Country:
District:
Starting point and access: Porte Dorée.
- Metro - Line 8. Take exit 1, Place Édouard Renard.
- Tram - Line T3a. Take the boulevard on the outside towards the Palais de la Porte Dorée.
- Bus - Lines 46 and 201.
For the most part, the route follows theGR®14,GR®2andGRP® trails in the Bois de Vincennes. It also followsPR® trails, but not continuously. In the description below, onlyGR® andGRP® markings are mentioned, as they are more than sufficient.
Red and white + red and yellow markings
(S) Walk up Place Édouard Renard towards the Palais de la Porte Dorée, leaving the Indochina War Memorial on your left. At the end, turn right onto Avenue du Général Laperrine. At numbers 15-13, climb the steps on the left and enter a wooded park. At the intersection that quickly appears, continue straight ahead on a gravel path and cross the Boulevard Périphérique.
Then cross a paved lane and continue straight ahead to Lac Daumesnil. Walk along the lake on your left, following the Promenade Maurice Boitel. When you reach the Pagode de Vincennes (on your right), turn left and follow a small paved road to a bridge.
No signposts
(1) Take the bridge towards the Îles de Reuilly and Bercy. At the end of the bridge, take the second path on the right which climbs towards a pseudo Greek temple. Go down the other side, turn left onto a path and ignore the stairs on the right. Then start going around the island, following the lake on your right, until you reach a second bridge.
(2) Take the bridge on the right and set foot on the Île de Bercy. Turn right immediately and follow the lake again on your right. Leave the first path lined with plane trees on your left and take the second path on the left at the foot of a tall, isolated plane tree. Reach the lake shore and turn left, leaving a playground on your left. Take the second bridge again.
(2) Turn immediately right onto a small paved road. Follow this road along the lake until you reach the first bridge, then cross it again.
Red and white + red and yellow markings
(1) At the end of the bridge, turn immediately left and follow the lake on your left. At the end of the lake, ignore the turnings on the right and take a small bridge over a river. Continue along the lake for a few dozen metres until you reach an information sign.
(3) Then turn right at a sharp angle and head up towards a clearly visible traffic light. Cross the avenues in three stages at the pedestrian crossings. On the other side, make a left-right zigzag to enter a path in the woods (large building on the left). At the corner of a fence on the left, turn right, cross a paved lane and join the Ruisseau de la Gravelle.
(4) Continue along the artificial stream on your right, ignoring the paths on your left and the small bridges on your right. Cross three tarmac lanes, with a fountain at thesecond and thethird being called Allée des Buttes.
(5) At the confluence with another stream coming from the left, cross the main stream over a small bridge and follow it on your left. After a few dozen metres, cross another paved lane and the stream at the same time. Turn right very quickly and follow the Ruisseau de la Gravelle again on your right, either on a wide path where you will find the signposting or on a path closer to the stream. You will come to a roundabout.
(6) Go around the roundabout on the right and take the first road on the right, which curves around. After a few metres, leave the road and take a path on the left. Follow a pond and then the Ruisseau de la Gravelle on your left. Cross the stream over a bridge and follow it on your right.
At the next intersection, turn right and cross the stream again. You will come to a road; follow it for a few metres to the left. At the intersection (Vincennes racecourse opposite on the left), cross the Route du Pesage at the pedestrian crossing.
(7) Follow the Route du Pesage to the right. Ignore the first arrow pointing left onto a gravel path. After passing a restaurant on the other side of the road, turn left onto a dirt path, climb uphill, leaving a small car park on your right, and you will come to a hill topped by a kiosk.
Red and white markings
Keep the kiosk on your left, turn right at an acute angle at the foot of a bench, follow aGR®2sign and descend towards a clearly visible pedestrian crossing. At the bottom, cross the avenue at the pedestrian crossing and descend opposite, first via a short staircase and then via a steep path.
(8) At the bottom, follow the Sentier Laurent Fignon to the right. After a few metres, go down the steps on the right, take the small tunnel on the left and turn left again along an avenue. Cross the avenue at the first pedestrian crossing on the right and take the access ramp opposite to the footbridge over the A4 motorway. On the other side of the motorway, go down the ramp on the left. Then take the footbridge over the Marne on the right.
(9) Before a small staircase, turn left and join the towpath. Stay on the towpath, called Promenade Paul Cézanne, despite an arrow inviting you to go up to the right onto the quay (be careful, there is no railing on the towpath).
Pass under the first two bridges of the A86 motorway and you will see the signposts again. Continue along the towpath, which is lined with a balustrade here, and pass under the other two bridges of the A86.
Continue straight ahead on the towpath, ignoring the access points to the quay on the right. When you reach a kiosk, the towpath ends: climb the stairs on the right and join the quay along Avenue Joffre. Then turn left and climb gently until you reach the Maisons-Alfort Bridge.
(10) Cross the bridge over the Marne and stay on the left-hand pavement. Enter Joinville-le-Pont and continue straight ahead until you reach a black building with the number 18 written in large letters (Paris Fire Brigade's river brigade). Turn left at the hairpin bend and follow the towpath (tarmac). Pass a small bridge on your right, turn left onto the tarmac and go under the Maisons-Alfort bridge.
Continue along the paved towpath. Cross a canalised river at right angles and continue along Quai Schaken. At the end, turn left onto Boulevard du Général Ferrié. After passing a playground on your right, take a central paved path.
At the crossroads, take the pedestrian crossing, turn right, pass a kiosk on your right and continue along the central path lined with plane trees. At the next kiosk, turn left into Avenue Noël. At the end, turn right until you reach the pedestrian crossing. Cross Rue du Pont de Créteil and turn left and right to follow Rue Leroux. Turn left to reach Saint-Maur - Créteil station (E).
To return home:
- RER - Line A, towards Paris or Boissy-Saint-Léger.
Visorando member
Moderate 
Difficult 
