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 Porte de Versailles to Pont de Bezons (if arriving in the opposite direction, cross the tracks carefully at the designated crossing). Then join the route on the towpath (1).

No signposts

(S) Cross the bus station towards the Seine (west), veering 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 over the Seine. Just before the old Pont de Sèvres station (square brick building), go down the stairs on the right. At the landing, turn right and go down the stairs, leaving the building on your left. You will arrive at the tram station.

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

(2) 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 right at an acute angle 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 and continue uphill on a wider path. At the end (forest barrier), you will reach a wide grassy path.

Yellow markings

(3) Follow the side road to the right and continue straight ahead to a car park. Then turn left and cross the car park. Next, turn left onto a path that climbs after a forest barrier. Make a hairpin turn to the right, then one to the left, and continue south (stone wall on the right). Walk along the hillside or on a slight incline and ignore any steep tracks on either side. Walk along a fence on your left and climb more steeply to reach a tarmac lane.

No markings

Follow the road to the right and you will reach an esplanade (with extensive views of the Seine, Boulogne-Billancourt and Paris).

Red and white markings

(4) With your back to the Seine, go around the large grassy circle on the left and pass the Allée Couverte car park. Then turn left into the side lane of a wide grassy lane. After about 100 metres, turn left onto a path and, at the fork immediately ahead, take the path on the right. At^{the first} crossroads, continue straight ahead. Cross a grassy lane, continue west and cross a second grassy lane. At a fork, take the left-hand path. You will come to a side lane; follow it to the right until you reach a large roundabout.

Yellow markings

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

No markings

Continue straight ahead down Avenue Gambetta. Take the^first left onto Rue des Dames Marie. At the three-way junction, take the street on the right. 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 (no entry). At the end, rejoin Avenue Gambetta and follow it to the left (Gambetta monument and house). A few dozen metres after the house, turn right into Parc de Lesser. Walk along a pond on your left and then a playground on your right. Pass a kiosk on your right, then turn left and go under a pergola. Leave the park and turn right onto Rue de Sèvres. 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 square.

(7) Turn left, leaving the church on your left, and cross a car park, leaving the war memorial on your right. At the corner of a small square building, turn right onto 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 mall at the foot of the buildings. Go through a gate (statue on the left), walk along the gardens and a beautiful house, and go through a second gate.

(8) Turn left and take the Étang Neuf dyke (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 dyke that separates the two ponds. Then turn left and walk along the northern shore of the Vieil Étang (the westernmost of the two). Cross a stream on a footbridge without a railing.

You will come out onto a wide path; follow it to the right. At the next crossroads, turn right and go up a narrow street. You will come out onto Rue de Versailles; follow it to the right for about 100 metres (pass a bus stop). Then cross the street at the pedestrian crossing and turn right.

(9) Immediately leave the road and take a path on the left (forest barrier). 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 crossroads, 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 crossroads.

No markings

(10) Take the^second path on the right and continue straight ahead (north-east).

Red and white + yellow markings

At the end, turn left, walk along the wall of a cemetery on your right and turn right at the corner of the cemetery. Ignore a path on the left and, at the end of the path, follow a street on the left. At the end, follow Avenue Thierry on 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 arrow and pass by the church of Marnes-la-Coquette. After about 50 metres, turn right between the town hall (on the left) and the church (on the right) and you will come out at Place de la Mairie.

Red and white markings

(11) Cross the avenue, continue for 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 road and take a path on the right, reaching a crossroads about a hundred metres further on.

No signposts

Then turn left (north-east) onto a slightly 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 fairly flat ground. At a T-junction, go left. Ignore two paths on the right and you will come to a crossroads.

Red and white markings

(12) Join the^GR®1and follow it to the right, heading due east, and climb slightly. Descend and, at a crossroads, go straight ahead.

No markings

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

(13) Go around the basin on the right and continue downhill on the side road opposite (forest barrier). At the edge of the Bassin des 24 Jets (statue of Jupiter on the right-hand side), first turn left then right to go down a short steep section of lawn. Go through a gate and go around the basin 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 around the small Bassin de l'Orangerie. Pass two statues, go down another flight of steps and you will reach the Terrasse du Château (map of the old castle and its grounds).

(14) Then turn right, go through a gate, go down some steps and you will come to the top of the Bassin du Fer à Cheval. Go around the pond on the left, down a paved path. At the bottom, turn left, go through another gate and down a staircase. Continue straight ahead (ignore the staircase on the right), walk along a rectangular pond and down a staircase that leads to the top of the Grande Cascade. Then turn right, go down a staircase 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. Continue straight ahead at the foot of the buildings and, at a fork, turn right and go downhill. At the bottom, follow a wide gravel path to the left and leave the park through a gate.

(15) Take the tunnel opposite and come out at the top of the stairs. At the top, turn right and cross the road at the traffic lights. Then turn left, pass a bus stop and turn right to take the Pont de Saint-Cloud and cross the Seine again. At the end, cross the road at the traffic lights and follow Avenue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny opposite. Pass a bus stop and you will immediately reach the underground station (E).

To return home:
- Metro - Line 10, towards the centre of 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 after (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 sports shoes are recommended.

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

Detailed map required (at least the one accompanying this description).

Public park opening hours:
Domaine National de Saint-Cloud:
- Opening time: 7.30 a.m.
- Closing times: November-February, 8:00 p.m.; March-April and September-October, 9:00 p.m.; May-August, 10:00 p.m.
N.B. Between 10 August and 5 September, access is limited due to the Rock en Seine music festival and preparations for it.
Lesser Park: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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 passage through the Domaine national de Saint-Cloud, 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 a panoramic view of Paris.

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

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

Second passage through the National Estate of Saint-Cloud, from (12) to (15):
- French formal gardens.
- Ponds and fountains, which are prettier when they are working, i.e. "in the summer months" according to the official website, without further details...
- Numerous statues inspired by Greek and Roman mythology.
- Panoramic view of Paris from the Château Terrace.