Route de découverte de Cernay

Start the walk at the car park on Place de Ferrette.

(S/E) At the far end of the car park, turn right to reach Rue de Thann and Saint-Etienne Church. When you reach the church, go down the street to the left and continue to the junction. Take the second left, Rue Clémenceau. Follow this street to the town hall.

(1) Cross over to the other side. At the cross, follow Rue des Fabriques to the right to begin your tour of the Faubourg de Colmar. At the first four-way junction, turn left onto Rue des Travailleurs, then turn left onto the D463 until you reach the temple.

(2) Turn back and turn left onto Rue de Wattwiller. Take the first street on the right, Rue du Rossberg. At the end, make the first turn right then left to rejoin the D483 and follow it to the start of a large bend.

(3) Turn right onto Rue Edmond Rogelet. Take the right-hand bend and continue along Rue des Fabriques. Carry on to the first four-way junction. Turn right onto Rue du Peintre Jean-Paul Carrère and head towards the Chapelle du Saint-Esprit.

(4) Return to the junction and take the cul-de-sac opposite. Continue along the Voie Verte and cross a canal. When you reach Avenue Montaigne, turn right onto it and follow it to Place Simone Veil. Turn left at the square to reach the banks of the Thur. Follow the river upstream.

(5) Cross Rue Gustave Eiffel and continue along the river. Walk alongside the Parc des Rives de la Thur before taking the footbridge. At the end of the footbridge, head straight ahead and first turn right then left to follow Rue des Champs, arriving at Rue de Wittelsheim.

(6) Turn left, then immediately right onto Avenue Charles de Gaulle. Continue to the Notre-Dame du Perpétuel Secours Chapel.

(7) Return to Rue de Wittelsheim via the same route.

(6) Head left until you reach the junction with the D483. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing, turn left then right towards the SNCF station. Continue until you reach it.

(8) Return to the D483 and follow this road to the left. At the bridge over the Thur, turn left onto Rue René Guibert towards a car park. At the car park, turn right onto a path leading to the riverbank and past the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk.

(9) Walk upstream to the stork park.

(10) Turn right and take the footbridge. Continue straight ahead along Rue Georges Risler. Pass one junction and carry on to the next, at the Chapelle Saint-Henri and the former cantonal court. Turn right onto Rue de l’Hôpital, which runs between the two buildings. Continue straight ahead to an old tower.

(11) Take the path to the right of the tower and head up Rue Sainte-Odile on the left. Cross Rue Poincaré and continue along Rue des Moulins, passing a mansion, until you reach the Tour des Ânes, located at the end of the street.

(12) Turn right onto Rue Latouche. At the junction, turn left onto Rue du Maréchal Foch to begin your tour of the Faubourg des Vosges. Pass one junction and take the next street on the left, called Rue Sanchoz. Go straight ahead at the roundabout and take the next street on the right. Continue along a small passageway on the right leading to a playground. Go round the playground on the right to reach the opposite side. At the junction, keep right to reach Rue des Cèdres.

(13) Walk up the street, then take a passageway on the right between the houses. At the end of the passageway, walk down the road to the cross. Then turn left onto Rue de Steinbach. Take the first right into Rue des Puits. At the junction with Rue Joseph Depierre, go down this street and take the second street on the right, Rue des Montagnes, towards the Jewish cemetery. Enter the cemetery.

(14) At the junction in the centre, turn right and continue straight ahead until you exit to visit the Faubourg d’Uffolthz. Continue straight ahead onto Rue de la Paix. Walk down Rue du Repos on the right and turn left onto Rue du Château to reach a junction.

(15) Turn left onto Rue du Paradis. Continue straight ahead at the next three junctions. At the fourth, turn right then left. At the national cemetery, follow the small path on the right leading to the cemetery entrance and the information boards on the First World War around Cernay.

(16) Return to the road and walk down the street, passing three junctions. At the fourth, turn right onto Rue de la Paix, then turn left onto Rue de Guebwiller. Turn right onto the Sentier des Sorcières to return to the junction you passed earlier on your way to the cemetery.

(15) Continue left onto Rue du Paradis, then right onto Rue Haffner. At the Porte de Thann, go under it and turn right to see the Monument des Malgré-Nous.

(17) Return to the gate, go under it and take a short detour to the right to see the Villa Jeannot Lapin, now the Tourist Office. Return to the gate and walk down Rue de Thann towards the church. Take the second street on the left, called Passage Romarin. Then reach the car park via a passageway on the right (S/E).

This route is entirely urban and presents no difficulties. It is, however, classified as ‘moderate’ as the route is over 10 km long and may not be suitable for young children.

Information boards/plaques are located on Place Simone Veil (5), after the Parc des Rives de la Thur, on the Pont du Lieutenant-colonel P. Basset, by the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk (9), at the stork park (10), at the Cernay National Necropolis (16), at the Porte de Thann and at the Monument des Malgré Nous (17)

Benches available at the Stork Park (10)

Toilets available at (S/E)

-Saint-Etienne Church

-Cernay Town Hall and its cross (1)

-Cernay Temple (2)

-Chapel of the Holy Spirit (4)

-Place Simone Veil (5)

-Thur Riverside Park

-Chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (7)

-Cernay Station (8)

-Statue of Saint John of Nepomuk (9)

-Stork Park (10)

-War memorial on Rue Poincaré

-Tower (11)

-Donkey Tower (12)

-Cross on the D351

-Jewish cemetery (14)

-Cernay National Cemetery (16)

-Thann Gate

-Monument to the Malgré Nous (17)

-Villa Jeannot Lapin