La Villette: the red follies and the Canal de l'Ourcq
Tschumi's red follies, the mirrored Géode, and a canal you can cross by boat to the cinema. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Philharmonie de Paris
Jean Nouvel's 2015 concert hall in brushed aluminium, the bird-patterned skin you can climb up the outside of for a free view over the *périphérique*. Start here, by Porte de Pantin, even if there's no concert.

2. Tschumi's red follies
Bernard Tschumi scattered thirty-five bright-red steel *folies* across the park in the 1980s — a grid of follies with no fixed use. Pick one and climb it; children have the right idea here.

3. Canal de l'Ourcq
The canal cuts straight through the middle of the park. The lift bridge and the moored barges are the working past; cross by the footbridge, or wait for the little ferry that links the two MK2 cinemas across the water.

4. La Géode
The mirrored geodesic sphere — an IMAX cinema inside, the whole of the park bent around it outside. Walk right up and find yourself in it. Refurbishment has closed it on and off; the reflection works regardless.

5. Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
The vast science museum in the converted 1860s slaughterhouse hall — the building alone is worth the look, all glass and exposed structure. Go in for the planetarium, or just walk the moat gardens around it.

6. Le Zénith
The silver concert tent at the park's northern edge, with the old red 'Trabendo' and the Grande Halle behind. Corentin Cariou station is a short walk on; from here the M7 takes you back into the centre.

La Villette: the red follies and the Canal de l'Ourcq