Quiet Corners of the South: Villages of the 13th, 14th and 15th, a Self-Guided Paris Walk
2h30. 2.5 miles. From Chapelle de la Pitie-Salpetriere to Musee Bourdelle.
South of the tourist map, Paris turns into villages: cobbled lanes of little houses, a hospital chapel the size of a cathedral, an English-style park, and a sculptor's studio frozen in time. This is where Parisians actually live, and it is lovely.
The local move
The villas of the south (Santos-Dumont, the lanes off Butte aux Cailles) are private streets that welcome quiet walkers. Keep your voice down, take your photos, and you are doing it right.
Best time to go
Weekday afternoons, when the lanes are quiet and the museums open.
When to avoid it
Nothing really; this is a low-crowd walk by nature. Museums close Mondays.
The stops
Chapelle Saint-Louis de la Pitie-Salpetriere
A vast 17th-century chapel with eight naves inside the great hospital, one of the most surprising interiors in Paris and almost always empty.
Tip: Walk into the hospital grounds freely from boulevard de l'Hopital; the chapel and gardens are public.
Butte aux Cailles
A hilltop village of low houses, street art and neighborhood bistros, untouched by Haussmann.
Tip: Rue des Cinq Diamants for a drink, then wander the little lanes off rue Daviel, including the Alsatian-style Petite Alsace courtyard.
Parc Montsouris
The great English-style park of the south: sloping lawns, a lake, black swans and a monthly rhythm of local life.
Tip: Enter from the RER Cite Universitaire side and cross the park north; the lake terrace cafe is a good pause.
Cite internationale universitaire
A campus of national houses from the 1920s facing the park, from Le Corbusier's Swiss pavilion to the Japanese house, free to wander.
Tip: The lawns are public and full of students; the architecture walk between pavilions takes twenty minutes.
Villa Santos-Dumont
A cobbled private lane of ivy-covered houses in the 15th where Fernand Leger and Georges Brassens lived.
Tip: Enter from rue Santos-Dumont; it is a cul-de-sac, so take it slow and turn back the way you came.
Musee Bourdelle
The studio and gardens of sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, Rodin's assistant, kept as he left them near Montparnasse.
Tip: Free permanent collection, closed Mondays. The sculpture garden is the quiet heart of it.
Ways to change it up
Square Blomet detour
Add Square Blomet in the 15th, a small garden on the site of the studios where Miro and Masson worked in the 1920s.
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.
