With its crowds, its noises and its capricious weather, Paris can sometimes give a buzz to its inhabitants, or even to tourists who come with hearts full of enthusiasm. To counter the gloom, why not try to discover the capital in a different light? Notice to walkers: since 2017, the town has had its own long-distance hiking trail, the GR 75 (sometimes called GR 2024).
Historical and sporting sites
This 50 km loop will take the curious through the nine peripheral districts of Paris and also connects the seven GR which already cross the city (GR 1, GR 2, GR 22, GR 14, GR 14A and GR 655). Created with a view to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, “the GR 2024 makes it possible to promote walking, the easiest physical activity to access”according to the sports assistant, Jean-François Martins, on the City of Paris website.
During this long walk, many remarkable monuments appear before the eyes of hikers. These include the Charonne church and cemetery, the Palais de la Porte Dorée, the National Library of France, the University City, the St-Antoine-de-Padoue church, the Parc des Princes and the Palais des Congrès. . The route also runs alongside the majority of major Parisian sports centers, some of which hosted events during the 1900 and 1924 Olympic Games, such as the Georges Vallerey swimming pool, the Cipale velodrome, the Trinquet and the Auteuil lawns. .
Read also: The Path of the Gods, the magical and unmissable hiking trail on the Italian coast
A GR divided into 13 sections of 4 km
The GR 75 also passes through some 70 green spaces, perfect for a well-deserved break and realizing that not everything is gray in Paris! You can choose from the parks of La Villette (19th century), Bercy (12th century), Kellermann (13th century), André-Citroën (15th century), Martin Luther-King (17th century), the Bois de Vincennes (12th century) and of Boulogne (16th century), or the linear forest of the 20th arrondissement.
If the official starting point of this trail is located under the Géode mirror ball, you do not have to scrupulously respect it. Moreover, it is entirely possible for you to fragment the hike, because the GR is divided into 13 sections of 4 km, from one metro station to another. To find your way, simply follow the famous GR markings: two horizontal bands, one white and the other red.
