Circular walk around the two villages of Vert and Toulon

This is a short, signposted walk that takes you through the two villages that make up Vert-Toulon: Toulon-la-Montagne and Vert-la-Gravelle. It is a route recommended by the Épernay Pays du Champagne Tourist Office.

The route is very varied: marshes, vineyards, fields and woods. It passes by the private Château de la Gravelle and oil wells.

There’s a lovely picnic area at the Toulon-la-Montagne viewpoint, from where you can see seven church spires.

Details

3461611
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.98 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 295 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 295 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 771 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 469 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the square near the town hall (Place Léandre Ploix), where there is a sign with a map of the route.

(S/E) Turn right onto Rue de Saint-Éloi, with your back to the square.

(1) Take the first path on the left and follow it to the junction by the pumping station.

(2) Turn left at the junction. Cross the bridge and you’ll reach a T-junction.

(3) Turn left at the junction. Walk past an oil well, then continue to the T-junction.

(4) Turn left, then right, then left again. Walk past a second oil well. Walk to a Y-junction and a bridge.

(5) Cross the bridge and walk to the road. At the crossroads (with the wayside cross), turn right and follow the small road (D45) to the Château de la Gravelle (private).

(6) Admire the château, then walk back a short way and take the path that goes round it to the left. Stay on this path, which first follows the moat, then passes through wooded areas, before veering slightly to the left to cross farmland. After 2 km, the path enters the woods. Continue in the same direction until you reach the entrance to Toulon-la-Montagne.

(7) At the road, turn left. Walk past the church (drinking water available in the cemetery) and turn left at the crossroads. Head to the picnic area, where there is an information board and a lovely view.

(8) Walk alongside the picnic area and carry on straight ahead along the path that runs past the glass recycling bin. Enter the woods. Continue along this path until you reach the vineyards.

(9) When you reach the vineyards, turn left and stay on the path which bends to the right, then to the left. Walk to the vineyards.

(10) At the vineyards, turn right and carry on until you reach the football pitch.

(11) When you reach the road (Rue du Général de Gaulle), follow it to the left and walk through the village. Take the4th street on the right (Rue Saint-Pierre), walk past the church, then turn right and continue to the square (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 476 ft - Place Léandre Ploix
  2. 1 : mi 0.11 - alt. 476 ft - The trail starts on the left
  3. 2 : mi 0.52 - alt. 472 ft - Crossroads at the pumping station
  4. 3 : mi 0.7 - alt. 472 ft - T-junction
  5. 4 : mi 1.32 - alt. 472 ft - T-junction
  6. 5 : mi 2.29 - alt. 479 ft - Pont de la Planche
  7. 6 : mi 2.65 - alt. 482 ft - Ancien Château de la Gravelle
  8. 7 : mi 4.83 - alt. 653 ft - Route
  9. 8 : mi 5.17 - alt. 771 ft - Aire de pique-nique de Toulon la Montagne
  10. 9 : mi 5.96 - alt. 712 ft - Vineyards
  11. 10 : mi 6.9 - alt. 525 ft - Vineyards
  12. 11 : mi 7.49 - alt. 486 ft - Route
  13. S/E : mi 7.98 - alt. 476 ft - Place Léandre Ploix

Notes

Place Léandre Ploix is not recognised by Google or sat-navs. Head for the town hall.

Drinking water is available at the Toulon-la-Montagne cemetery.

The route can also start at the Toulon-la-Montagne picnic area, where there is space to park several cars.

Worth a visit

There are several other walks in the area to explore the archaeological treasures.

The Church of Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul in Vert-la-Gravelle, a listed historic monument.

The route passes two oil wells.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 3 reviews

Reliability of the description
5 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
jinox51
jinox51

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello everyone,

A lovely walk, but unfortunately the section after the castle towards the forest isn’t great – though that’s just my opinion.

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virgule
virgule

There is also another Vign'art sculpture in Loisy-en-Brie, on the road to Etoges, on the edge of the vineyard.

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virgule
virgule

There is a lovely land art sculpture at the Toulon-la-Montagne picnic area. It will remain there all summer.

https://www.vignart.fr/

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jalouno77
jalouno77

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 30, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

On a lovely sunny afternoon, 13 km that just fly by as you walk through the countryside – it’s autumn, so even better
Well signposted, the path is easy; wear walking boots as it’s muddy, but it’s a lovely route

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virgule
virgule

Thank you for this review.

Lucky are those who can go for a walk in Toulon la Montagne these days...

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Mary51
Mary51

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk with varied scenery, but best done in dry weather.

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virgule
virgule
• Edited:

Follow my link – I've combined the two routes.

https://www.visorando.com/randonnee-/413...

There’s no public transport in the area.

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ovil
ovil

Thank you for your reply.
I hadn’t spotted this walk starting from Congis.
I’ll see how I can combine it with the one from Vert-Toulon, but as it’s 24 km, I’d rather wait until the days are longer.

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virgule
virgule
• Edited:

Hello,

Yes, I think we could extend the route by combining it with one of the other walks in the area – the one that goes via Vert Toulon, for example.

https://www.visorando.com/randonnee-cong...

That would make it about 24km, if we skip the visit to Congy, the Etoges wash house and the Toulon-la-Montagne picnic area. Otherwise, it’s more like 27km.

As for public transport, I’ll look into it. The idea would be to travel from Épernay to Étoges.

Under normal circumstances, I could have given you a lift, but at the moment, it’s one person maximum in the back, and you must wear a mask.

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ovil
ovil

Two questions:
- Can we get to the start or somewhere nearby by public transport?
- Can we extend the walk to make it about 20 km?
Thank you

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virgule
virgule

For walkers who want to go for a ‘post-walk’ stroll, I’d recommend starting at the picnic area (town hall) in Toulon la Montagne, which is nicer than the square in Vert la Gravelle.

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virgule
virgule

A short, very peaceful walk

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