How to follow Paris’s secret Bièvre river to see a different side to the French capital

Thought the Seine was the only river in town? Think again, says Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey, who suggests you take a tour of the city’s alternative, hidden waterway

The Bièvre Waterfall in Parc Kellermann (Photos: Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey)

Standing in Parc Kellermann, right at the bottom end of the southern 13th arrondissement in Paris – a place few tourists ever stray to – I am going back to the original idea of travel: discovery. I am on a mission to find a secret that Paris has long kept under wraps. Or should that be concrete?

The Bièvre river, the city’s second river, has always played second fiddle to the Seine, and was, at least within the city limits, a solid workhorse. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the tanning and tapestry-making industries of the 13th arrondissement used the river’s water to tan leather and dye wool, and it became a mere receptacle for effluent. Before long, the small river was a stinky stream ruining people’s health. So, in 1912, the city concreted over it. And it got forgotten.

But here it was: the waters that flow into Paris from just outside Versailles were forming a duck pond and waterfall right here in this park. Residents jog alongside and feed the ducks, probably not even knowing that this was a once pretty and useful watercourse that still flows through Paris to later join the Seine in the 5th arrondissement.

The Bièvre in Parc Kellermann (Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey )

It’s still possible to follow its path – if you know where to look. While much of it is marked by golden plaques saying La Bievre, ancient lit, old riverbed, and marking whether it is the still flowing arm of the river, bras vif, or the dead end one, bras mort, there is still some sleuthing involved to find the route all the way to the Seine.

Heading across Boulevard Kellermann and the former belt railway line, the Petite Ceinture, I follow the Rue des Peupliers to Place de l’Abbé Georges Hénocque, and track the Bièvre into the hilly quartier of Butte-aux-Cailles, known for its street art. A slight right, along Rue Henri Pape, and then left into Rue du Moulin des Prés. At the junction, a golden plaque marks the former site of the ‘mill of the meadows’ that stood here by the side of the gurgling Bièvre from the 16th to the 19th century. I peek into the Square des Peupliers, one of those hidden residential oases so often found in Paris, full of tiny lanes and green gardens.

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Heading left on Rue de Tolbiac, I discover Sainte-Anne Church of Butte-aux-Cailles, built in 1894, on the then still intact banks of the river. From here, I choose to cheat a little, because, while the Bièvre decided to form a loop back down south before flowing along Rue Vergniaud, I decide to walk through the lovely village of Butte-aux-Cailles first, before meeting up with the stream again after it crosses below the highline of the metro.

The Butte-aux-Cailles (translation: Quail Hill), once a hilltop village with vineyards on the outskirts of Paris, was also home to the many tanners who had their workshops by the river. There are still workers’ cottages to see in the low-rise neighbourhood, as well as restaurants, such as the Les Tanneurs de la Butte, whose name harks back to those days. Today, there is the beautiful Art Deco swimming pool on Place Paul Verlaine, and a commemorative plaque not indicating the Bièvre, but instead the 1783 landing of the first, manned, hot-air balloon right there.

A plaque indicating the underground flow of the Bièvre (Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey )

But the quartier’s main draw to me is the street art that adorns nearly every wall and street corner. I try to spot the mosaics by Parisian street artist Invader, which can be ‘flashed’ and collected on an app called Flashinvaders, and linger a little longer than anticipated.

Eventually, on track again, I cross Boulevard Auguste Blanqui and head up Rue Edmond Gondinet to Square René le Gall, a park that was once the vegetable garden of the tapestry factory Les Gobelins. The garden stands on what was once the Île aux Singes, Monkey Island, formed by two arms of the Bièvre. It’s named after the monkeys of the jugglers who lived there, and whose job it was to entertain the workers at the tapestry manufacturer.

I peek into the Square des Peupliers, one of those hidden residential oases so often found in Paris, full of tiny lanes and green gardens

Next is the Manufacture nationale des Gobelins itself. Opened in 1601, this tapestry- and carpet-weaving factory has, since its opening, produced the tapestries for the Château de Versailles, and other royal palaces in France and around the world. While tours are only held in French, this is a place few visitors discover, despite being more historic than, say, the Eiffel Tower. Watching the weavers, who have to go through an intense selection process to get the job, tying tiny knots patiently day in, day out, creating art, is simply mind-blowing (even if some of the French escaped me on the tour). Buoyed by my visit, I nearly forget that the weavers are partly to blame for the demise of the Bièvre, which was my theme of the day, after all.

The Grand Mosque of Paris (Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey)

Next I once again veer slightly off course; instead of following another Bièvre loop, I decide to take in the market street Rue Mouffetard and the Grand Mosque of Paris, before joining my river again at the Jardin des Plantes with its gigantic greenhouses, the National Museum of Natural History, beautiful gardens and even a small zoo. Probably watered by the underground river, I feel that these gardens, near the end of the Bièvre’s course, are a great spot to commemorate the river which was worked to destruction.

There is some good news: projects are already in place to bring the Bièvre back to the surface to help with the fight against climate change, with the first stretches of it to be uncovered by 2026. Watch this space.

For now, across Quai Saint-Bernard, as I stand on the Pont d’Austerlitz, I spot the water of the Bièvre again, falling into the Seine from a concrete pipe – finally free.

The hidden residences in Square des Peupliers (Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey)

Travel essentials

Getting there

Catch the Eurostar from London to Paris. From Gare du Nord, take the RER B, direction Saint-Rémy lès-Chevreuse, to Cité Université and change into the tram T3a direction Porte de Vincennes to Poterne des Peupliers. Parc Kellermann is a couple of minutes’ walk away.

Staying there

The Best Western Plus Quartier Latin Pantheon lies within easy reach of the Bièvre and the rest of Paris. bestwestern.co.uk

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