Malmaison and Gallicourts circular

Starting point and access: Rueil-Malmaison station.
- RER - Line A, on the section between Paris and Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
Take exit 5 Avenue Victor Hugo.

No markings

(S/E) After the gates, turn left and then follow Avenue Victor Hugo to the right. At the traffic lights, cross the D39 and continue straight ahead on Avenue Victor Hugo. At the next traffic lights, turn right onto Rue Michelet. Then take^{the first} left, Avenue Mary (beautiful houses). At the end, turn right onto Rue Georges Baudin. At the stop sign, turn left onto Avenue Albert Ier. Cross two private roads on the right-hand side, then turn right onto Impasse du Donjon.

(1) At the end, turn left and enter Parc de l'Amitié. Immediately turn right onto a cement path, then take the^first path on the right, just after a bench. Go straight ahead and walk along a bamboo fence on your left. At the entrance to a pergola, turn left. At the roundabout that appears shortly afterwards, turn left and pass under a red Japanese gate. Immediately turn right onto a stabilised path. At a fork, take the left-hand path, walk alongside a pond on your left, pass a Japanese bridge on your left and stay as close to the water as possible. At a T-junction, follow the path to the right, walk past a statue of Napoleon and exit the park.

(2) Go straight ahead, cross Avenue Paul Doumer in two stages and continue opposite on Avenue Georges Clemenceau. At the end, cross Boulevard du Maréchal Foch at the pedestrian crossing on the right. Opposite, take the tarmac path towards the old town hall and walk past the current town hall on your right. Go up the steps and, at the foot of the old town hall, turn right onto a tarmac path leading downhill. Opposite No. 2, turn left, go through a chicane and follow a paved path.

(3) At the end, turn right. Cross the Place de l'Église and walk along the church on your left. At the end of the square, continue along Rue Jean Le Coz. Keep going straight ahead, ignoring the side streets and dead ends. You will come to a crossroads with the gate to the Parc de Bois-Préau opposite.

Yellow markings
N.B. For crossing Parc de Bois-Préau, the OSM map is approximate; the route has been based on the IGN map.

(4) Here you have two options:
- If the park is closed (closed every Tuesday), follow the unmarked alternative route described in the practical information.
- If the park is open, as shown on the map, enter the park and walk past the foot of the castle. Immediately afterwards, turn left. At a fork, turn right and follow an artificial stream. At the T-junction, turn left. At the next intersection, turn right. At the crossroads shortly afterwards (signpost), continue straight ahead and climb up to leave the park and come out onto Rue Charles Floquet.

(5) Follow the street to the right and continue uphill. At the traffic lights, cross the avenue and follow Avenue de Versailles towards the Maison de la Nature. At the corner of No. 11, turn left into Rue des Sorins and, at the fork that appears immediately, continue straight ahead along the same street. Climb gently and cross Rue de Normandie, Rue Mozart and Rue de Bretagne in succession. At the T-junction, turn right onto Rue des Chevremonts, then left onto Rue des Platanes. Cross Rue des Vosges on the left-hand side, then turn right. At the end, cross Avenue de Versailles and follow it to the right for about 50 metres.

(6) Take the^first left, Rue de la Vallée Hudrée. Ignore a small street on the left and continue downhill. Opposite the gate at No. 31, turn right, go through a chicane and follow a wide path between walls and property fences. Soon, the path descends steeply and then turns sharply to the left. At the end, go through a chicane and continue along a tarmac road that climbs gently. At the end (traffic lights on the left), turn right. At the T-junction, follow Rue de la Bergerie to the left and enter a wood.

Red and yellow markings

(7) At the^first right-hand bend, leave the road and take a path on the right that starts at the foot of an information panel about the Gallicourts Urban Nature Park. Climb through the undergrowth and, when you reach the road, turn right (wooden barrier). Continue on relatively flat ground, keeping to the right of the garden fences. Cross a small road at the pedestrian crossing and continue on an uphill path along a wooded meadow.

No markings

At the crossroads (information panel about fruit), continue straight ahead (leaving the^GRP® trail on your right).

(8) At a three-way junction (pond on the right), follow the path on the left which quickly leads to the Belvédère des Gallicourts (orientation table). Retrace your steps back to the three-way junction.

(8) Then turn left, leaving the pond on your right, descend and enter the woods.

Red and yellow markings

At the next intersection (information panel about the heart of the tree), go straight ahead, leaving a picnic table on your right and turning left. Ignore the steps on your right and turn immediately right towards the banks of the Seine. Go downhill, keeping to the left of an old orchard that has been left fallow. Stay on the main marked path and ignore all the side paths. Continue downhill, cross a stream on a footbridge without a railing and come out onto a street. Then turn left and follow the street on a stabilised path that runs parallel to it.

Yellow markings (rare)

(9) At the end of the stabilised path, turn right to cross the street at the pedestrian crossing and follow the direction of the banks of the Seine. Stay on the main path, which curves widely to the right. Then take the Passerelle des Gallicourts footbridge, which crosses the D913 and a motorway slip road. Then follow a wide paved path and leave the sports fields on your right. At a crossroads, go straight ahead and pass a playground on your left. At the roundabout, go down a path interspersed with wooden steps, located roughly opposite (damaged information sign). At the bottom, turn right and, after a yellow two-sided sign, follow a tarmac path on the left along the fence of a rugby field.

(10) You will come out onto a wide concrete path. Follow it to the right towards Nanterre. Walk along the Seine on your left, continuing straight ahead and ignoring a few paths on the right. After passing a golf course, cross Boulevard Franklin Roosevelt on the right and continue along the Seine on Boulevard de Bellerive.

No signposts

(11) Here, there are two options:
- Continue along the Seine and rejoin the main route before the railway bridge.
- As shown on the map, turn right and enter Allée Gabrielle Colonna-Romano. At the end, follow the Promenade de la Couverture de l'Autoroute on the left. This will take you to Avenue des Acacias, which you should follow to the left.

Yellow markings (rare)

Return to Boulevard de Bellerive and follow it to the right. At the foot of the railway bridge, turn right onto Avenue de Seine. Continue straight ahead with the railway line above on your left and ignore all the streets on your right. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue de Colmar in several stages and quickly join the Reuil-Malmaison station (S/E) on your left.

To return home:
- RER - Line A, towards Paris or Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Train timetables: check the Transilien website.

In dry weather, good trainers are sufficient for this route. In wet weather, some paths may be muddy between (7) and (9).

Bars near Reuil-Malmaison station (S/E). Bars, restaurants and shops near the church (3).

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

Opening hours for public parks:
Parc de l'Amitié
- October to April: 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- May to September: 7.30am to 8pm.
Parc du Bois-Préau
- Opening hours (except Tuesdays, when it is closed): 9:30 a.m.
- Closing time: 5:45 p.m. from October to March; 6:45 p.m. in April; 7:45 p.m. from May to September.
Allée Gabrielle Colonna-Romano
- October to April: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- May to September: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Alternative route when Parc de Bois-Préau is closed:
At the crossroads (4), turn left onto Rue Charles Floquet. At the traffic lights, go straight ahead, climb and continue along the right-hand side of the Parc de Beau-Préau wall. This will take you to the point (5).

Hike completed by the author on 19 November 2022.

- Beautiful houses on Avenue Mary, between (S/E) and (1).
- Japanese garden in Parc de l'Amitié, between (1) and (2).
- Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul Church, shortly after (3), rebuilt in the mid-19th century under the aegis of Napoleon III, who had a monument erected there in honour of his mother, Hortense, and another in honour of Empress Josephine.
- Bois-Préau Park, between (4) and (5).
- Parc Naturel Urbain des Gallicourts, between (7) and (9). This park is located on the site of former orchards and is maintained to a minimum, with a view to allowing natural vegetation to recolonise the area.
- Belvédère des Gallicourts (8), which offers a panoramic view of the La Défense district and the western suburbs of Paris.
- A pleasant walk along the Seine starting from (10).