Château-Landon, the Loing Canal and the Étangs de Dordives

Park at the Parking du Mail, 8 Rue Hetzel. Just at the entrance to the old town when arriving via the Route de Souppes.

(S/E) From the car park, take the stairs and leave them halfway up to go to the small "market hall" type square. There you will find the yellow markings (or blue on the latest municipal documents). Walk past the Tour Madeleine and the ramparts, then past the Tourist Office, to arrive at the Place du Marché.

(1) Turn left onto Rue de la Ville Forte and then left again onto Rue Moïse. Continue along Rue Moïse until it turns 90° to the right.

(2) Go to the end of Rue Moïse. Turn left onto Rue de la Ville Forte, which veers slightly to the left after about 150 metres.

(3) At the right-hand bend, turn left onto Chemin de la Croix du Bourdon. Continue left along the street of the same name for 150 metres. At the entrance to the forest, turn right onto Chemin des Carrières, marked in yellow (or blue), which enters the forest. Follow the markings to cross the woods. At the exit, the path runs along the woods to the north.

(4) Once you have left the woods, turn right. Then follow the road on the left that leads to Mocpoix. At the entrance to Mocpoix, about 50 metres after the water tower, take the path slightly to the right that runs alongside the gardens of the village houses. At the end of the village, do not go straight ahead, but stay on the Chemin du Chanoy, which turns slightly to the left and joins the end of a street leading out of the village.

(5) Then turn right onto the path that enters the forest and descends towards the canal through the woods (do not take the path that runs alongside the woods). At the bottom of the descent, turn right and follow the canal, which should be on your left.

(6) At the Lorroy lock, cross the canal bridge over the Fusain. Continue along the canal, pass under the A77 motorway and continue to the Dordives bridge.

(7) Go up onto the bridge (D43/D62) and cross the canal. Then cross the Loing via the road. After about 100 metres, turn right towards the former leisure centre. Leave the barge on the lawn on your left and walk along the lake. At the intersection south of the^first lake, follow the path on the right that heads south. The end of the path corresponds to the road used by lorries serving the sandpit. Continue straight ahead until you reach the stop sign.

(8) At the stop sign, turn right. Cross the Loing (Moulin de Nancay on your left) and then the canal again. Then turn right and follow the canal for about 500 metres.

(9) Turn left and follow the GR®13. At the entrance to Toury, leave the GR®13, which turns left, and turn right, then immediately left. Cross Toury via Rue du Vieux Toury. At the exit, continue straight ahead on the D32 until you pass over the motorway.

(10) Just after the motorway, turn right onto the old Roman road. After 150 metres, turn left onto the^first path towards Heurtebise. Enter the hamlet where you will find the GR®13 coming from the right via a footpath. Continue straight ahead on the small road that crosses the village and then the forest. Then leave the GR®13, which turns left, and continue along the road to the junction with the D43. Turn left onto the departmental road and, after about 100 metres, turn right onto the first path, which turns right in front of a house and runs alongside a copse on the left. Pass a branch of the Fusain and then the Pontfrault bridge.

(11) At the end of the bridge, turn left onto Rue de Pont Franc (GR®13). Continue for 250 metres, then leave the^GR® and turn left onto Chemin des Martins, which runs alongside the Fusain. Yellow or blue markers.
In the right-hand bend, about 200 m before the street joins Rue de Saint-Séverin, take the path on the left and cross the^first branch of the Fusain. Turn right and walk along the river. When you reach the departmental road, turn right to cross the^first branch of the Fusain, and leave it after 30 m by turning left before crossing the^second branch of the Fusain.

(12) At the Beaupoivre wash house and mill, follow the Fusain river along the Sentier des Amoureux path.

(13) At the large municipal wash house, continue along the path beside the Fusain and enter the Parc de la Tabarderie. Turn left to see the Tabarderie and return to the Pont de César.

(14) Do not cross the bridge; instead, turn left (south) onto the path that runs alongside the river. Cross the small bridges over the branches of the Fusain and arrive at the end of the park. Take the bridge on the right and walk up through the meadows towards the foot of the town. Join the Chemin de la Haie de Banse and turn right above the meadows. Take the^first left, Rue du Bas de St André.

At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue Charles de Gaulle and continue to No. 37 to see the Tour Saint-André on your right, on private property. Continue along Rue Charles de Gaulle for about 15 metres, then turn left onto Rue Saint-André. At the end, turn right. Cross the next crossroads and continue along Place Saint-André. At the end, turn left onto Boulevard Carnot, then right onto Rue Grande and continue to the end of the street.

(16) At the Porche de la Monnaie, turn left onto Rue du Porche, then take the^first right onto Rue de France. Just before the end of the street, turn right onto Rue Thiers and left onto Rue Jean Galand. Continue to No. 29.

(17) Walk back a few steps and turn right onto Rue de Nemours, then walk around Notre-Dame Church (entrance on the side). Continue around the church via the passageway that leads to Place du Général Leclerc, then turn right onto Rue Jean Galand and turn left onto Place du Marché.

(18) Turn left onto Ruelle de Nemours. At the end, turn right and return to the car park where you started (S/E).

(1) On the square, there is a beautiful view of the valley and part of the old town.
(2) On the left, you can see the Poterne Nord, which leads to the valley north of the town. Once you have turned left into Rue de la Ville Forte, you will see the Poterne Sud on your right, which leads down to the Fusain valley. You can go down a few steps to enjoy the view of the valley.
From there, you can see the Saint-Thugal Tower on private property. It is the remains of a basilica in honour of Saint Tugdual, founder of the monastery of Tréguier in the Côtes d'Armor.
(3) On the right is Saint-Severin Abbey, built in honour of Clovis' healer. Visitors are allowed to enter through the "visitors" passage to see the abbey and the view of the valley. However, please avoid walking around the entire estate.
(6) After the lock, see the Néronville canal bridge, which allows the Loing canal to pass over the Fusain. (Once on the bridge, you can no longer see its interesting architecture).
(10) Chemin de César. This road is the old Roman road from Orléans to Sens. Now a footpath again, it still exists for the most part, but is sometimes covered by a road or motorway. It was used by the troops of the great Julius Caesar.
(11) Pontfrault Bridge and the remains of Pontfrault Abbey.
Beautiful view of the town, Saint-Severin Abbey and Saint-Tugdal Tower - Beaupoivre wash house and mill.
(13) Large municipal wash house. On the left, behind the other arm of the Fusain, is the Tabarderie. Formerly a textile factory.
(14) The Pont de César.
(15) St André Tower at 37 rue Général de Gaulle. It can be accessed discreetly from private property.
(16) The Porche de la Monnaie (former currency exchange office).
(17) At 29 Rue Jean Galland: the Maison de la Pierre (this museum provides access to the Hôtel Dieu, one of the last hospices for pilgrims in France, but it is rarely open). Notre-Dame Church with entrance on the side, Rue de Nemours.