Women's march of 5 October 1789: from Sèvres to the Palace of Versailles

Starting point and access: Brimborion tram station.
- Tram – Line T2, between Porte de Versailles and Pont de Bezons.
Take Exit 2, Chemin des Lacets, at the front of the tram on the platform when travelling towards Porte de Versailles (if arriving from the opposite direction, go to the rear of the tram and carefully cross the tracks at the designated crossing).

No signposting

(S/E) Climb a flight of stairs and, at the top, turn left onto Chemin des Lacets. As the name suggests, follow the winding path uphill and, at the various bends, ignore the dead-end paths. Pass by the foot of a large, industrial-looking building with a tall chimney. When you reach Place Aristide Briand (fountain), turn left onto Avenue du Général Galliéni and cross over the railway line.

Red and white + red and yellow markings

(1) When you reach Bellevue station, cross Avenue Galliéni and continue along it (to the left) for about 25 metres. Then turn right onto Rue Paul Houette.

No markings

At the roundabout (not shown on the map), continue straight ahead along the same street, which soon curves to the right. At the Stop sign, turn left and walk past a school. Take the^first right, into Rue du Bassin, and follow this until you reach a large roundabout. Then take the^first left, onto Avenue du 11 Novembre 1918. Walk up this wide avenue, preferably on the right-hand pavement.

(2) At the junction with Rue des Coutures, take the path that leads diagonally off to the right (forest gate).

Red and white + yellow markings

Pass through another forest gate, cross Rue Montaigne on the right-hand side and continue straight ahead along a gravel path. Cross Rue des Bruyères and take the bridge over the N118 (view of Paris and the towers of La Défense on the right). At the end of the bridge, turn left onto Route des Postillons.

(3) After a pedestrian crossing, leave the road and take a path on the right, entering the woodland again (plot no. 57). Go down a steep slope, ignore two turnings on the right and head steeply uphill opposite. At a junction (wooden steps on the left), continue straight ahead.

No signposting

Cross a tarmac road and continue along the path opposite, slightly veering to the right, then head downhill.

Yellow markings

N.B. At the next junction, the purple line on the IGN map, which is supposed to represent a^PR®® path, is out of date.

(4) At the junction (houses), turn left onto a wide track (forest gate). After a few dozen metres (plot no. 55), turn right onto a path that leads into the woodland (take care to spot this turn-off). Climb up beneath the chestnut trees and, a little further on, veer left onto a wider track. At the junction (plot no. 55), continue straight on.

At the Carrefour du Renard (plots nos. 53 and 54), take the^second path on the right and follow the^PR®® no. 5 downhill (ignore another^PR®® that branches off to the left). At the bottom, turn right and walk alongside the railway line below on the left.

Red and yellow + yellow markings

After a good fifty metres, take the footbridge over the railway line. At the other end, turn left onto Rue de la Porte Dauphine. Turn right along this street, cross Rue du Lac on the left-hand side and continue straight down. At the bottom, cross a wide avenue at the traffic lights and follow it to the left for about thirty metres.

(5) Then turn right onto Rue des Sources. Walk up this street, which is a flight of steps, cross a perpendicular street, climb another flight of steps and continue along Rue des Sources. Pass through a tunnel under a railway line ( narrow passage). As you emerge from the tunnel, turn left onto Rue des Mortes Fontaines (labelled Rue de la Monesse on the IGN map). After a pedestrian crossing, turn sharply right onto a path leading into the woods.

(6) At the junction (not shown on the IGN map), take the^first path on the left (west) and head uphill.

Yellow markings

At the next junction (elevation 119), continue straight ahead on the^PR®® No. 5 (let the^GRP®® branch off to the right).

No markings

At the next junction, continue straight on along a wide path and ignore the faint tracks on either side.

Red and white markings

At the junction, turn left onto a wide path and follow the^GR®®2south-south-west.

Yellow markings

(7) At the next junction, take the^second path on the right and follow the slightly winding route. At the Carrefour des Relais, go straight on (west) and head downhill. Cross a small tarmac road (closed to vehicles) and continue straight on. Carry on straight through two more junctions (a beautiful beech tree on the right at^{the first}, plot no. 111 at^{the second}).

Unmarked

(8) At the next junction, turn diagonally left (west-south-west) onto a path (ignore the signpost pointing straight ahead). At the next junction, carry on straight ahead along the path.

Red and yellow signposting

At the next junction, rejoin the^GRP®® and carry on straight ahead.

Unmarked

(9) At the crossroads (plot no. 114), take the^first path on the left, heading due south. After a slight incline, climb a steep slope. Cross a small tarmac road, between plots nos. 123 and 117, and continue straight on. At the crossroads that appears immediately afterwards, continue straight on again and head downhill. At the next junction (plots nos. 117 and 122), turn right. Ignore a path branching off to the left (plots nos. 121 and 122).

(10) At the junction (plot no. 121), turn left and, at the Fork in the road that appears immediately, take the path on the right (south-west). After winding through the woodland, cross a large junction (tall oak in the centre) and continue straight ahead along the path that runs between a tree marked no. 120 on the left and a bench on the right. Winding through the woods once more, ignore a path branching off to the right and then one to the left (not shown on the map), pass by the foot of a large oak tree and emerge from the woods.

Then follow the street to the right. At the Fork in the road, turn left into Rue Joseph Bertrand and enter Versailles. At the roundabout, take the^first left, Rue Saint-Symphorien. Carry on straight ahead, ignoring two streets on the left. Turn left onto the bridge over the railway line, then turn right. You’ll pass Rue Alexis Foucault on your right. At the traffic lights, cross Boulevard de la République and follow Rue Champ Lagarde straight ahead.

(11) At the roundabout, turn right, staying on Rue Champ Lagarde. Continue straight on along this street: ignore the dead-end streets on either side, cross Rue Saint-Charles and then Rue Pasteur. Continue along Rue Champ Lagarde, which soon turns left and ends at Avenue de Paris.

Then follow this very wide avenue to the right, using the pedestrian-only side walkway. Keep going straight on, passing the Yvelines Prefecture on your right, then noting the Town Hall on your left. At the end, cross at the traffic lights and walk past the equestrian statue of Louis XIV. Walk up the Place d’Armes to the château’s main gate.
N.B. Beyond this gate, the Cour d’Honneur and the château’s gardens are freely accessible, but you must pass through a security check. See the ‘Practical Information’ section for further details.

(12) With your back to the gate and the château, head diagonally to the right along the cobbled path that crosses a car park. At the end, cross at the pedestrian crossing on the left. Continue straight on along Avenue de Sceaux. At the^first junction, turn left, walk past the bus station and cross Avenue du Général de Gaulle at the traffic lights. You’ll reach Versailles-Château-Rive Gauche station opposite (E).

To get back home:
- RER – Line C, towards Paris.

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.

In dry weather, good trainers or low-cut walking shoes are sufficient for this walk, which follows well-maintained paths or tarmac roads.

Bars, restaurants and shops near Bellevue and Versailles-Château-Rive Gauche stations.

Alternative route:
Start from Bellevue station – Transilien Line N, on the section between Paris-Montparnasse and Versailles-Chantiers. Start the walk at the point (1).

Additional information:
Once you reach the first gate of the palace (the Grille d’Honneur), you can, of course, enter the palace grounds. Entry is free of charge, every day from 08:00 to 20:30 (last admission at 19:00). The grounds are very extensive (around 800ha) and are ideal for a leisurely stroll amongst the flowerbeds, ponds, sculptures, etc. You might, for example, take inspiration from the ‘Parc du Château de Versailles’ walk published on Visorando.
N.B. Due to the ‘Vigie-Pirate’ security plan, bags are searched at the entrance to the Grille d’Honneur. Please avoid carrying items such as penknives or scissors…

Walk undertaken by the author on 14 September 2019.

Historical note:
It was against a backdrop of bread shortages that thousands of women gathered at the Place de Grève (now the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville) on the morning of 5 October. They set off for Versailles at around 10 am to see the king, demand bread from him and insist that he leave Versailles for Paris. They arrived in Versailles in the late afternoon, no doubt exhausted. The second leg of this women’s march is far less well known than the first, which took place mainly within Paris. It can be assumed that it followed the route of the present-day D910 and D10 roads through Sèvres, Chaville and Viroflay, and ended at what is now Avenue de Paris in Versailles. For this walk, Avenue de Paris was chosen, but for the rest of the route, the forests of Meudon and Fausses Reposes were preferred to a strictly urban route. After spending the night outside the palace, the procession was joined by thousands of people on 6 October, and clashes broke out, resulting in two deaths amongst the royal guard. In the early afternoon, the king and his family left Versailles and arrived in Paris in the early evening, where they took up residence at the Tuileries Palace. For further details, see the Wikipedia article on the Days of 5 and 6 October 1789, from which most of the information above is taken.

Enjoyable walks in the state-owned forests of Meudon and Fausses-Reposes.

In Versailles, between (11) and (12), at the junction of Rue Champ Lagarde and Rue Pasteur, the lovely little Jardin des Musiciens Italiens is a good spot for a stroll or a break. Just further along Rue Champ Lagarde, take note of the Maison des “Sopranisants”, a residence where, under the Ancien Régime, castrato singers used to live (what an era!).

The Palace and Parks of Versailles.