From Fontaine-le-Port to Champagne-sur-Seine via the hillsides on the right bank

Starting point and access: Fontaine-le-Port station.
- Transilien - Line R, on the section between Melun and Montereau via Héricy.
Take the exit on the Seine side, on track 2, in the direction from Montereau to Melun (if arriving in the opposite direction, track 1, take the underground passage).

Green markings
The old yellow markings have been replaced by these green markings. You will still find some old yellow markings in places.

(S/E) Head east and follow the Seine on your right. Leave the bridge on your right, continue straight ahead for about 150 metres and, when you reach a sign with a map, turn left and take the tunnel under the railway line. At the exit, turn immediately right. After passing a wash house on your right, cross a river over a pretty stone bridge. At the end of the bridge, leave the street, head to the riverbank, follow it on your left, pass behind the town hall and come out onto a street.

(1) Cross the street and take Chemin de l'Hermitage opposite, which starts to the left of its sign. Follow this narrow path between garden fences, find the river below on the left and then reach the riverbank.

(2) At the stone bridge, turn right and climb the winding path. At the end of the path, follow the road to the left and climb more gently. At the T-junction, turn right. Then take the first left, Rue des Sablons. When the street turns right, leave the tarmac and continue straight ahead on a path along the edge of the field, passing a water tower on your right.

(3) At the crossroads, follow Rue de la Forêt straight ahead. Note the beautiful views of the Seine and the Forest of Fontainebleau beyond on your right. The tarmac gives way to a stony track and, further on, to a path that enters the forest. Ignore a path on the right and then one on the left; the path then narrows. Wind your way through the undergrowth and note a few sandstone boundary stones. Cross a stream via a wooden footbridge and continue winding your way along the path.

(4) At the end of the path, turn left onto a wider path and, after a few metres, take another path on the right. Ignore a wider path on the left and continue straight ahead on the path. Join a wide path and follow it to the right until you reach a forest barrier at the edge of the road.

(5) Cross the D47 (take care) and just before the next forest barrier, turn right onto a path (signposted "Promenade du Barbeau"). Wind your way through the undergrowth, following the markings carefully, and cross another stream. Further on, make a first turn right then left (the road is below on the right) and continue winding your way, ignoring any vague paths branching off to the sides. Note a pond below on the right and continue parallel to the road. At a three-way junction, turn right downhill. At the bottom, follow a small road to the left and cross a river.

Red and yellow + green markings (very rare due to lack of support)

(6) A hundred metres or so after the river, turn right, heading south, onto a farm track that climbs between the fields. Shortly before the top of the hill, the track turns west-southwest. On the flat, ignore a path on the left and continue straight ahead on a grassy path.

Red and yellow markings

(7) At the crossroads (old signposts), turn left. At the entrance to the village, the path gives way to a tarmac road. At the crossroads, continue straight on Rue de la Croix. At Place du Puits, turn left onto Rue du Terroir. Then take the first right, Ruelle aux Murs. Follow this street around the bends, ignore a street on the left and go down to a T-junction with a small road.

(8) Make a right-left zigzag to follow a path into a wood. At a three-way junction, turn right. At the next crossroads, turn left. Ignore a path on the right, walk along a garden on your left and you will come out onto a street. Follow this street to the right, slightly downhill.

(9) At the stop sign, turn left onto Chemin de Champagne (tarmac road). Walk gently uphill through a residential area and, at the next crossroads, turn right onto Chemin des Manœuvres. After No. 12B (on the left), take a path on the left that enters a wood. Pass under a power line, cross a meadow, ignore a path on the left and enter the woods again. After ignoring a path on the right, you will come back onto the tarmac road.

(10) At the crossroads, turn right and, at the next crossroads, continue straight on Rue de l'Église. After about 50 metres, turn right onto a footpath (chicane). Pass a beautiful weeping willow on your right and, at the end of the path, follow the street to the right. Then turn into the first street on the left, Rue de la Fontaine Saint-Fiacre, and follow this street straight ahead to the end.

(11) At the T-junction (wash house on the right), turn right onto Rue des Chapeaux. Take the first left onto Rue des Genièvres. At the end, follow a path on the left, Chemin des Bardins. Ignore all the paths on either side and walk past the gate of a large house. You will come out onto Avenue de la Libération (note the war memorial on the left).

(12) Turn right at an acute angle and, after a few metres, turn left onto Chemin de la Bonde. Cross a road and follow a path opposite into a wood. This path gives way to tarmac and, at a fork, take the left-hand path. Go around a roundabout on the right, cross the D210 and turn right onto Rue des Préfoix. At the bus shelter, turn left onto Rue du Château d'Eau. At the end of this street, turn right onto Rue du Rocher. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead for about 50 metres.

Red and white + yellow markings

(13) Just before Rue des Cerisiers on the right-hand side, turn left onto a footpath and go under a porch. N.B. There is no arrow to indicate this turn because the^GR®2and^PR® come from the opposite direction and the^GRP® followed previously continues straight ahead. At the end of the footpath, continue along a wide, stabilised path. Enter the forest and, at a three-way junction, turn left. At the next three-way junction, turn left again, onto open ground, and stay parallel to a power line. Enter the woods again and continue along a path.

(14) At a fork, climb a steep slope on the right. Pass under the power lines and continue climbing through a forest dotted with sandstone boulders. Ignore a path leading downhill on the left and continue climbing. Then wind your way through rough undergrowth. Ignore a path on the right and head south.

(15) At a three-way junction (excavation on the left), turn sharply left (east) and follow a path along a property wall on your right. Further on, move away from the wall and descend. Cross a wide path, climb up opposite on the path and rejoin the wall. Move away from it again as you descend, winding your way downhill, ignoring vague paths branching off to the sides, and ending up on flat ground with the wall on your right again. At the end of the wall, continue straight ahead between some bramble bushes and you will come to a small car park (ONF sign).

(16) Cross the car park lengthwise, join the D39 road and cross it (be careful, busy road). Go through a forest barrier and follow a wide path with a beautiful open oak forest on your left. After about 200 metres, turn right onto a path. When you reach the road, turn left. Ignore a path on the right, walk along a fence on your right and note the engraved markers that line the path. At the end of the fence, continue straight ahead.

Red and white markings

(17) At the fork just after a marker engraved with the number 46, continue to the right with the^GR®2(the^PR® goes to the left). Follow a small ditch on the right-hand side, then turn left onto the path. At a T-junction, turn right and, at the next fork, turn right. Leave the woods and walk along garden fences. Pass a gate on the left and go under some power lines.

(18) Cross a small tarmac road, walk along a wall on your left, then along garden fences. At a fork, turn right towards the station.

Red and white + yellow markings

When you reach a road, make a first turn right then left and go down a staircase. At the bottom, go down a steep tarmac path on the left. At the next fork, follow the road to the right. At the stop sign, turn left, cross the railway tracks at the level crossing and, at the roundabout, take the first right to Champagne-sur-Seine station (E).

To return home:
- Transilien - Line R, towards Melun then Paris-Lyon (direct access, platform 2) or Montereau (take the underground passage, or, at the stop sign mentioned above, take the tarmac path opposite which runs alongside the railway line and leads directly to platform 1).

Train timetables: consult the Transilien website.

For motorists:
The two stations are located on the same section of the same line: leave one vehicle in the car park of one of the two stations and make a return trip by train. It is also possible to organise two vehicles, one at each station.

Hiking boots are required.

No water sources identified along the route. Bakery in Fontaine-le-Port, opposite the town hall (to the right of the trail). Bar in Héricy, Rue du Terroir.

Despite the good quality of the signposting (as of March 2017), a 1:25,000 map is useful (at least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 18 March 2017.

- Wash house and stone bridge in Fontaine-le-Port, after (S).
- Saint-Martin Church (12th-16th century), off the route near (1).
- Pleasant walk through the Barbeau Forest, between (3) and (5), with beautiful views of the Seine and the Fontainebleau Forest.
- Old well in Héricy, shortly before (8).
- Lavoir des Chapeaux (1825) (11).
- War memorial in Vulaines-sur-Seine, off the route on the left from (12). The monument consists of a stack of sandstone blocks, with the top block resembling the shape of the helmet adopted by the French army in 1915.
- Rocher de Samoreau Forest, between (14) and (15).