From Meulan to Mantes-la-Jolie through woods and fields on the right bank

Starting point and access: Meulan-Hardricourt station.
- Transilien - Line J, on the section between Paris-Saint-Lazare and Mantes-la-Jolie via Conflans.
Take the Rue du Vexin exit on the B platform side, the one heading from Mantes to Paris (if arriving from the opposite direction, use the underpass) and go down the large staircase leading to the station car park.

Red and white markings

(S) At the bottom of the stairs, turn left and walk along the car park. At the end, cross Rue du Vexin and take the one-way street opposite, heading uphill. At the roundabout, first turn right then left to follow Rue Émile Drouville, which starts at the foot of the war memorial. Cross Rue du Gibet on the right-hand side, then walk past the church on your left. Pass the town hall on your left and continue for about twenty metres.

No signposting

(1) At the junction, continue straight ahead (ignore the^GR® heading left). Go straight on, taking care (narrow pavements), and ignore a street on the right. Start on level ground then climb gradually.

Red and white markings (rare due to lack of support)

Cross the Chemin des Gloriettes on the left and rejoin the^GR®2. Continue along a small road with narrow verges and pass an antenna.

(2) Shortly afterwards, take the^first path on the left, which runs between the fields. At three successive junctions with a perpendicular path, continue straight ahead, heading north-west at first and then due west.

(3) Cross a path on the left, continue straight on and follow a wood on your left. Pass the gate of an isolated house on your right and follow a recently cleared wood.

Red and white + yellow markings

At a three-way junction, turn right.

Yellow markings

(4) After about a hundred metres, keep to the left and stay on the edge of the field on your left and the woodland on your right (do not follow the^GR® which enters the woodland).

No markings

At the next junction (elevation 122), continue straight ahead and follow a hedge on your left (let the^PR® head off to the left). Continue through a wood (ruts, wet patches). Descend slightly and exit the wood.

Red and white markings

(5) Cross a path on the right, rejoin the^GR®2, walk a few metres and turn immediately left (signpost; do not go under the high-voltage power lines). Climb gently towards a wood. Enter the wood and, at the three-way junction that comes up quickly, veer left and continue climbing. At the next junction, turn right and continue on level ground. At the next three-way junction, veer right. Then ignore a path on the right and arrive at a crossroads.

(6) Take the^second path on the right and continue west-south-west on a slight incline. At the next three-way junction, continue along the Chemin du Chêne Têtard. At the three-way junction that appears immediately, turn right. Follow the^GR®2, pass through a forest gate and emerge onto the Route de la Charte. Follow this road to the right (north-west) and pass under some high-voltage power lines. Pass a metal barrier and a signpost on the left.

(7) Immediately afterwards, turn left, pass a series of small rocks and follow a grassy path due west, which soon enters a wood. Cross the wood, heading generally west. A few damp sections may require you to take parallel paths on either side. At a fork (elevation 183), keep to the right. Pass a radio mast on the right-hand side and reach the D130 road.

(8) Cross the road (look carefully both ways) and take the path opposite, slightly to the left, which starts at the foot of the imposing trunk of a dead oak tree. Go straight on into the woods. Further on, follow the fence of an old quarry on your right. Then head downhill to reach a small road.

(9) Head down the road to the left, still in the woods. Leave the woods and continue along the road, keeping to the left of the fence of the Guitrancourt quarry.

(10) In the dip of a right-hand bend, near a green gate, leave the road and turn right onto a field path. Follow a row of apple trees on your left. Stay on this path, going straight on at four successive junctions with perpendicular paths (no signposting here due to lack of suitable surfaces). Keep heading north-west then west-north-west. Then head downhill, pass under a power line, ignore a path on the right then one on the left, and follow a wall on your left.

(11) Return to the tarmac and follow Rue de l’Ancienne Mairie straight ahead and downhill. At the stop sign, continue straight on along Rue de la Mairie. Go uphill and, at the next junction, continue straight on along Rue de la Mairie. Pass the town hall and then a small square with a cross. Continue straight on and downhill along Rue Pasteur. Go uphill to reach the chancel of the church at Fontenay-Saint-Père.

(12) Walk past the church on your left, then continue along Rue Pasteur for about fifty metres. At the fork, turn left, immediately ignoring Rue Éloi on the left, and head down Rue de Mantes. Cross a stream (wash house) and head back up. At the stop sign, cross the D983 (take care, as it is a very busy road) and follow it to the left for a few dozen metres.

(13) Then turn right onto a path closed to motor vehicles and walk along the wall of a property on your right. Go straight on, enter a wood and continue along the wall until you reach a large crossroads (whose name on the map is quite obvious).

(14) Take the^first path on the left and now follow the^GR®11(let the^GR®2branch off onto another path). Head straight on (south) through the woods. Cross a small road and, of the two paths ahead, take the one on the right. Continue south, alternating between sections through the woods and along the edge. At the end of the path, after passing buildings on your left, cross a road on the outskirts of Limay.

(15) Then walk alongside a car park on your right, pass a wooden gate and then a hiking sign for the “Circular Trail of the Wolves”. Head steeply downhill, following a wire fence on your left and ignoring all the turnings on the right. The path, which is stony at first, gives way further on to a concrete path. At the end, go through a wooden gate and reach a crossroads (^GR®11sign).

(16) Take the^second street on the left, the one indicated by an arrow for vehicles and which leads downhill. Stay on the pedestrian path marked out on the right-hand side. At the Stop sign, go straight ahead. Then go round a roundabout and take Rue des Moussets opposite. At the Stop sign, continue straight ahead onto Rue du Clos Saint-Marc. At the next stop sign, turn left onto Rue des Pavillons. At the end, cross Rue Nationale at the pedestrian crossing on the left, then turn right. Go round the roundabout on the left and continue straight ahead.

(17) Cross the Pont Neuf over a branch of the Seine (note the old, partially destroyed bridge on the left). As you leave the bridge, leave the road, first turn left then right and cross the car-sharing car park.

(18) At the end, take the footbridge over the Seine (note the collegiate church of Mantes-la-Jolie opposite). On the other side, turn left onto a small square featuring a statue of a dog. Walk along Place de l’Étape and arrive at the forecourt of the collegiate church.

(19) Walk past the church and, at the foot of the south tower, first turn left then right to follow Rue du Dr Stéphane Bonneau.

(20) At the junction with Rue de la Heuse (on the right-hand side), there are two options:
- Continue straight on along the^GR® to Mantes-Station (a slightly shorter route but with fewer options for the return journey by train).
- Follow the route marked on the map and described below.

No signposting

Turn right onto Rue de la Heuse. At the end, cross Rue Thiers at the pedestrian crossing and follow it to the left for about 40 metres. Then turn right onto Rue de l’Écu. At the end, continue along Rue Chrétien. Take the^first left, Rue Cadotte. Cross Rue Gambetta and continue straight ahead onto Rue de Romilly. At the end, turn right onto Rue de la Teillerie.

(21) At the end, turn left onto Rue Armand Cassan. Pass a Wallace fountain and continue along Rue L'Évesque. At the corner of the Pavillon Duhamel, turn right into a public park and walk alongside the pavilion (museum) on your right. Cross the park and leave it via the^second exit on the left. You will come out onto a street; follow it to the right for about fifty metres.

(22) Then turn left and walk past a car park on your right. Take the^first right and walk past a well-known supermarket chain on your left. At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue de Champagne. Keep going straight ahead and, at the end, turn right onto Boulevard Carnot. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue de la Division Leclerc then turn left to cross Boulevard Carnot. Then turn right and follow the railway line on your left until you reach Mantes-la-Jolie station (E).

To get back home:
- Transilien - Line J, towards Vernon or Paris-Saint-Lazare via Poissy or Conflens.
- Transilien - Line N towards Plaisir-Grignon and Paris-Montparnasse.
- TER to Paris-Saint-Lazare or Évreux.

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.

For motorists:
Both stations are located on the same section of Line J: park your car in the car park at one of the two stations and make a return journey by train. The car park at Meulan-Hardricourt station is recommended as it is easier to access.

Hiking boots required.

Drinking water tap next to a house opposite the church in Fontenay-Saint Père (12), Rue Pasteur (thanks to Visorandonneur ovil for this tip). Bars, restaurants and shops in Mantes-la-Jolie, between (19) and (E).

Opening hours of the Parc du Pavillon Duhamel:
- October to March: 07:00–19:00.
- April to September: 07:00–21:00.

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

Hike undertaken by the author on¹ March 2021.

- Extensive views between (2) and (5) and between (10) and (11).
- A pleasant forest walk between (5) and (8).
- Hardricourt Church (12th century) (1).
- Church of Fontenay-Saint-Père (11th–12th centuries) (12).
- Old bridge over the Seine (17).
- Collegiate Church of Mantes-la-Jolie, a beautiful Gothic church (12th–14th centuries) well worth a visit (19).
- Old streets of Mantes-la-Jolie between (20) and (21).