3 stops · 4.2 km
Sculptors’ studios and the meridian
Three very different places on the southern side of the city. The walk starts in Antoine Bourdelle’s studios near Montparnasse, where he worked from 1885 until his death in 1929, and crosses to the Observatoire, laid out by Louis XIV’s academicians on the meridian of Paris in 1667. Nearby, small bronze medallions marked ARAGO, an artwork of the 1990s, follow the line of the meridian through the pavements. The walk ends in the 13th arrondissement at the Cité florale, a triangle of small houses and gardens of the late 1920s, built on a meadow the Bièvre once flooded. Be warned: the stretches between the stops are long and mostly ordinary city streets, busy boulevards included. This is a walk for people who like to see how the city fits together.
4.2 km · about 57 min of walking
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Musée Bourdelle15th · The Montparnasse studios where Antoine Bourdelle worked for over forty years, plaster giants and all, a few steps from the station.
↓ 2.2 km · 29 min walk
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Paris Observatory (Perrault building)14th · Louis XIV’s observatory of 1667, built square on the meridian of Paris, where the speed of light was first shown to be finite.
↓ 2.1 km · 28 min walk
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Cité florale13th · A triangle of small houses and gardens on streets named for wisteria, iris and bindweed, built on a meadow the Bièvre used to flood.
Start: Falguière 12 360 m · 5 min walk
Finish: Corvisart 6 1.2 km · 15 min walk