A circular route along the Moselle between Frouard and Liverdun

Car park at the Clévant lock, on the Route de l’Embanie in Frouard.

(S/E) Set off along Rue de l’Embanie (with your back to the lock). Pass under the railway line and continue along this street.

(1) Before the junction with Rue de Metz, in a small square, turn left then right to take the narrow path through the bed of the old canal. Go under the road bridge and continue straight on.

(2) Before passing under the next road bridge, take a small path on the left, then turn right to join Rue du Capitaine Marchal. Cross the road and continue straight on along Rue Georges Clemenceau

(3) At the end of the street, turn right onto Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville. Take the second street on the left, Rue de l’Abbé Grégoire (at the corner, there is a small statue in a niche), and walk past the church. At the end of the street, turn left onto Rue Haute, then take the first street on the right, Rue du Vieux Château.

(4) At the junction, cross Rue des Rays and continue straight on along the yellow-marked uphill track to rejoin Rue des Rays.

(5) Turn left, then left again to visit the ruins of the Rays fortress.

(6) Return to the road. Turn left and carry on straight ahead along the path marked with a Blue Circle, towards football pitches 2 and 3. Pass the forester’s house and the sign marking the end of the Frouard built-up area.

(7) At a small square, take the track on the right, signposted ‘Blue Circle’, then ‘Blue Cross’. Then, at a junction of tracks, carry on straight ahead along the sandy track.

(8) Turn onto the second sandy track on the right (allée 107) and carry on straight ahead. After a short while, you’ll come across the ‘Blue Circle’ markings again.

(9) At the junction with another sandy track, take the hairpin bend to the right, following the Yellow-Orange ‘Tour de Nancy’ markings, and carry on straight ahead. The track turns into a road and becomes Rue de Châtillon.

(10) Cross the D90 at the pedestrian crossing to join the cycle path, turn right and carry on straight ahead. Pass under an old bridge with a manhole in front of the former Barbe factory and take the first road on the left.

(11) Turn immediately right and carry on straight ahead, following the old canal as it winds to the right and then to the left. Take a look at the railway junction and try to work out how it works – it’s the point where the Paris–Nancy and Paris–Metz lines split.

(12) Before the road bridge, leave the path, veer left to take the path leading uphill to join Rue du Capitaine Marchal. At the street, turn left, cross over the railway line and carry on straight ahead, walking alongside the sports facilities.

(13) At the junction with Rue de Metz, cross at the pedestrian crossing, then turn left and right so that, before the bridge, you take the steps leading down. Continue straight on along the Chemin des Paquis. Pass under the railway line, then leave the canalised Moselle to walk alongside the canal. Visit the remains of a former steelworks and return to the path. Carry on straight ahead to reach the starting point (S/E).

The remains of the old Marne–Rhine Canal.
The church at Frouard.
The ruins of the Forteresse des Rays.
The ruins of the former Barde steelworks.
The ingenious junction of the Paris–Nancy and Paris–Metz railway lines.
The starting point of the Marne–Rhine Canal from the channelled Moselle.
The remains of a former steelworks in a park beside the canal.