Bièvre Valley - Château de Versailles

Hike connecting Igny (Essonne) to the Palace of Versailles. The route follows the Bievre, and 80% of the route is on roads through forests. A calm, cool walk with scenery that will leave you with a unique souvenir.

Technical sheet

68428
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.20 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: No
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 249 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 190 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 175 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 68 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Head to Igny (Essonne) by train on RER line C. From the station, to reach the GR11 you have to cross the village, pass through the church square, the "only" café-tobacconist, the bakery, then turn right (Rue du Moulin), pass the railway line as far as the bridge, turn left just before the bridge and follow the river (you are now on the route of the GR11).

At the outskirts of Igny follow the GR11 along the Bièvre. Cross a small road, again follow the Bièvre and then a pond. At the end of the path on the road (1), go under the bridge and take the road immediately right at the foot of the bridge, then immediately left.
(2) Follow Rue des Prés and Chemin des Prés de Vauboyen along the railway line.
Arrive at the Vauboyen train station (3), head up to the right. At the junction, turn left and then immediately right into a street that turns into a path. In the forest, turn left heading downhill and after two left-right turns, reach a road (Rue de la Manufacture des Toiles de Jouy, fence). Take the road on the right and walk along the INRA Centre (fence and wall on the left).
(4) Take Rue du Montcel right then left onto Rue de Beuvron for a few metres and then finally turn right (you will walk by some beautiful buildings).
(5) Take the path on the right (nice little hill) and along a staircase that will leave a good memory. Turn left, follow Rue Pierre Vaudenay then Chemin du Cordon.
(6) Take a left there and walk through the woods. (7) Turn left and then right, and reach a road. Cross the road and go under the bridge and the Petit-Jouy-les-Loges train station. Take a path to the right along the Bièvre. At a stud (8) turn right, cross the road and take the path that climbs through the forest.
There is just 5 km left, keep it up. Follow the GR11 in the forest. (9) Head down a good stretch of hill (quite slippery in the rain). At the end of the road you will be at the sign for Versailles. Pass under the bridge.
(10) Take the path to the left (picture Versailles 1). After the National Forestry Office, head over the railway bridge, follow Rue Édouard Charton up Avenue de Sceaux.
Turn left onto this avenue, the castle is at the end of this avenue on your right.
You can see it!
To get back to the RER C you can just go down Avenue Sceaux for 300 m, turn left on Avenue de l'Europe (the station is 100 m further on).

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 73 m - Access - Gare d'Igny
  2. 1 : km 0.3 - alt. 68 m - Turn left and follow the - Bièvre (affluent de la Seine)
  3. 2 : km 1.1 - alt. 73 m - Go under the bridge and turn right
  4. 3 : km 1.36 - alt. 74 m - Bridge at the confluence of the Bièvre and - La Sygrie
  5. 4 : km 1.96 - alt. 75 m - Follow rue des Prés
  6. 5 : km 3.84 - alt. 81 m - Vauboyen
  7. 6 : km 6.77 - alt. 87 m - Turn right into rue du Montcel
  8. 7 : km 7.14 - alt. 99 m - Take the path on the right
  9. 8 : km 8.49 - alt. 158 m - Turn left and walk through the undergrowth
  10. 9 : km 9.06 - alt. 155 m - Turn left then right
  11. 10 : km 9.54 - alt. 111 m - Cross the road and go under the bridge and station - Gare de Petit-Jouy-les-Loges
  12. 11 : km 10.12 - alt. 101 m - At the stud farm, turn right
  13. 12 : km 11.55 - alt. 171 m - Nice descent on the left
  14. 13 : km 12.69 - alt. 160 m - Take the path on the left
  15. 14 : km 13.58 - alt. 149 m - Crossing the railway bridge
  16. 15 : km 14.16 - alt. 134 m - Turn left onto Avenue de Sceaux
  17. 16 : km 14.9 - alt. 128 m - Right Avenue Rockfeller
  18. E : km 15.2 - alt. 134 m - Versailles-Château-Rive Gauche station - Château de Versailles

In the nearby area

Visit the Palace of Versailles.
Tour the town of Versailles by train (July/August €1).

 Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 39 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.1 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
epiluc91
epiluc91

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Interesting walk with some beautiful woodland sections. Sometimes a bit too much tarmac. GPS tracking is often very useful, if not essential.
Note: if you leave a vehicle at Igny station, you should choose Versailles chantiers station for the return journey (not rive gauche): line V today.

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Horace
Horace

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very nice walk, mostly in the countryside. We followed it using the GPS application. We were a bit hesitant when we left the station. The route is very beautiful, but it has to be said that in the second part there is a succession of tough climbs before a staircase with 169 steps to climb and another with 112 steps to descend. But having said that, all 10 walkers, aged between 70 and 86, completed the entire route and were delighted.

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EdMa
EdMa
• Last modified:

Very easy route
The section on the Route de la Manufacture between Vauboyen and Jouy is of no interest: go through the forest instead.

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jujuclu
jujuclu

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very pleasant route. We crossed a few roads and crossroads, but always returned quickly to paths and forests.
At the end, we walked along the railway line to the Bassin des Suisses, next to the château.

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Kraumignon
Kraumignon

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

We really enjoyed this outing, the route is very pleasant. We found the directions a little confusing at times, but I put myself in the reactor's shoes and I don't know if I could do any better. We'll be happy to return to this circuit.

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al4951
al4951

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very nice walk, but unfortunately very poorly described. There aren't enough turning points.
There is never any indication of whether or not to follow the GR. You have to follow the GPS track! Shortly after point 13, we took a path to the left that took us to the pièce d'eau des Suisses in the château grounds. This was an extra 1.5 km, but it seemed absurd to walk through Versailles without seeing at least a little of the château.

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Dan2021
Dan2021

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

I'm used to doing the hikes on the Visorando site and I really appreciate it because I find that they are well explained and detailed, so that if you get lost you quickly realise it and turn back and find the right path again thanks to the markers (even on routes with few or no markers) which help you find your bearings and confirm that you're on the right path. I really like Visorando. Thank you to the whole team.

However, I'm very disappointed by today's hike "Vallée de la Bièvre - Château de Versailles". The description is not at all detailed, even though there are a lot of landmarks on the route. We know the area, so don't worry, we did it a bit by feel without making any mistakes up to point 8.5 (you've got 5 km to go), after which we didn't manage to follow the signs and so followed the Versailles Chantiers signposts.

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saint armel
saint armel

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : N/A
Clarity of route map : N/A
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Lovely walk ... don't hesitate to leave the proposed route to go through the forest! Thank you very much!

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CLMrando
CLMrando

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Between Vauboyen and Jouy en Josas, the long stretch of road alongside the INRA is not very interesting. It would probably be more interesting to follow the PR route through the woods.

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npk66
npk66

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : Yes

parish specific to Brittany!

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Cyclochica
Cyclochica

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

For a route so close to Paris, the peace and quiet and the number of forest passages are impressive. The only downside was the long stretch of road alongside the INRA. Otherwise, there are no difficulties and some really beautiful sections.
The description is fairly average in places, but following the map and the GR markers where appropriate gets you through. A few more specific points:
- rue de Beuvron is actually rue Beauvinon
- the path is called "la sente à Doisneau" and there are no more stairs.
- Point 7: perhaps indicate to turn left at the barrier, otherwise it's a bit vague
- The end after the Versailles sign is very vague, but as you can see the town and the railway line, you'll get away with it.

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dancharlotte
dancharlotte

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 24, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very beautiful but a lot of tarmac roads and some passages poorly described

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pascalanto
pascalanto

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 29, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant walk through woods and paths. Few difficulties. Note that at point 5 of the description, "la belle petite cote" is called "la sente à Doineau" and the staircase has disappeared.
The advantage of this walk is that it goes from station to station and avoids the need for a car.

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nemesia
nemesia

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 29, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb walk!
With the real pleasure of a very wooded route.
The walk ended at the château, which was a real contrast after 4 and a half hours in the countryside and away from the crowds.

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Solange B.
Solange B.

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : May 27, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I didn't follow the walk to the end, I guessed it was nicer with a restaurant at the end.

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