From Parc de Sceaux to Robinson

Starting point and access: Parc de Sceaux station.
- RER - Line B, on the section between Paris and Massy-Palaiseau/Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse.
Take the only exit, at the rear of the train when coming from Paris.

The route crosses or briefly follows marked trails: in the description below, trail markings are only mentioned where necessary. Parc de Sceaux is dotted with red-coloured numbered markers: some are indicated in the description.

(S) On leaving the station, turn left. Go round the roundabout on the left and continue straight on along Avenue de la Duchesse du Maine. At the first junction, go straight on. At the second junction, turn left onto Avenue Arouet, which curves gently to the right. Cross Avenue Le Nôtre and, following Avenue Coysevox, you will soon reach the entrance gate to Parc de Sceaux.

(1) Enter the park and go straight on. Go down a large flight of steps and then along a wide gravel path to reach the edge of the Bassin de l’Octogone. Go round the pond on the right and pass by the foot of the artificial waterfalls. Continue for a few more metres along the edge of the basin and, just before a statue called "Le galant qui se suicide", turn right into a shaded path.

(2) At the three-way junction that follows (Marker 230), turn right and head uphill. At the first junction (Marker 224), go straight on, continuing uphill. At the second junction (Marker 219), climb the steps opposite. At the top (Marker 241), take the second path on the left, towards the castle, which is clearly visible. At the end of the path, head towards the castle and note the view on the left. Go round the castle to the right to see the steps.

(3) Facing the château, head off to the right and cross a gravel area between a French formal garden on your left and a lawn surrounded by trees on your right. Climb a flight of steps and turn immediately right, passing behind the statue of Hercules Commodus. Go straight on, ignore the first path on the left and turn into the second one, just before reaching the buildings. Pass under the low branches of two beautiful cedars, then between a circular lawn on your left and a circular pond on your right.

(4) Continuing on, walk alongside another, smaller circular pond and take the second path on the left between two hedges (Marker 017). At the junction (Marker 020), go straight on. Then go round a pond on the left and take the third path on the left downhill (Marker 026). At the bottom, follow a path to the left. Go down a flight of steps and turn immediately right. Go straight on along a wide path until you reach a large junction by a circular pond on the left.

(5) Then turn left, go down a flight of steps and go round the circular pond. Continue straight ahead to a balustrade (view of the Grand Canal). Then turn right, heading slightly downhill. At the junction after a short cobbled section, turn left and walk down a shaded path. At the end, go round a lawn on the left. Ignore the first path branching off to the right.

(6) Take the next path on the right (Marker 138) which leads to the edge of the Grand Canal. Walk along the canal on your left. Go round the Oval Basin and note the Octagon Basin on your left, as well as the sloping path you took earlier. Just before reaching the end of the basin, turn away from it to take a path running parallel to but some distance from the Grand Canal.

(7) After the information boards, turn right (Marker 171) onto a path under the pine trees, passing a gazebo on your right. Continue straight ahead, ignoring the side paths, and go round the first circular lawn. You will come out onto a second circular lawn; go round it on the right and take the second right, a wide double path. Walk straight on to the Hanover Pavilion.

Go round the pavilion on the right, ignore a single path and then a double path on the right, and turn left towards an exit gate. Just before the exit, turn right at the corner of a kiosk. Go straight on, ignoring two gates on the right and then one on the left.

(8) When you reach a plaque (on the right-hand side) marking the Memorial to the Deportation of Jews from the Hauts-de-Seine, leave the path on the right and cross a lawn. Winding your way through this space, which gradually narrows, you will reach a group of statues amidst birch trees (on the left, a plaque bearing the names of 972 victims of deportation). Continue along a dirt track until you come out onto another lawn.

Turn immediately left and walk between a wooded area on your left and enclosed meadows on your right (biodiversity reserve and eco-grazing).

(9) At the end, follow a path lined with plane trees to the right. Cross the woodchip-covered fitness trail and, at the junction immediately ahead, take a dirt track to the left. Continue straight ahead, climbing slightly, until you emerge onto a wide gravel path at the edge of a vast lawn (Plaine des Quatre Statues; view of the château on the right).

Follow the path to the left. Further on, turn right along the path to pass at the foot of three of the four statues. At the foot of the third,“La Gloire des Princes”, turn left and walk gently uphill alongside a copse. At the corner of the copse (Marker 083), turn right. Immediately afterwards (Marker 084), turn left to leave the park via the Pont de Chartres entrance.

(10) Cross a cycle path and an avenue at the pedestrian crossing and climb the steps opposite leading to the Coulée Verte. At the top, turn right (red and white + green markers). Follow the footpath straight ahead. Climb a series of steps. At the junction with a street, at the foot of the Lycée Marie Curie on the right-hand side, follow the markings slightly to the left and climb a tarmac path.

(11) When you reach a sign reading“Bienvenue sur la Promenade de la Bièvre”, leave the Coulée Verte and turn left onto the Sentier de la Tour (yellow marker). The narrow lane gives way further on to a path between two walls. At the end, turn right. At the traffic lights, cross Rue Houdan and follow it to the left. At the next set of traffic lights, turn right, cross the bus station and immediately turn left towards Robinson station (E).

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

Train timetables: check the Transilien website.

Good walking shoes are sufficient for this route, which is entirely on compacted paths or tarmac roads.

Bars, restaurants and shops near Robinson station (E).

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

Sceaux Park opening hours:
- Opening: 8.00 am from October to February, 7.00 am from March to September.
- Closing: 5.00 pm to 9.00 pm depending on the season; see detailed opening hours.

Walk completed twice by the author, the first on 26 April 2021, the second, with variations, on 17 May 2026.

- Sceaux Park and its numerous water features.
- The Château de Sceaux and its French formal gardens.
- The Memorial to the Deportation of Jews from the Hauts-de-Seine and the 972 names of victims inscribed there. Among the towns that paid the heaviest price during the Holocaust are Neuilly-sur-Seine and Boulogne-Billancourt.