The Meudon Observatory, Les Bruyères and La Femme sans Tête

Starting point and access: Meudon station.
- Transilien - Line N, on the section between Paris-Montparnasse and Versailles-Chantiers.
Take the main exit, accessible from the central platform, Place du 8 mai 1945 (if you get off at one of the two side platforms, walk up the street in the Paris-Versailles direction until you reach the square).
For departure from tram line T2, see the practical information section for an alternative route.

Yellow signage

(S) With your back to the station building, turn right and follow Rue Claude Dalsème. At the crossroads, climb the stairs on the right and follow Sentier de la Pointe. At the junction, continue straight ahead (chicane). At the end, turn left into Avenue de la Paix. At the crossroads (Rue du Ponceau on the left), continue straight ahead. At the fork immediately ahead (garage), turn right and climb a staircase.

At the top, cross the boulevard (be careful, there is no pedestrian crossing) and take Sentier du Potager opposite, a narrow path that winds between garden walls and fences. At the end, ignore the first street on the left, Rue Éliane, and turn into the second street on the left, which is a no-entry street. You will come out at a crossroads opposite the gate to the Potager du Dauphin.

(1) Enter the garden through the small gate at No. 15 Rue de Porto-Riche. Go straight ahead, between the Orthodox Chapel of Saint-Georges on your right and a large building on your left. Cross a small square and take a first turn left then right (passing a greenhouse on your left) to climb slightly and reach the park's exit gate.

Turn left onto Rue Obeuf and you will immediately come to Avenue du Château. Turn left and walk up the gravel path parallel to the avenue. At the end, cross Place Jules Janssen (information board) and head slightly to the right towards the gate of Parc de l'Observatoire.

(2) Enter the park and turn immediately left. At the corner of the pseudo-dolmen, turn right and walk along the edge of the terrace (extensive view of Val Fleury, the nearby western suburbs and Paris). At the end, turn right, walk past the statue of Jules Janssen and you will come to a gate at the top of a staircase offering a beautiful view of the observatory and its dome.

No markings

Turn right (leaving the markings down the stairs) and return to the main entrance via the central avenue lined with closely spaced plane trees.

(2) When you leave the park, follow the paved path on the left. Continue along Rue des Capucins, on the right-hand pavement (there is no pavement on the left-hand side).

Red and white + yellow markings

Cross Passage Tivoli on the right-hand side. At the next crossroads, turn left at an acute angle and go up Avenue Marcellin Berthelot, which soon turns right. Pass the entrance to the observatory on the left-hand side and enter the Meudon National Forest.

(3) At the crossroads (small car park), take the^second path on the right, which starts behind a forest barrier. At the next crossroads (forest plot no. 30), follow the^second path on the right (yellow two-sided sign) and go down between the birch trees. When a path comes from the left, continue straight ahead and, further on, ignore a path on the left (follow the yellow signs with two sides).

At the end of the path, turn left, go through a forest barrier and go down a lane between two low walls. At the end, follow Route des Gardes on the left and cross it at the first pedestrian crossing. Turn left again, cross Rue Ernest Renan and go back up Route des Gardes for a few dozen metres.

(4) At the corner of No. 2, turn right onto Chemin des Capucins, a gravel lane after a forest barrier. After No. 1, at the corner of the property wall, turn sharply left and follow a path that leads into the woods. Climb a steep slope and, at the crossroads halfway up, turn right onto a path that follows the contour line, dominated by tall buildings on the left. Come out onto a small esplanade and turn left, leaving the benches on your right.

Cross Avenue Jules Gévelot, pass in front of a forest barrier and follow a path sloping to the right. Ignore the vague paths on either side and, at the T-junction, turn left and pass through a forest barrier. Cross Rue Montaigne on the right-hand side and go straight ahead into a gravel lane. Cross Rue des Bruyères and take the bridge over the N118 (view of Paris and the towers of La Défense on the right).

(5) At the end of the bridge, turn left onto Route des Postillons. After a pedestrian crossing, leave the road and take a path on the right, entering the woods again (plot no. 57). Go down a steep slope, ignore two paths on the right and climb steeply up the opposite side. At a crossroads (wooden steps on the left), continue straight ahead.

Cross a tarmac road and make a left/right zigzag to enter a narrow path (leave the tree marked with no. 56 on your right). The path winds through the undergrowth; along the way, ignore a path on the left. When you reach the foot of a wall, turn right, following the wall on your left, and you will immediately come to a crossroads.

Continue straight ahead on the wide path that leaves between plots nos. 52 and 53. Walk west-southwest, ignoring vague paths on either side, and you will arrive at the Carrefour de la Femme sans Tête (Crossroads of the Headless Woman), at the edge of plots nos. 52, 53 and 58.

No markings

(6) Continue straight ahead on a narrower path that starts off flat. At the next crossroads, turn right onto the bridle path (painted horseshoe) and descend. At a fork, continue straight ahead, ignoring the path on the right.

Yellow markings

(7) At the T-junction, turn left. Descend and ignore vague paths on the right leading to a street and the railway line below.

Red and yellow + yellow markings

At the crossroads, go straight ahead, continue downhill slightly and follow the markings carefully. At a fork, turn right (leave the bridle path straight ahead). Pass by the foot of the Notre-Dame de Bon Secours oratory and join a street at the bus stop for line 469 (number visible from a distance).

Red and white + yellow markings

(8) Follow the street to the right and immediately turn left onto Rue du Gros Chêne. Take the tunnel under the railway line and continue straight ahead. At the traffic lights, continue straight ahead and go up to the crossroads with a statue of General de Gaulle. Then turn left and, after a few metres, cross Avenue Roger Salengro at the pedestrian crossing.

On the other side, climb the stairs opposite (Rue Alfred Fournier). At the top, take the path immediately on your left. At the end, turn right and walk up Rue Carnot. Cross Rue Martial Boudet on the right-hand side and you will find Chaville Rive Droite station on your right (E).

To return home (by Transilien):
- Line L, towards Paris-Saint-Lazare or Versailles Rive Droite.
- Line U, towards La Défense Grande Arche or Versailles-Chantiers.
- Line N: see an alternative in the practical information section.

Train timetables: consult the Transilien website.

Hiking boots are recommended, especially in winter when there are muddy patches in places.

Water source in the Potager du Dauphin (1), opposite the Chapelle Saint-Georges. A few shops around Meudon station (S).

Detailed map required (at least the one accompanying this description).

Opening hours of Meudon's public parks (Potager du Dauphin and Parc de l'Observatoire):
- October to March: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- April to September: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Variations:

Depart from Meudon-sur-Seine station (Tram, line T2, from Porte de Versailles or Pont de Bezons) - Yellow markings. Take exit 1 Route des Gardes. Climb the stairs to the right of the restaurant and cross the road at the traffic lights. Go under a porch and walk up Boulevard Anatole France. After No. 16, climb the stairs on the right and follow the Sentier des Blancs (path between two walls). Cross the street and continue along the path opposite. At the end, turn left onto Rue Hédouin. You will come out at Place du 8 mai 1945, with Meudon station on your right, and follow the main route from its starting point (S). Allow about ten minutes extra, all uphill.

Return from Chaville Rive Gauche station (Transilien, line N towards Paris-Montparnasse or Rambouillet, Dreux and Mantes-la-Jolie) - At the bus stop for line 469 (8), follow the street to the left. Cross Route du Pavé des Gardes at the traffic lights; there are two paths, take the one on the right which heads south along the forest house. At a crossroads, go through the gate on the right with yellow and red-and-yellow markings on the posts and turn immediately left at the foot of a tree marked with plot number 64. Then follow a stabilised path. At a fork, take the right-hand path towards a kiosk. At the next fork, take the left-hand path, still towards the kiosk. When you reach the kiosk, turn right onto a wide path. At the wall bars of a fitness trail, turn left and head towards the forest gate leading to the Chaville cemetery car park you used on the way there. Continue along the tarmac road that runs down alongside the railway tracks. Then take Rue Anatole France on the right, pass under the railway bridge and turn right one last time to reach Chaville Rive Gauche station.

Hike completed by the author on 6 January 2016.

- Paths in Meudon, between (S) and (1).
- Potager du Dauphin and Saint-Georges Orthodox Chapel (1).
- Pseudo-dolmen of Meudon, shortly after (2). "Free" reconstruction of a prehistoric collective burial site, built at the end of the 19th century.
- Meudon Observatory and its dome (1876), in the circular after (2). The Meudon Observatory is one of the sites ofthe Paris Observatory, dedicated more specifically to the study of the Sun.
- Extensive panorama from the observatory terraces, in the circular after (2).
- Walking route in the north of the Meudon Forest, between (3) and (8).