These villages take some walking to get to - but is absolutely worth it - once you are there you simply cannot believe that you are in one of Europe's biggest cities !
Hameau Boileau:
Take the metro 9 to Michel-Ange Molitor, walk 100 meters east in Rue Molitor, turn right into Rue Boileau and about 100 meters down on your righthand side there is a wrought-iron gate that leads into the village - locked. pas de problème: press the button on the wall with the bell sign on it and "buzz !" you may enter. Here you will find villas in all sorts of strange design, trees, gardens and flowers.
Square de Montsouris:
Where the Hameau Boileau is in the well-to-do 16th, this village is about as far south in Paris you can go. Prettiest route is to take the RER B down to Cité Universitaire (gives you a chance to look at the beautiful buildings of the international university of Paris as well).
Leaving the station, turn right - with the park at your right hand side - about 300 meters and then turn right into Rue Emil Deutsch. Perpendicular to this street are small streets on your left, pretty enough, but the jewel in the crown comes at the end: le Square de Montsouris, last street on your left. I promise you: you will not believe your eyes.
Cité Florale:
Saved this one for last, as it is apt to give one a complete culture shock.
You can walk to this village from the Square de Motnsouris, in fact that is part of the surprise. Go back to the RER station Cité Universitaire and follow the park untill Rue de la Cité Universitaire. Turn left. Tak the second street, Rue Liard on your right and follow this across Rue de l'Amiral Mouchez (whoever he was....). Now things start to get really bad for the overly spoilt tourist of mainstream Saint-Germain des Près-neighbourhood. You will find yourself surrounded by a nightmare of the ugliest 60'ies shitty-grey-brown concrete blocks, and you think: WHAT am I doing here ??
Patentiez, mon ami... Follow Rue de Rungis to Place de Rungis, grab a pastis in one of the 2 small cafés and prepare for a fairytale !
Go up Rue Brillat-Savarin and turn immediately right into the Cité Florale - and flowers there are indeed ! And the prettiest dream-like dolls houses you'll ever see. All of them meticulously maintained. Be sure to see ALL the small cobblestoned "ruelles" before leaving: this village is so full of peace and beauty. One feels that the bulldozers simply must have run out of gas, just before hitting this place, and after that the engineers and constructors must have forgotten about it.
Take the bus 67 (direction: Pigalle) back to the city, it stops at the eastern tip of Ile Saint Louis and at Hotel de Ville.
This information is based on the forum thread: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-...