Bois de Saint-Apolline at Château de Plaisir

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A short walk through the woods will take you to Saint-Pierre-de-Plaisir Church and Plaisir Castle.

Details

n°7361951
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Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.41 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 54 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 54 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 169 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 112 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Plaisir (78370)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.800145° / E 1.930638°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2214ET
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Photos

The Château de Plaisir
St Pierre Church - Plaisir

Description of the walk

Parking at the SPA car park in Saint-Apolline, Plaisir (78).

(S/E) Take the path after the barrier and continue straight ahead until you reach a five-way intersection.

(1) Turn into the first lane on the left, a wide lane that leads to the Charité crossroads. Leave the main path and continue straight ahead. The path meets a lane; take it on the right and continue straight ahead until you reachthe second crossroads.

(2) Turn right and follow theGR® (red and white markings) which leads to the Château. They pass through the Carrefour de Lurifico and reach a crossroads just before the entrance to Plaisir.

(3) Continue on theGR® trail to the right uphill. It crosses Chemin du Pré Pollet, passes near a pond, then descends again. Further on, pass under high-voltage power lines before arriving at a clearing at the edge of the forest.

(4) Take the path on the left that leaves the forest and enter the town via Rue Edmond Rostant. __Caution_ when crossing the town, use the pedestrian crossings.
At thefirst crossroads, turn right onto Rue Ernest Lavisse, cross Rue du Bois and reach Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

(5) Turn left and follow Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Place Saint-Pierre de Plaisir to begin a circular loop around the castle grounds.

(6) Leave theGR® trails, enter the park and walk around the pond and the castle, then exit the way you came in.

(6) From Place Saint-Pierre, take Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau again to return to the crossroads with Rue Ernest Lavisse.

(5) Leave the outward route and continue straight on Rue Jules Regnier. When you reach the roundabout, continue straight on, cross at the pedestrian crossing, then continue uphill on Rue Jules Regnier until you reach the intersection with Rue Anatole France.

(7) Leave Rue Jules Regnier and head diagonally right into the forest via Chemin de Pontchartrain à Plaisir. Pass a car park and the high-voltage power lines, then continue straight ahead. At the Château Reyson crossroads, continue straight ahead on Route de Plaisir and onto the main path.

(8) You will arrive at a T-junction. Take the path on the left, and at the end of the path, turn 90° to the right until you reach the next junction, which you already passed on the way there.

(1) Turn left and return to the Saint-Apolline SPA car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 164 m - Parking at the SPA in Saint-Apolline
  2. 1 : km 0.16 - alt. 164 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 1.38 - alt. 169 m - Access to GR trails
  4. 3 : km 3.24 - alt. 143 m - Entrance to Les Maisons des Bois
  5. 4 : km 3.95 - alt. 138 m - Exit from the St Apolline forest
  6. 5 : km 4.44 - alt. 117 m - Intersection of Rue Lavisse and Rue Rousseau
  7. 6 : km 4.76 - alt. 112 m - Entrance to the Château park - Église Saint-Pierre (Plaisir)
  8. 7 : km 6.34 - alt. 131 m - Entrance to the St Apolline forest
  9. 8 : km 7.88 - alt. 159 m - T-junction
  10. S/E : km 8.41 - alt. 164 m - Parking at the SPA in Saint-Apolline

Notes

- Several car parks along the route (possibility to start at several locations)
- You can take public transport and start the hike in Plaisir (Église or Joncheres bus stop). For more information about buses , visit https://www.cars-hourtoule.fr/
- Water point in the Château park

Worth a visit

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

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

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Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 16 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
User 25738718

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike, the Château de Plaisir in August 2025 is not visible as it is completely covered in tarpaulins.

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vava78
vava78

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike, only one wet section, small detour necessary

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Sylvain Del
Sylvain Del

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant forest walk, accessible to all.

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isavlb91
isavlb91

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk in the forest, with a visit to the Château de Plaisir.

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RV94800
RV94800

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Suitable in all weather conditions, with few potentially muddy sections and well sheltered by trees in hot weather. Estimated duration is long for experienced walkers; allow around 2 hours.

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Tara Zanetti
Tara Zanetti

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A very good hike that takes two hours. The paths are well marked and quite busy. The descent is a little dangerous if it's muddy. The part where you go through the estate and the park isn't particularly useful as you leave the woods and find yourself in the town, which is noisy.
In any case, I recommend it because there are several possible routes.

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indianajohn78
indianajohn78

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Very easy hike, suitable for children

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Sandra78
Sandra78

Easy hike, best done after rainy weather. The most interesting part is the castle. Suitable for families.

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stef78190
stef78190

for your information, there is a larger car park 200 metres further on towards Neauphle-le-Château

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Peunou
Peunou

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The route is flat, easy to access and easy to ride.
However, parking spaces are limited
A pleasant hike

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Sandra78
Sandra78
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant, easy hike. I think it can be done in all seasons. In my opinion, the castle is the main point of interest on this hike..

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CMarcouDus
CMarcouDus

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, varied hike between forest and village. Easy to do with the family (wide, well-marked paths). Downside: although the hike follows the GR trail for much of the way, the markings are not always very visible. But with the route on Visorando, it's easy to find your way.

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Sandra78
Sandra78

Hike taken after several days of rain. No muddy paths along the route and no difficulties. Pleasant route, I particularly enjoyed the castle section, even though it was short.

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Jean.Taverne
Jean.Taverne

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very clear description for this circular. The forest is very "well maintained" so not very wild!

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Demestel
Demestel
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

two small errors in the description in points 3 (downhill rather than uphill) and 5 (return route: error in the street name), but a very pleasant route with the discovery of the village of Plaisir, the castle and its grounds. A lovely surprise!

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