnation of the dreamy Parisian village.
Rue des Thermopyles - access through n°32, rue Didot, Paris 14th
10 / Rue Raymond Losserand
After the rural calm of rue des Thermopyles, rue Raymond Losserand is a bit of a mind-blowing sensation! You are immersed in the heart of a highly lively and commercial street. Are you feeling a little hungry? Caterers, bakeries, coffee shops... there is no doubts that you will find something to eat here.
If you want a quiet break, discover the Françoise-Héritier Garden (former ZAC Didot Garden). This beautiful island of greenery has replaced the old hangars of the Municipal Automobile Transports. With its large lawn, a path under a pergola and children's games, plus a shared and educational garden ("Le Lapin ouvrier"), we bet you will love this bucolic break and the tribute to the past of this pretty Pernety village.
Rue Raymond Losserand, Paris 14th
ZAC Didot Garden - place de la Garenne, Paris 14th
11 / Notre Dame du Travail Church
© Studio TTG
Have you ever visited a church with a steel structure? No? Then discover the beautiful and very surprising Notre-Dame du Travail church, located on the edge of the railway tracks of the Montparnasse train station.
From the outside, there is nothing to predict what awaits you as you walk through the doors of this church, designed by and for "the people". What will amaze you from the moment you enter is its amazing and incredible exposed steel structure, totally unexpected in a religious building.
Raised thanks to a subscription in 1900, the year of the great Universal Exhibition that bequeathed so much to Paris, this church was designed for the workers around it. And this astonishing steel structure testifies both to the budgetary constraints linked to its construction (the 135 tonnes of iron used to build the structure were recovered from the ruins of the Palais de l'Industrie built for the Universal Exhibition), to the modernist spirit of the time but also to a desire to allow the workers who frequented it to feel "at home" there, one would almost think one was in a factory at the turn of the century.
Eglise Notre-Dame du Travail - 59 rue Vercingétorix, Paris 14th
12 / The pretty hidden courtyard at 44 rue de l'Ouest
This small courtyard lined with colorful buildings can only be discovered by chance. Hidden behind the modern buildings of the rue de Catalogne and the rue de l'Ouest, you enter through what looks like a building entrance... Don't be afraid to push the door to enter it. With its almond green, salmon pink, terracotta, crushed raspberries, you’re sure to get a shower of likes on your Instagram with this color palette!
44, rue de l’Ouest, Paris 14th
