From Longueville to Provins via Chalautre-la-Petite

Starting point and access: Longueville station.
- Transilien - Line P, on the section between Paris-Est and Provins.
Take the Rue de Verdun exit.

Red, white, blue and yellow signposts

(S/E) With your back to the station, turn right onto Rue de Verdun and walk downhill. Pass the war memorial and the town hall (on your left). At the bottom of the hill, turn right towards the pharmacy (sign). At the stop sign, turn right onto Rue de l'Amourée and go under the railway viaduct. At the exit, turn immediately right onto Rue Adrée (dead end). Go under another railway bridge and you will come to a crossroads.

(1) Take the stony path that climbs up roughly in the middle (ignore the signs telling you to follow the road to the right). At the fork that follows, go right along a hedge on your right and climb gently towards a wood. Enter the wood, continue climbing on a stony path and ignore a vague path that branches off to the right.

(2) At the fork at the top of the hill, take the grassy path that branches off to the right (east-northeast) and leaves the woods. Walk along the edge of the woods and then between the fields, following a hedge on your left until you reach a T-junction with a farm track. Follow this track to the left (northeast) towards a water tower (no signpost here). Ignore a path on the right, pass the water tower on your right and head towards the houses (visible in the distance on the left in the upper town of Provins).

No signposts

(3) At the first houses, turn right (ignore the signposted route turning left). Immediately after, turn left onto Rue des Résistants and follow this street, ignoring the side streets on the right. Turn slightly right with the street and continue to a crossroads, beyond which the street ends in a cul-de-sac. Then turn right onto Rue Jean Jaurès (no sign here), at the corner of No. 34.

(4) At the three-way junction, turn left (leaving Chemin de la Petite Voie on your right). Follow the paved road downhill through the woods and ignore the vague paths branching off to the side. At the edge of the woods, the paved road gives way to a wide gravel path that soon curves to the right and ends at a three-way junction under a power line (pylon on the right).

(5) Take a grassy path on the left at the edge of the field with woods on your right. Ignore two paths on the left that go uphill. Continue for about 100 metres along the edge of the field and continue east-northeast between the fields.

Blue markings

(6) At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead along the edge of the woods on your right. Then follow a fenced plot on your right and continue between the fields until you reach a small road.

Red and white markings

(7) Cross the road and continue straight ahead on Rue de Longueville (join the^GR®11and leave the blue markings on your left). Ignore a private road on your right and, after a half-timbered house, turn right and cross the Ruisseau des Méances. Immediately turn left into Rue des Moulins. The street crosses the stream, which is now on your right. At the information sign, continue straight ahead. At the corner of No. 65, turn right onto a footpath and cross the stream again. Pass a wash house on your left and a well on your right, turn left between the houses and you will come out in front of the church.

(8) Go around the church on the right and follow Rue Claude Chappe.

Red and white + blue markings

At the Place de l'Escargot crossroads, turn left. At the stop sign, cross Rue du 27 août 1944. At the fork immediately after, go left and pass the war memorial on your right. At the next crossroads, continue along the D1 (Rue de Provins and not "Route" as indicated on the IGN map) and pass a wash house on your right. Shortly before the sign indicating the end of the built-up area, turn right onto Rue de Provins. At the stop sign, continue straight ahead uphill. At the next stop sign, follow the departmental road for about 100 metres (preferably on the right-hand side, which is wider, as the road is busy).

(9) At the start of a left-hand bend, cross the road (take care) and follow the gravel track heading west, which runs alongside the fenced-off site of a transport company (on your right). At the fork that follows, turn right at the edge of the woods on your left. After the woods, head north-north-east between the fields.

(10) At the T-junction, turn left towards a transmitter and a small hill (water tank; no marker here). Pass the hill and the transmitter on your right and you will come to a small road.

(11) Follow the Route de la Ferme d'Hennepont to the right. Ignore a street on the right and follow the buildings of a hospital and job centre on your right. At the stop sign, turn left and follow the boulevard downhill, curving to the right. Cross the road coming from the left at the pedestrian crossing and turn right to follow the boulevard on the left again (the tarmac lane at the end of the pedestrian crossing is a dead end). Go under the bridge of the D619 road and keep to the left of the barrier.

(12) At the pedestrian crossing opposite No. 58 (on the right), leave the boulevard and turn left down a tarmac lane towards some buildings. Go around No. 21 on the right, then keep No. 32 and No. 34 on your right. At the crossroads, first turn left then right to take the gravel path that leaves a large warehouse on your left. At the end, follow the road on the right. At the next intersection, continue straight ahead. Ignore a small street on the left and continue to Route de Champbenoist. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing, then turn right and follow the train station car park on your left. At the roundabout, turn left and cross the railway tracks. Turn left again and you will quickly reach Provins train station (E).

Train timetables: consult the Transilien website.

For motorists: the Longueville and Provins stations have car parks, so you can leave your car at one of the two (allow for a return journey by train) or one at each.

Hiking boots are required. The paths between the fields can be muddy in wet conditions. Part of this hike takes place in cultivated plains: in summer, avoid days and times when it is very hot and bring suitable sun protection.
N.B. The route runs along busy roads on the outskirts of Chalautre-la-Petite and as you approach Provins.

There are bars and restaurants near the departure and arrival stations. There is a bakery just after the town hall in Longueville (closed between 1pm and 2pm, on Sunday afternoons and on Wednesdays).

The route is not always signposted. When it is, the signs are fairly sparse and, due to a lack of support, almost non-existent in open fields. A 1:25,000 map is therefore essential (at least the one accompanying this description). A compass may also be useful.

Alternative route:
At the entrance to Septveilles le Haut (3), you can continue on the^GR®11. The route is marked in purple on the 1:25,000 IGN map. Follow the red, white and blue markings to a crossroads above the name "La Croix Gérard" on the map, then follow the red and white markings to the point (7) where you rejoin the main route. The entire hike is approximately 13 km long.
N.B. An earlier version of this hike followed this alternative route. Experience has shown that the main route proposed in this version is more scenic and avoids an unpleasant section between the Poigny quarries.

Hike completed by the author on¹ September 2016.

- Living railway museum near Longueville station (S) with old steam locomotives, a 20-track railway roundhouse, and more.

In Chalautre-la-Petite:
- Beautiful houses and the Ruisseau des Méances
- Saint-Martin Church (12th-12th century) (8). Claude Chappe (1763-1805), inventor of the semaphore and optical telegraph that bears his name, was parish priest of this church (a plaque indicates this).
- Maison de l'Escargot (16th century).

In Provins:
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the town of Provins is worth a visit in its own right. This walk can be complemented by the "Medieval walk in Provins" walk. Allow for a total of 18.5km and start early so that you can fully appreciate the town's rich heritage.