Country:
District:
Starting point and access: Meaux station.
- Transilien - Line P, on the section between Paris-Est and Château-Thierry.
Take the Centre-ville exit.
No signposts
(S) Upon exiting the station, turn right towards the bus station building. There, cross the street at the pedestrian crossing and follow it to the right downhill. At the bottom, take the access ramp on the left to the Grande Île footbridge and cross the Marne.
(1) At the end of the footbridge, go down the stairs on the right and follow the path along the Marne. Back on the tarmac, turn left into Impasse des Hussards. At the end, turn right onto Rue de la Grande Île. At the junction with Rue du Tronchet, let the street turn right and take the path opposite that runs alongside a large house. At the end, turn left. At the footbridge on the right, turn left and go up a wide ramp (note the Cornillon lock below on the right).
(2) At the top, first turn left then right to cross the D360 at the pedestrian crossing. Then turn right, leave the entrance to Square Daniel Ceccaldi on your left and follow a path called Quai Charles Deboeuf (red and white marker). At the end, leave the path and take the road bridge over the Marne. At the end of the bridge, turn right onto Quai Jacques Prévert prolongé. Walk alongside the allotments on your left and a water sports centre on your right.
(3) When the street turns right, continue straight ahead and cross the car park of the Pâtis Nature Park (information board, map). Go through a forest gate, continue straight ahead on a gravel path and leave the Plage de Meaux on your right. Continue along the Marne, pass the rowing club facilities and enter the undergrowth. At a three-way junction (signpost), turn right, continue along the Marne and cross a branch of the river.
(4) At the next three-way junction, follow a gravel path on the left and you will see an information panel for "La Grande Noue" (a large wetland area). Then take the footbridge that crosses the pond at its narrowest point. This leads to a wider path. First turn right then left to follow a path towards the Étang aux Cygnes (signpost). Be careful to take the second path on the left, which is fairly flat and crosses a grassy area, and not the first path which climbs up a hill.
(5) Take the floating bridge over the Étang de l'Île Bleue. At the crossroads shortly after the bridge, continue straight ahead and walk along a pond on your left. At the crossroads, go straight ahead onto Chemin de la Gironette (signpost) and pass between two ponds. Pass a small building on your left, turn right at the foot of the houses and go straight ahead until you reach a barrier.
(6) Then turn left, ignore a small lane immediately on your left and continue to a wider street (sports facilities opposite). Follow the street to the left and, at the first junction, turn right onto Rue Louis Dugast. At the fork, follow Rue Saint-Exupéry to the left. Then take the second right, Rue Didier Daurat. At the end, cross Rue Albert Schweitzer and go down the short embankment to reach the Canal de l'Ourcq.
(7) Turn right and walk along the canal on your left on the towpath, which is paved here. Pass under a road bridge and, further on, cross a canal spillway.
(8) Go up to the Pont de la Ferme de Beauval, cross the road (take care) and go down the other side. Follow the towpath, which is now gravel, keeping the canal on your left. Pass under the Avenue de la Victoire bridge, then under the railway bridge, and walk along a wall covered in graffiti. In a sharp bend to the right, note the plots and greenhouses of a market garden on the opposite bank. Shortly afterwards, go up to the Pont de Poincy bridge.
(9) Cross the road (take care) and follow it to the right (leaving the canal). At the fork, follow the left fork towards Poincy-Bourg. Continue straight ahead, passing a bar-restaurant, then the town hall and the school. Cross Rue de Trilport on the right, then Ruelle de Longvilliers, and continue along Grande Rue, leaving the chapel on your left. At the end, turn right onto Rue du Moulin and ignore Rue des Prés du Moulin immediately on your left.
(10) At the crossroads directly below a high-voltage power line, turn left (yellow marker) and pass a sailing club on your right, followed by an old mill. Go through a metal gate and continue along a good path alongside the Marne.
(11) Enter the woods and continue along a dirt track marked with yellow and black tape (as of November 2017). Ignore a path branching off to the right (chain) and continue straight ahead despite some branches on the main path. Wind your way between the Marne river a short distance below on your right and the towpath of the Ourcq Canal, which you can see above on your left (the canal itself is not visible, of course). Go around a bushy area on your left (abandoned car wreck) and come out at the edge of a field.
(12) At the fork, turn right. Walk between a field on your left and the Marne on your right. At a crossroads, turn right, still following the river. Cross a stream (metal arches), turn immediately left and follow the stream on your left.
Yellow markings
(13) At the crossroads (electricity pole), turn right onto a farm track. At the end, cross the D97 (take care). Continue straight ahead for a few metres and immediately turn left onto a wide gravel path (fire hydrant; sign for "Chemin des Cardennes" further on).
No markings
(14) At the next crossroads, follow the D121 road to the right and walk alongside the cemetery. Take the narrow path on the right-hand side, which runs parallel to the road and is separated from it by a small hedge. Leave Varreddes and continue on the right-hand side of the road, which is the only side with a pavement. Shortly before the entrance to the campsite, cross the road (take care) and join the Canal de l'Ourcq, lined here with poplar trees.
Red and white + yellow markings
(15) Then turn right and follow the canal on your left along its wide towpath. Soon you will see the masonry structures supporting the slope on the opposite bank. Further on, there is a water level at the point where a tunnel passes under the canal. Then cross a weir.
Red and white markings
(16) Continue along the towpath (thePR® trail leaves it very discreetly), pass a sign for "Congis-sur-Thérouanne" on the opposite bank and reach the Congis lift bridge.
Yellow markings
(17) Continue along the canal, keeping to the left (let theGR® trail take the bridge). Note the mouth of the Canal de la Thérouanne on the opposite bank and then, on the right, the River Thérouanne after it crosses under the canal. Pass under a road bridge and then go up to the Pont des Carreaux bridge.
Red and white markings
(18) Join theGR® trail, cross the canal via the bridge and walk between the fields. At the fork that you will soon come to, keep to the right. Wind your way between fields and copses, ignore a path on the right and enter a wood. Cross the wood on a good path heading east and ignore all the paths on either side (signs saying "Private Property"). At the end, follow a small road on the right and cross the canal.
(19) Turn left immediately and follow the canal on your left again. On a long straight stretch, look for a tree on the right with an arrow inviting you to turn right.
Red and white + yellow markings
(20) A few dozen metres after the arrow, leave the edge of the canal and turn right onto a discreet downhill path. Ignore a vague path on the left and come out at the edge of a field. Then turn left and enter a wood. Return to the right bank of the Marne and cross at its confluence with the Ourcq (follow the trail through the undergrowth on the right to reach it). When you reach the edge of the field, turn left onto a path through the undergrowth parallel to the field and continue to a crossroads (pumping station on the right).
Red and white markings
(21) Continue straight ahead on a wide path with the Ourcq river below on your right and the canal of the same name above on your left. At the first houses, walk a few metres on tarmac then turn right onto a wide path (pumping station). Go through a forest gate and walk alongside a car park. Then follow Rue Neuve to the right and you will arrive at the chevet of the church in Lizy-sur-Ourcq.
No signposts
(22) Turn right and walk along the church on your left. Continue along Rue des Écoles and go around the schools. At the stop sign, cross Rue du Vieux Châteaux and continue straight ahead on Rue Jean-Jaurès (red and white cross). Then turn right at the second street, Rue des Moulins. At the end, cross Rue de l'Ourcq and take Sente de Mary (red and white marker). Cross three branches of the Ourcq in succession.
(23) At the end of the third bridge, turn left onto Rue du Stade. At the end, follow Avenue Jules Courtier to the left (ignore the red and white arrow pointing to the right) and walk along the Ourcq on your left. At the end, turn right and continue straight ahead to Lizy-sur-Ourcq station (E).
To return home:
- Transilien - Line P, towards La Ferté Milon (direct access) or Meaux and Paris-Est (take the underground passage).
Visorando member
Moderate 
Easy 
Association / Club / Walk leader
