From the Seine to the Étangs de Ville-d'Avray

Starting point and access: Pont de Sèvres, right bank (first two access points below) or left bank (third access point).
- Metro - Line 9 (terminus). Take Exit 1 Ile Seguin and Bus.
- Bus - Lines 169, 171, 179, 291, 426 and 467.
- Tram - Line T2, Musée de Sèvres station. Take the exit on the Seine side, at the rear of the tram and on the right when coming from the direction of Porte de Versailles towards Pont de Bezons (if arriving from the opposite direction, cross the tracks carefully at the designated crossing). Then join the route on the towpath (1).

No signposting

(S) Cross the bus station towards the Seine (west), keeping to the right. At the end, cross Avenue du Général Leclerc (on the right) at the traffic lights. Then turn left, cross an access ramp and take the bridge to cross the Seine. Just before the old Pont de Sèvres station (square brick building), go down a flight of steps on the right. At the landing, turn right and go down a flight of steps, keeping the building on your left. You will arrive at the tram station.

(1) Continue along the towpath and follow the Seine on your right. Pass the boat launch pontoons of a sailing club and, on your left, the sailing club building. At the corner of the building, turn left onto a boardwalk that crosses the wetland area of Île Monsieur. Stay on the main boardwalk and ignore the narrower ones. At the end of the boardwalk, turn left to cross the tram tracks and then the Quai du Maréchal Juin (obey the traffic lights). Go through a gate and enter the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud.

(2) Then take the^second path on the left (diagonally). At the roundabout, take the^third path on the right. At the end, turn left and, after a few dozen metres, turn sharply right towards a modern sculpture with large wings. At the foot of the sculpture, follow a tarmac path to the left and, after a few dozen metres, take a path that climbs to the right. At the T-junction (gate opposite), turn right onto a wider path that continues uphill. At the end (forest gate), you’ll reach a wide grassy path.

Yellow markings

(3) Follow the side path to the right and continue straight on until you reach a car park. Then turn left and cross the car park. Next, turn left onto a path that climbs after a forest gate. First turn right then left, and continue south (stone wall on the right-hand side). Walk along the hillside or on a slight incline and ignore all the steep tracks on either side. Follow a wire fence on your left and climb a steeper section to reach a tarmac path.

No signposting

Follow the lane to the right and reach an open area (extensive views over the Seine, Boulogne-Billancourt and Paris).

Red and white markings

(4) With your back to the Seine, go round the large grassy circle to the left and pass the Allée Couverte car park. Then turn left into the side lane of a wide grassy path. After about a hundred metres, turn left onto a path and, at the Fork in the road immediately ahead, take the path on the right. At^{the first} junction, continue straight ahead. Cross a grassy path, continue westwards and cross a second grassy path. At a fork in the road, take the left-hand path. You will come out onto a side path; follow it to the right until you reach a large roundabout.

Yellow markings

(5) Then turn left towards the Maison de Gambetta. At the junction immediately ahead, go straight on and leave the park.

No markings

Continue straight ahead and downhill along Avenue Gambetta. Take the^first left, Rue des Dames Marie. At the three-way junction, take the right-hand street. At the end, turn right and walk downhill parallel to the railway line below on the left. Continue straight ahead to Sèvres-Ville d’Avray station.

Yellow markings

(6) Turn right onto Rue des Jardies (against the one-way flow). At the end, rejoin Avenue Gambetta and follow it to the left (Gambetta monument and house). A few dozen metres past the house, turn right into Parc de Lesser. Walk alongside a pond on your left, then a playground on your right. Pass a kiosk on your right, then turn left and go under a pergola. Leave the park and follow Rue de Sèvres to the right. Immediately turn right onto Rue Jules Poussin. At the traffic lights, turn left and follow Avenue Balzac to the end. Then turn left and cross Rue de Sèvres at the traffic lights to reach the church forecourt.

(7) Turn left, leaving the church on your left, and cross a car park, keeping the war memorial on your right. At the corner of a small square building, turn right onto the Mail du Docteur Boisvieux and walk between a playground on your left and a nursery school on your right. Cross Rue de la Ronce and continue along the avenue at the foot of the buildings. Go through a small gate (statue on the left), walk past some gardens and a beautiful house, and go through a second gate.

(8) Turn left and take the dyke of the Étang Neuf (the easternmost of the two ponds). At the end, turn right onto the path that runs closest to the pond. At the end, turn right onto the embankment separating the two ponds. Then turn left and walk along the northern bank of the Vieil Étang (the westernmost of the two). Cross a stream via a footbridge without a railing.

You’ll come out onto a wide path; follow it to the right. At the next junction, turn right and head up a narrow lane. You’ll come out onto Rue de Versailles; follow it to the right for about a hundred metres (passing a bus stop). Then cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and turn right.

(9) Immediately leave the road and take a path leading off to the left (forest gate). Climb gently through a young beech forest.

Yellow + Horseshoe markings

At the crossroads, take the^third path on the left (north), which is less obvious than the others, and follow the^PR®®4(do not follow the^GR®®2and^PR®®10further to the left, which are more obvious). After about 200m, at a vague junction, turn left (west). Cross the^PR®®10and continue straight ahead on a path that winds through the undergrowth. After about 300m, turn right and you will soon reach a junction.

No signposting

(10) Then take the^second path on the right and go straight on (north-east).

Red and white + yellow markings

At the end, turn left, follow the wall of a cemetery on your right and turn right at the corner. Ignore a path starting on the left and, at the end of the lane, follow a street to the left. At the end, follow Avenue Thierry to the right. Take the^first left, Rue Neuve Thierry, which further on is called Rue Jean Minaud. Before the end of the street, turn left following the road sign and pass by the chancel of the church in Marnes-la-Coquette. After about fifty metres, turn right between the town hall (on the left) and the church (on the right) and emerge onto Place de la Mairie.

Red and white markings

(11) Cross the avenue, walk a few metres and turn right onto Rue de la Porte Blanche towards Parc de Saint-Cloud (leaving the old post office on your left). At the end of the street, enter Parc de Saint-Cloud again (toll for cars). Immediately leave the tarmac for a path branching off to the right and reach a crossroads about a hundred metres further on.

No signposting

Then turn left (north-east) onto a gently sloping path (the path shown further to the left on the OSM map does not exist). Ignore a path coming from the left and continue north-east then east through the forest, on roughly level ground. At a T-junction, turn left. Ignore two branches on the right and you will reach a crossroads.

Red and white markings

(12) Join the^GR®®1and follow it to the right, due east, climbing slightly. Descend again and, at a junction, go straight on.

No markings

Cross a tarmac path and continue straight ahead onto a track (forest gate). Walk along the left-hand side of the fence around the La Faisanderie estate. At the end, cross a wide grassy path and take the path through the undergrowth opposite. The path turns left and winds its way whilst remaining parallel to a road situated some distance away on the right-hand side. At the end of the path, follow a side lane to the right and cross the road, then a railway line. Go straight on to the Bassin de la Grande Gerbe.

(13) Go round the pond on the right and continue downhill along the side path opposite (forest gate). As you approach the Bassin des 24 Jets (statue of Jupiter on the right), first turn left then right to go down a short, steep stretch of lawn. Pass through a gate and go round the pond on the right or left. Continue in the same direction as before along a wide gravel path lined with flowerbeds. Go down a few steps and go round the small Bassin de l’Orangerie. Pass two statues, go down another flight of steps and reach the Château Terrace (map of the old château and its grounds).

(14) Then turn right, go through a gate, go down a flight of steps and arrive at the top of the Bassin du Fer à Cheval. Go round the pond on the left, going down a paved path. At the bottom, turn left, pass through another gate and go down a flight of steps. Go straight on (ignore a flight of steps on the right), walk along a rectangular pond and go down a flight of steps leading to the top of the Grande Cascade. Then turn right, go down a flight of steps and then a path. At the corner of the Bassin du Grand Jet, turn left.

Yellow markings

At the other end, turn left again and cross the middle level of the Grande Cascade. Go straight on at the foot of the buildings and, at a fork in the road, veer right, heading downhill. At the bottom, follow a wide gravel path to the left and leave the park through a small gate.

(15) Go through the tunnel opposite and come out by climbing a flight of stairs. At the top, turn right and cross the road in stages at the traffic lights. Then turn left, pass a bus stop and turn right onto the Pont de Saint-Cloud to cross the Seine once more. At the end, cross in stages at the traffic lights and follow Avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny straight ahead. Pass a bus stop and head straight for the metro (E).

To get back home:
- Metro - Line 10, towards central Paris and Austerlitz station.
- Bus - Lines 52, 72, 126, 160, 175, 260 and 467.
- Tram - Line T2, Parc de Saint-Cloud station. In this case, shortly afterwards (15), at the top of the stairs, turn left and follow the footpath that passes under the A13 motorway bridge. Then turn right, cross Rue Dailly, pass under the motorway bridge again and turn left to reach the station.

Hiking boots or good trainers are recommended.

No water points identified along the route. Restaurant in Marnes-la-Coquette (11).

A detailed map is required (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Opening hours of public parks:
Domaine National de Saint-Cloud:
- Opening: 7.30 am.
- Closing: November–February, 8.00 pm; March–April and September–October, 9.00 pm; May–August, 10.00 pm.
N.B. Between 10 August and 5 September, access is restricted due to the staging and preparations for the "Rock en Seine" music festival.
Lesser Park: 7.00 am–8.00 pm.

Hike completed three times by the author, the first on 7 December 2019, the last on 20 November 2021.

From Pont de Sèvres (S) to Parc de Saint-Cloud (2):
- Banks of the Seine.
- Île Monsieur wetland.

First section through the Saint-Cloud National Estate, from (2) to (5):
- Pleasant forest paths.
- Sculpture erected in 2010 by Bryan McCormack and entitled When Joris Ivens meets Hraesvelgr. Joris Ivens was a Dutch filmmaker (1898–1989). In Norse mythology, Hraesvelgr is a giant in the form of an eagle.
- Esplanade offering sweeping views of Paris.

In Sèvres and Ville d’Avray, from (5) to (9):
- Several pretty houses and a few quiet alleyways.
- Monument in honour of Léon Gambetta (1838–1882), erected by Auguste Bartholdi in 1891.
- Maison des Jardies, where Gambetta spent the last years of his life. Open to visitors, admission €6 per person in December 2019.
- Ville d'Avray Church (late 18th century).
- Gardens, a monument to Corot and a beautiful house before reaching the Étangs de Ville-d'Avray.
- Étangs de Ville d'Avray.

In Sèvres and Marnes-la-Coquette, from (9) to (12):
- A pleasant walk through the Fausses Reposes National Forest.
- Marnes-la-Coquette Town Hall (1845) and former post office.
- Sainte-Eugénie Church (1860). Built at the expense of Napoleon III, it was named in honour of the Empress.

Second section through the Saint-Cloud National Estate, from (12) to (15):
- French-style gardens.
- Ponds and fountains, which look best when they’re in operation, i.e. ‘in fine weather’ according to the official website, without further details...
- Numerous statues inspired by Greek and Roman mythology.
- Panoramic view of Paris from the Château Terrace.