From Massy to Palaiseau

Starting point and access: Massy-Verrières station.
- RER - Line B, on the section between Paris and Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse.
- RER - Line C, on the section between Paris and Massy-Palaiseau.
Take Exit 2, Avenue de Verrières.

No signposting

(S) On leaving the station, turn left. Cross the avenue at the pedestrian crossing and go past a chicane. Of the two paths ahead, take the left-hand one, which is paved, and walk gently uphill alongside the railway line. The path takes a sharp bend to the right.

Yellow signposting

At a junction, continue straight ahead and go down a paved path interspersed with steps. At the next junction, take a sharp left-hand bend and continue downhill. At the bottom, at the traffic lights, cross the road and turn left to cross at the next set of lights. Then turn right to cross the D156E and, on the other side, pass a chicane.

Immediately afterwards, follow Chemin de la Garenne to the left. Go straight on, passing the buildings of the Lycée Fustel de Coulanges on your left and a car park on your right. At the end, cross at the pedestrian crossing and follow a street to the right. Then take the^first left, Rue Bernard. At a three-way junction, keep left, still on Rue Bernard. Cross Rue Jeanne d’Arc, continue along Rue de Valmy and pass between two car parks.

(1) Cross a boulevard at the pedestrian crossing and take Chemin de la Madelaine opposite, set back to the left, which starts at the foot of a block of flats (do not enter the one-way street). Ignore a turn-off to the left at the corner of the block of flats, then a turn-off to the right. Continue straight on along Chemin de la Madelaine, passing a basketball court on your right.

At a roundabout, turn right onto Chemin de la Guinguette. Stay on the tarmac path and follow an artificial river on your right. At a fork (kiosk on the right), turn left.

At the T-junction, turn left onto Chemin du Blanc de Massy, a gravel path running parallel to Rue Victor Hugo. Ignore a turn-off to the right, cross a road perpendicular to the pedestrian crossing and continue along a wider path.

Just before a pedestrian crossing on the left, turn right, still on Chemin du Blanc de Massy. At a bench, turn slightly left and pass a lawn on your right. At a three-way junction, turn left and, at the next three-way junction, turn right to walk alongside a playground on your left. Then go round a small football pitch on the right.

(2) At the corner of the pitch, turn left onto Chemin de la Gravelle and walk alongside the pitch on your left. At the end, at a junction, take the^second path on the left, still on Chemin de la Gravelle. At an intersection, go round a chicane made of small rocks on the right and cross the road at the pedestrian crossing. Follow the road to the right then turn left onto Rue Georges Mendel.

After a few metres, cross the road at the pedestrian crossing, climb a flight of steps and continue along Chemin de la Gravelle, which becomes a footpath at the foot of some blocks of flats. At the end, cross a road then first turn left then right to follow Rue du Docteur Schaffner, preferably on the left-hand pavement.

After a fenced-off gas installation, turn sharply left onto Rue Jean Macé. Ignore a dead-end on the right, turn right with the street and pass between blocks of flats on the left and detached houses on the right. Cross Rue Alexandre Flemming and continue straight ahead along a tarmac path.

At the end, veer right and pass between a car park on the left and a nursery school on the right. Shortly after the school, turn right onto Sentier des Sorbiers. Pass a chicane then first turn right then left to leave No. 60 on your left.

Unmarked

(3) Pass through a wooden gate and follow a street to the left. After about fifteen metres, take a narrow path between walls and fences, the Sentier du Pavillon. At the end (gate at No. 45), turn left. After about twenty metres, take a path to the right, still on the Sentier du Pavillon.

At the end, follow a street to the right. At the pedestrian crossing, turn left to cross the street and continue along the foot of the buildings on the Sentier de la Croix. Pass by the foot of Saint-Fiacre Church (note a mural on the right). Come out onto a square and turn right towards a traffic light.

(4) Cross an avenue at the pedestrian crossing on the left and follow the avenue to the left. After No. 45, turn right and then immediately right into Allée Ascoli Piceno. At the junction, follow a wider concrete path to the right. Stay on this path, which winds slightly, and cross three perpendicular streets in succession.

Walk along the right-hand side of a small square with palm trees and a fountain. Cross the Mail Henry de Vilmorin and continue along Avenue des Grainetiers. Cross Avenue Jean Monnet in two stages.

(5) Follow the avenue to the left. At the corner of No. 67, turn right into a cul-de-sac. At the end (bend), cross a street and continue along Rue Georges Ritz.

At the junction, turn left onto Rue de l’Épine Montain. Go straight on along this street and ignore the numerous private roads on either side. At Square de l’Alliance, on the left-hand side, note a war memorial. At the end, cross Rue Gallienni.

(6) Take the next right onto the D156. Leave the town of Massy and enter Palaiseau. Cross over a railway line (RER line C) then pass under a high-voltage power line.

Go under a road bridge and immediately cross the boulevard at the pedestrian crossing (traffic lights). Cross a street and continue straight ahead to cross another railway line (RER line B). At the next junction, turn right onto Boulevard Diderot.

At the crossroads, go straight on and follow Rue du Général Ferrié. At the Stop sign, continue straight ahead into Rue de Paris. Then take the^first right, Rue de la Gare. At a fork, keep right and you will reach Palaiseau station (E).

To get back home:
- RER - Line B, towards Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse (direct access) or Paris (use the footbridge).

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.

Good walking shoes are sufficient for this short walk, which mainly follows tarmac or concrete paths and well-maintained tracks.

No water points identified along the route. Bars, restaurants and shops in Palaiseau town centre, just before (E).

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

Warning:
Hikers should be aware that the section along the D156, between the point (6) and the road bridge, is not the most picturesque of routes...

Walk completed by the author on 3 October 2020.

- Paths in Massy.
- Saint-Fiacre Church.