Quiet Corners of the Northern Heights: Flower Lanes and Secret Hills, a Self-Guided Paris Walk
3h. 3.1 miles. From Cite des Fleurs to La Campagne a Paris.
Across the hills of northern Paris hide the city's last village lanes: a flowered pedestrian street from 1847, painters' graves under Montmartre, a colony of colorful cottages, a hidden hilltop with an Eiffel Tower view, and cottages above Bagnolet. Take the metro between stops and collect them all.
The local move
This one is a treasure hunt, not a stroll: pick two or three corners, take the metro between them, and give each one twenty unhurried minutes. That is how locals enjoy their own secret spots.
Best time to go
Morning to mid-afternoon, when the lanes get their light and the cemeteries are open.
When to avoid it
After dusk; the villas close their gates and the point is the light anyway.
The stops
Cite des Fleurs
A pedestrian lane of 1847 houses and front gardens in the 17th, one of the prettiest private streets in Paris.
Tip: Entrances on rue de La Jonquiere and avenue de Clichy; open to walkers in the day.
Cimetiere de Montmartre
The romantic cemetery in a hollow below the Butte: Degas, Berlioz, Truffaut and Stendhal under the bridge of rue Caulaincourt.
Tip: Enter on avenue Rachel. Cats, chestnuts and almost no crowds, even in August.
La Mouzaia
A hillside colony of tiny pastel houses and flowered lanes in the 19th, built for quarry workers above old gypsum mines.
Tip: Start at metro Botzaris and wander villa after villa; rue de la Liberte and rue de l'Egalite are the classics.
Butte Bergeyre
A secret hilltop village of a few streets, with a vineyard and a straight-on view of Sacre-Coeur.
Tip: Climb the stairs from rue Georges-Lardennois; the view over the vineyard is the reward.
Jardin naturel Pierre-Emmanuel
A deliberately wild garden against the eastern wall of Pere-Lachaise, all native plants and frog ponds.
Tip: Entrance on rue de la Reunion; combine with the quiet Charonne church and its country churchyard next door.
La Campagne a Paris
Sixty cottages with rose gardens on a hidden knoll above Porte de Bagnolet, the countryside kept inside the city.
Tip: Stairs from rue Geo Chavez; sunset turns the brick golden.
About these walks
This is one of the free self-guided Paris walks written by the Chic Trip team, locals who plan and book full Paris trips for American travelers. Get our free insider Paris guide at chic-trip.com/free-paris-guide, or have us plan your whole trip at chic-trip.com/paris-travel-planner.
