In the Saône Valley, starting from Fontaines-Saint-Martin

Starting point at the car park on Place du 8 Mai 1945 in Fontaines-Saint-Martin.

(S/E) Walk round the church, turning left onto Rue Gentil, then right at the^first junction and right again at the next, taking Rue du Pont du Mathou.

(1) Then turn left into Rue des Fours and, at the roundabout, continue right onto Chemin de la Marinade. After a climb, this path crosses a road.

(2) Turn right and, at the next junction, left onto Rue de Jéricho, which leads back down to Fleurieu-sur-Saône. At the roundabout, turn left onto Rue de l’Ancienne Église. Follow this road to a three-way junction where you turn left onto Grande Rue.

(3) This street passes in front of the church and then continues to the left. Follow it until it meets Rue Pêcherie. Take this street, which branches off to the left. At the end, carefully cross the D433 (very busy).

(4) Cross to the opposite side and join the towpath which heads right along the quay. Walk alongside the Saône on your left.

(5) Just before the Neuville bridge, cross the market square and then cross the D433 at the pedestrian crossing. Take Place Ampère opposite, then head towards the church and go round it on the left. Continue straight on along Rue Lefebvre, then turn left into Rue Curie and left again into Rue Guimet.

(6) Cross Rue Victor Hugo with care, turn right and, quite soon after, turn left onto Rue Marie-Thérèse Prost towards the station. At the roundabout, turn right onto the path that crosses the railway line.

(7) Very soon, turn right onto Chemin du Sablon. At the end of this path, by the wall of a residential complex (Clos de Monteiller), take the footpath that goes straight ahead. This path climbs steeply through the greenery and emerges onto Chemin des Escargots. This path then crosses Chemin du Monteiller, which you take to the right to reach a roundabout near the cemetery.

(8) At the roundabout, go straight on along a dirt track where the Torrières nature trail begins, heading across the fields. After about 700 m, just before a climb, take the path on the right (Chemin des Serpents) which leads to a junction with the D16 (Avenue du Parc).

(9) Follow it to the left for about 300 m and cross over to take Chemin de la Source Camille on the right. At the^{first house}, a dirt track branches off to the right; follow this to an intersection where you turn left onto a path leading to La Bascule, where the track turns into steps which you climb.

(10) Head left then turn right, following the edge of the woods; the route crosses fields. At the next junction, turn left then right; the path runs alongside the TGV line and leads to the roundabout on Route des Échets.

(11) Cross carefully and take Rue de la Croix des Horme opposite, which further on turns into a farm track.

(12) Take the sharp left-hand bend and continue along this track, which turns right just before the railway line; then, at the next junction, turn right again. The track meets Rue des Dimes, where you turn right to find, a little further on, just past a hedge flanking a graffiti-covered transformer, a new dirt track branching off to the left.

(13) Follow it to a junction where you turn right, then left and right again towards the clearly visible water tower.

(14) At the water tower, turn left and walk to a junction with a road where you turn right, then, at the first junction, turn left onto Chemin de la Madone. Pass a large livestock building on your right.

(15) Shortly afterwards, leave the path by turning left onto a track which then descends into the woods and crosses the Ruisseau des Échets

(16) It then climbs slightly and becomes Rue des Contents. Follow this road, passing the signs for the villages of Fontaines-Saint-Martin and Cailloux-sur-Fontaines, then pass the Puits Pointu.

(17) Continue straight on until you reach Rue des Prolières, where you turn right.

(18) After a few metres, don’t miss the footpath that branches off to the right, allowing you to cross the wetland via recently installed footbridges. Take the opportunity to visit the Moulin de la Terrasse. Continue along Rue des Prolières, which leads back to Place du 8 Mai 1945 (S/E).

Accessible via TCL - Line 77, Fontaines-Saint-Martin Centre stop.
Accessible by TER – Albigny-sur-Saône station, with the hike starting from Neuville.

Frequent yellow markings along the route. In Neuville, start of the Torrières circular trail. In Fontaines-Saint-Martin, “Return to the Roots” nature trail.

Henri Malartre Motor Museum in Rochetaillée.