Medieval churches of Brie - Paroy, Donnemarie and Dontilly

Departure from Place du 19 Mars 1962, in Donnemarie-Dontilly, at No. 21 Rue de la Porte de Melun, near the Notre-Dame de la Nativité church. If the car park is full, look for a space in the adjacent streets and walk back to the square or directly to the church.

Red and white + green + yellow markings

(S/E) With your back to the car park, follow Rue de la Porte de Melun on the right (east). Pass Rue Radepont and a wash house on the right. Turn left and you will immediately see Notre-Dame de la Nativité church.

(1) Pass the church and cloister, then turn right onto Rue des Cloîtres.

Red and white + green + blue markings

(2) At the crossroads, continue straight ahead on Rue Salgues (signposted "Zone 30"). At the end of the street, turn left onto Vieille Route de Mons. Go up, crossing Boulevard du Nord and ignoring the side streets on the right. Between numbers 33 and 35, leave the street and take the grassy path that branches off to the right along a fence.

Red and white + green markings

(3) After passing a shed, ignore the grassy path coming from the left. Continue east-northeast on the^GR®11and ignore the paths branching off to the sides. On the left, the church of Mons-en-Montois gradually comes into view. At the end, where the path gives way to a narrow street, turn right onto Grande Rue. Just before the Mons exit sign, turn left onto Rue de la Fontaine du Villé, which slopes slightly downwards. At the first fork, take the right-hand path. Ignore a path branching off to the right and, at the second fork (wash house on the left), follow the farm track to the right heading due east.

Red and white + green + blue markings

(4) When the track bends to the right, leave it and continue east on a grassy path. Enter a wood and descend slightly. At the bottom of the descent, turn left and cross a stream. When you reach a small road, first turn left then right to join a grassy path that starts off to the left of a small plot with apple trees. Climb slightly with fields on your right.

Red and white + green + yellow markings

(5) At the crossroads at the top of the hill, turn right at a right angle (east). Walk east-south-east, descending slightly, with a hedge on your right. In the distance, opposite, you can see the roof of Paroy church (you cannot see the bell tower as this church does not have one). Ignore a path coming from the left and continue with a hedge on your left this time. Ignore another path coming from the left and you will arrive at Thénisy (exit sign on the right).

Red and white + blue markings

(6) At the crossroads, turn left into Rue de l'Abreuvoir. Pass Rue des Maisons Brulées on your left. Immediately after, opposite No. 8, turn right onto a path that descends between a fence on your left and a wall on your right. At the bottom, turn left towards an EDF transformer. Before the end of the street, turn right into Rue de l'Église. At the corner of the church, turn left onto a path (Ruelle de l'Église). At the end, turn right into Rue Grande. Pass Place de la Mairie and cross a stream (wash house on the right).

(7) Immediately at the crossroads, turn left into Rue du Calvaire. Cross the stream again and go around the cemetery on the right, going uphill. At the top of the hill, turn right (the church of Paroy is clearly visible opposite). At the T-junction that follows immediately, turn left onto the agricultural track that goes downhill (no signpost here). At the bottom of the descent, cross a stream (there are a few bushes along the edge of the stream and a masonry slab serving as a bridge) and then the underground aqueduct of the Voulzie (sign on the left-hand side).

No markings (ignore the rare green or blue markings near the church)

(8) A few metres after the aqueduct, before an electricity pole, leave the^GR®11and turn right at a right angle onto a path between the fields. Head south with a beautiful view of the church of Paroy isolated on its hill. When you reach the D403 road, follow it opposite, staying on the left-hand side. Just before marker no. 69, leave the roadside and turn left onto a grassy path that climbs towards the church, running alongside a field on your left. You will arrive in front of the church.

(9) Begin your tour of the church by walking around it on the left. Walk around the back of the church through the cemetery behind it (close the gate behind you). At the cemetery exit, go down the steps and turn left onto a tarmac path.
N.B. If you do not wish to go through the cemetery, or if it is closed, simply take the tarmac path downhill that starts opposite the church entrance.
Cross the D403 road (take care) and continue opposite along the D62 road lined with pollarded trees, towards Paroy (sign). Enter the village and pass the town hall. At the crossroads, cross Rue de la Liberté, continue straight ahead towards Les Ormes (sign), ignore a lane on the left and then one on the right. After a narrow section of road, turn right into Rue du Gué Poussin. At the fork, turn left into the same street. At the T-junction, turn right.

Green + blue markings (first markings visible further on after the crossroads)

(10) At number 2 on the street, turn left at a right angle and enter a wood. At the end of the path (information sign about the trails), turn right and walk south-west along the edge of the wood (on your right) and the field (on your left), ignoring the paths branching off to the right. Pass a copse on your left and come out into a small clearing.

Red and yellow + green markings

(11) At the end of the "clearing", turn right, enter the woods and take the^GRP® Thibaut de Champagne. When you reach the river, turn left and follow the river (you will have to pass through some branches) until you find a footbridge. Cross the river and go up the grassy path opposite. At the top of the hill, turn right onto a small road. A few dozen metres after leaving the hamlet, turn left onto a path that runs between the fields (two small blue pipes coming out of the ground). At the entrance to Luisetaines, the path gives way to a street. At the end of this street, make a zigzag left-right turn to take Rue des Vignes. At the next crossroads (cube-shaped house on the right, blue garden gate opposite), turn right and go up towards a green reservoir (note: there is no signpost, just a discreet marker at the bottom of the fence on the right-hand side after you turn).

(12) At the corner of the reservoir (in the distance on the right, the roof of Paroy church emerges above the woods), turn left and enter the woods. Stay on the main path, heading west-southwest, ignoring the paths branching off to the sides. After a crossroads at a place called "Saint-Martin" (signs on the right), turn left, leave the woods and walk along the edge of a field on your left. Turn right into a copse and, further on, cross a larger wood. At the next crossroads, follow the path on the right that comes from the left (the^GRP® route on the IGN map is incorrect, do not turn left at an acute angle). Further up, stay on the edge of the woods on your left. Before reaching a crossroads at the edge of the woods, look for a red and yellow marker on the same tree (on the right-hand side) indicating to continue in the same direction and a green arrow indicating to turn left.

(13) At the crossroads (beehives present in December 2015), the two markings actually point in the same direction: turn slightly left (west-southwest) and cross a small wood. Continue west-southwest on a grassy path between the fields. At the crossroads (signs on an electricity pole), continue straight ahead. Cross the D213 road (take care) and continue straight ahead on a path. Ignore a path coming from the right and go down the path that soon curves to the left. At the bottom of the descent (group of trees), turn right onto Chemin du Potager (sign). Head west-southwest again, with a beautiful farmhouse with a dovecote on your left and right. At the junction with the lane leading to the farm on the right, continue in the same direction on a small road. You will reach a fork (municipal information sign on the left).

Green markings

(14) At the fork in the hamlet of Plessis aux Chapts, leave the^GRP® and follow the small road on the right.

No markings

(15) At the sign for "Chemin du Fond de la Forêt", contrary to the markings, stay on the road heading north towards a wood. Before entering the woods, turn left onto Chemin de la Mare à Vincent (signposted), which climbs up the edge of the woods (on your right) and is bordered by a telephone line (on your left). Enter the woods, head towards a large house with green shutters and find a path coming from the left (signposted).

Green + Blue markings

(16) At the crossroads, pass between two buildings that appear to be abandoned and follow Chemin du Pavillon à la Mare à Vincent north-northwest, a wide path framed by two fences. Pass two ponds, one on each side, and a path on the right, continuing north-northwest. At a fork, when the fence on the left turns left, continue straight ahead. When you leave the woods, continue in the same direction on a grassy path between the fields. At the end, turn left and go downhill, overlooking a road. At the bottom, turn right onto Vieux Chemin de Montereau.

(17) At the "Stop" sign, cross the D403 road (take care). Before the sign for Donnemarie, turn right onto the grassy bank of the Voulzie underground aqueduct (sign). After about 150 metres, when you reach a church on the left and before reaching a masonry structure of the aqueduct, turn left and walk along a garden fence on your right. Cross a path coming from the right and continue north, walking downhill along a fence on your right. At the bottom, turn right into Rue du Pavillon.

No markings

After a few metres, when you reach a beautiful porch, turn left into Rue des Augères. Immediately afterwards, turn right into Sente Aimé Césaire. Walk along a school playground on your left and you will reach the Church of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul.

(18) Continue north along the path, a small tarmac lane leading downhill. At the bottom, turn right into Rue des Écoles.

Red, white, green and yellow markings

At the next junction, turn left onto Rue Marius Billard. Then take the first right onto Rue du Pré Padou. At the stop sign, make a zigzag right-left turn onto Boulevard du Nord. Cross a stream and turn right onto Rue de la Porte de Melun. Continue straight ahead to the car park where you started.

Hiking boots required.

Information about the sections between cultivated fields:
- In wet weather, the paths may be muddy or wet if they are grassy.
- In summer or late spring, bring appropriate sun protection.
- Markings are very rare or absent due to lack of support.

No water points listed. Shops in Donnemarie-Dontilly but not on the route itself.

A 1:25,000 map is required (at least the one accompanying this description). A compass may be useful...

Hike completed by the author on 17 December 2015.

The three beautiful churches that gave this hike its name:
- Notre-Dame de la Nativité Church (13th century) in Donnemary (1), with its cloister (16th century).
- Saint-Ferréol-et-Saint-Maclou Church (10th-12th century) in Paroy (9).
- Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul Church (11th-15th century) in Dontilly (18).
In December 2015, none of these churches were open, but it was possible to visit the cloister.

Other heritage features:
- Wash house just after the start (S/E).
- Wash house in Villé, between (3) and (4).
- Thénisy Church, with its flat tile roof and slate bell tower, shortly before (7).
- Thénisy wash house (7).
- Church of Luisetaines, between (11) and (12).
- Beautiful farmhouses in front of (14).
- Pretty houses and old wells in the villages along the way.

Twice, the route crosses the Voie de la Liberté, which commemorates the liberation of France in 1944 (characteristic markers with a symbolised flame): at the foot of the church in Paroy (before (9)) and at the stop sign after (18).