From Cires-lès-Mello to Chantilly via Saint-Leu d'Esserent

Access: Cires-lès-Mellostation served by the Hauts de France TER regional express trains on the Creil-Beauvais line.

(S) Turn left when leaving Cires-lès-Mello station. Shortly afterwards, turn left and cross the level crossing. After about 200 metres, turn left into Rue de Blaincourt. Follow the bend to the right and continue left along the same street. Then take the first right.

Red and white markings (GR®11)

(1) Take Rue de Maysel on the left (join the GR®11 here). Cross Rue des Saules, then turn right at the fork. Ignore the dead ends on either side and continue to a T-junction.

(2) Follow Rue du Clos Herpin to the left and continue straight ahead into the woods, walking alongside the marshes on your left. Leave the woods, enter Maysel via Rue du Grand Marais and you will soon come to a three-way junction (town hall on the left, church on the right).

(3) Turn right and walk past the church. At a crossroads (cross), turn left, walk past the cemetery, then under a high-voltage power line and climb up to the edge of the woods.

(4) At an intersection, continue straight ahead (south) and enter the woods. At the crossroads that immediately follows (elevation 89), go straight ahead. Stay on the main marked path and ignore all side paths.

(5) At a crossroads, leave the GR®1A opposite and turn left onto the GR®11. Keep heading south-east and, further on, leave the woods. Head east-south-east between the fields. Pass under two high-voltage power lines and reach a small road.

(6) Follow this road to the right. When it turns right, take a field path on the left. Head south-east, then immediately left, towards Saint-Leu d'Esserent, whose abbey church appears on the horizon.

(7) Join the D12 and follow it to the right and downhill. After about 150 m, turn sharply left, then immediately right. Pass the cemetery, turn right and arrive at a T-junction in front of the church.

(8) Turn right and, after No. 14, turn left to walk alongside the church and its gardens on your left. Go down Ruelle du Mouton. At the end, follow Rue Jean Moulin to the right and pass a triangular crossroads on your right.

(9) Cross the D92 at the traffic lights and continue straight ahead into Rue Pasteur. Turn left onto this street and cross the railway line at the level crossing. Continue along Rue de l'Hôtel Dieu (D44) and straight on to the bridge over the Oise.

(10) Cross the bridge over the river. On the other side, immediately go down the steps on the left. You will come out onto Rue du Pont Saint-Leu; follow this road to the left. Continue along a path that turns right, then left, and then runs alongside a pond. At the end (quarry on the left), turn right.

(11) At the traffic lights, cross Route de Saint-Leu and immediately take a path on the left that runs parallel to it (Rue Guy Cauville). Continue along the tarmac road and, when the street turns right, turn left. Cross the residential district of La Poterne.

(12) Come out onto Rue de la Poterne and follow it to the left. Cross Rue Robespierre on the left, then Impasse du Tropique on the right and continue along Rue de la Poterne. Continue along Rue de Trossy.

(13) Take Rue de la Carrière Daubin on the right. When the street turns right, turn left. Immediately turn right and cross the Larris neighbourhood. Exit on the other side, Rue Pierre Bruiet, and follow it to the right. Immediately turn left into Rue du Chantier de Taille (former quarry converted into a climbing school).

(14) Join Rue Jean Jaurès and follow it to the right. Take the bridge over the railway line. Shortly afterwards, turn left onto a path. You will rejoin the tarmac road at the foot of Saint-Maximim Church.

(15) First turn left then right onto Rue de l'Abbé Jules Martin.

(16) Take the first left, Rue du Jeu d'Arc, and pass in front of the entrance to Château Civet. At the end of the street, go around the roundabout on the left and take a tree-lined lane heading south-east. At the end, turn left towards La Grande Folie.

(17) At the roundabout, cross the D1016 carefully. Then cross a small road, turn left on the other side and enter the forest.

(18) At the crossroads, turn right. Continue straight ahead (south) to Carrefour de la Coharde.

(19) Then turn right (south-southwest). Cross the D44 at Porte Saint-Leu and continue straight ahead along the sports fields. You will arrive at the western end of the Grand Canal du Domaine de Chantilly.

(20) Continue straight ahead and pass another smaller canal (leaving the GR®11 trail on your left).

No signposts

(21) You will come out onto Rue des Cascades. Follow it to the right and pass in front of the Pavillon de Manse. Take the first left, Rue de la Machine, uphill. At the top, turn right and cross Place Omer Vallon.

(22) Follow Rue de Paris to the left. Then turn right onto Rue de Gouvieux (D909). Continue straight ahead until you reach a crossroads at the foot of a railway bridge.

(23) Then take the second left, Rue d'Orgemont. Continue straight ahead until you reach Chantilly-Gouvieux station (E).

Return: Chantilly-Gouvieuxstation , on the Paris-Lille line, served by the RER D and TER Hauts de France trains.

(S) Cires-lès-Mello station in the Oise department on the Creil-Beauvais cross-country line, on the Hauts-de-France TER network, accessible from Paris-Nord via a connection at Creil. Please note that services are relatively limited, so check timetables on the SNCF or Hauts-de-France TER websites.

(E) Chantilly-Gouvieux station, served by certain RER D and TER Hauts-de-France trains (please note that fares outside the Île-de-France region apply even on the RER D). There are 1 to 3 trains per hour to Paris-Nord, including both RER and TER trains. Please check the timetables on transilien.com. There are also many accommodation options in Chantilly.

It is possible to split the stage in two at Saint-Leu d'Esserent station (located on the Pontoise-Creil cross-country line H of the Transilien, see transilien.com or Île de France mobilités for timetables. Fares outside Île-de-France also apply).

This is a transitional stage on the GR® 11, which is not very complicated or long. However, be aware that the paths can become waterlogged in wet weather, so bring suitable equipment.

Hike completed on¹ November 2024 with the aim of covering the entire GR® 11.

• Thérain Valley, from (S) to (3).
• The village of Maysel and its church, Saint-Didier de Maysel (3).
• Saint-Nicolas Priory Church in Saint-Leu d'Esserent (8).
• The Oise (10)
• Saint-Maximin Church and Civet Castle in Saint-Maximin (15) (16).
• Canals of the Chantilly estate and Manse pavilion, between (20) and (22).