Around Cenon-sur-Vienne

Start opposite No. 18 Rue d'Alsace, right next to the City-Stade and the Grand'Maison car park.

(S/E) From the start sign, head south along a path running parallel to Rue d'Alsace. At the end of the park, turn right then left into Rue d'Alsace. Pass through the hamlet of Les Petits Prés and, at the crossroads, continue straight on for another 50 metres or so.

(1) Then turn left towards Les Renaudières. Follow the River Vienne on your left, then a pond on your right. At the end of the pond, take the road on the right, going round the Château de l'Isle. Continue straight on, keeping the road on your left, until you reach a small White Cross.

(2) Leave the road on your right and take the track. At the end of the track, turn right onto a country lane. Pass the farm on your left and continue along the lane until you reach the D1.

(3) Cross the road and take the grassy path opposite. Cross a small wood then follow a field to the hamlet of Launay. Turn left, cross the hamlet alongside the large property and go up the hill.

(4) At the top of the track, turn right. Walk through a pleasant chestnut wood to the hamlet of La Varenne. On leaving the hamlet, at the crossroads, head up to the right onto a sandy, stony track.

(5) At the first junction, turn left. At the hamlet of Vieille Font (stone house), turn right onto a grassy path. At the next junction, keep right and walk through the woodland on the^GR®655(red and white markings).

(6) At the junction at the end of the bend, turn right. At the Volbières crossroads, turn left onto a wooded path, still following the GR^®. Leave the woods and take in the view of the countryside and Baudiment Castle. Walk down between the fields to a T-junction.

(7) Then follow an old Roman road to the right, which is used by the^GR®655, the^GRP® des Trois Batailles de Poitiers and the Voie Turonnonsis. Continue straight ahead, crossing two small roads in succession, and reach the Gallo-Roman site of Vieux Poitiers (information board).

(8) Cross a road and take the field path opposite. At the three-way junction that appears immediately, turn right, still following the^GR® and the GRP^®. Continue straight ahead, pass under a high-voltage power line and you will soon come out onto a road.

(9) Cross the road, quickly reach another road and follow it to the right towards Cenon-sur-Vienne. At the first houses, continue along Rue de Languedoc until you reach the two ‘no entry’ signs.

(10) Then turn right into Rue de Guyenne. At the end, use the pedestrian crossing on the right to cross Rue de Franche-Comté and follow it to the left.

(11) After about fifty metres, turn right into Rue de Bourgogne. Walk past the cemetery and the old station, which is now a village hall. At the junction, turn right into Rue d’Alsace to reach the car park next to the sports ground (S/E).

Start opposite No. 18 Rue d'Alsace, right next to the City-Stade and the Grand'Maison car park.
Toilets in the car park at the start.
Picnic tables near the starting point.
All local amenities in the village.

- Mini electric boat harbour
- Gallo-Roman site of Vieux Poitiers