Gouville walks

A very pleasant unmarked route where you cross the Iton several times. It is also an opportunity to discover the former home of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and the beautiful Chambray Castle along the way.

A lovely little walk around Damville (27).

In the heart of Normandy’s largest forest, set off to discover the local flora and fauna. Along the way, you’ll encounter a variety of deciduous trees and pines, and you might even be lucky enough to spot a young deer as you round a bend in the path.

Starting from a charming church, this is a short hike focused on water in the Avre Valley, on the border between Normandy and Île-de-France.

Starting from the charming church of Acon, on the border between Normandy and Île-de-France, the route first takes you through the Avre valley and follows the river for a good distance. Then, higher up, it passes through a forest of oak and birch trees with fern undergrowth. This is a relatively short hike, but it can be extended by following another route that starts and ends at the same point.

Conches, capital of the Pays d’Ouche, reveals the hidden treasures of its historical past and takes you on a winding journey through the secret Rouloir Valley, allowing you to discover the coolness of its banks and the beautiful gems of Norman rural architecture. It is the memory of a Normandy with a distinctly feminine charm and a gentle landscape that this region—so aptly described by Jean de la Varende—leaves with the walker.

Cette randonnée vous fera arpenter des chemins boisés et champêtres, des zones naturelles protégées, permettra à toute la famille d'accéder à des parcours sportifs, et vous fera découvrir de magnifiques manoirs normands chargés d'histoire. Les petits comme les grands passeront un bon moment entre nature et architecture.

In the centenary year of Maurice de Vlaminck's move to La Tourillière near Verneuil-sur-Avre, here is a journey through his heartland between Verneuil-sur-Avre and La Loupe. These towns are both served by railway stations that can be reached from Paris Montparnasse. Woods, fields and forests were the inspiration for many of the painter's works. With cloudy skies guaranteed, take a stroll through the landscapes that so strongly inspired this colourful, versatile artist, where he welcomed the greatest celebrities of his time.

To mark the centenary of Maurice de Vlaminck's move to La Tourillière near Rueil-la-Gadelière, a few kilometres from Verneuil-sur-Avre, recently renamed Verneuil d'Avre et d'Iton, this tour offers a three-stage discovery of the region that inspired the painter.A hunter, fisherman, walker, cyclist, motorist and motorcyclist, he came to settle here to find peace and inspiration. From 1925 until his death in 1958, under an often changeable sky dotted with clouds, the painter tirelessly explored these landscapes of fields, copses and the vast forest of Senonches, in search of subjects for his many paintings.We will first go from Verneuil to La Ferté-Vidame, passing by his grave in the cemetery of Rueil, his bust sculpted by his friend Paul Belmondo in front of the town hall, and above all his home in La Tourillière, preserved in the state in which he lived.

In this sea of greenery, nature remains intimate and secret: it reveals itself now in the forest, now in the valley. The Iton appears and disappears as the walk progresses.

This is a short, varied route, where you will pass some beautiful Norman houses, an old church and a farmhouse inn dating from the 13th century. Half on tarmac, half on paths, this route is not very difficult, even if the hill leading to the D830 puts hikers' calves to the test!

These circular loops will not take you into the bush in search of large predators, but along good paths through woods and fields on the outskirts of the Perche, in this transitional region known as the Thimerais. You will pass through the landscapes that inspired the painter Maurice de Vlaminck, who founded Fauvism in the early 20th century with his friends Derain and Matisse.Having settled in La Tourillère, near Rueil-la-Gadelière, 100 years ago, the artist fell in love with this region, which he tirelessly explored until his death in 1958 in search of places of inspiration.These circular loops starting from neighbouring villages aim to give you a feel for the landscapes "where the wind bends the trees and chases the clouds across a dark sky" that captivated the painter, reminding him of his paternal family's homeland of Flanders.This hike takes you from Rueil to Saint-Martin aux Portes de Verneuil, where the "Fauve" often visited.

This walking route follows paths that pass close to sites associated with Vlaminck, a painter from the early 20th century. Slightly undulating, the route crosses back and forth over the Avre aqueduct, which carries drinking water to Paris. Passing through the valleys of the Buternay, Lamblore and Nouvet, this walk is characterised by water that is either visible or sometimes just hinted at.

The painter Maurice de Vlaminck lived near Rueil-la-Gadelière from 1925 until his death in 1958. This year marks the centenary of his arrival in the area. Six circular loops named "Sur les traces d'un Fauve" (In the footsteps of a Fauve) allow you to discover the places that inspired the painter."I liked the countryside: slightly hilly, with endless fields and meadows planted with twisted apple trees. Here and there were copses, woods and farms surrounded by thorny hedges. It was on the edge of the Perche, a region where the plains of Beauce come to an end in a series of undulations, a region that has retained the appearance that the ages have shaped. Nothing modern alters its structure or disturbs the harmony of the landscape." Maurice de Vlaminck.This circular, between Beauce and Thimerais, crosses the agricultural plain near Verneuil, following the Avre valley to Montigny and returning to Rueil-la-Gadelière through fields and copses. You can visit the Château de Montigny (open to visitors by appointment).

A mainly forest route that also includes a country path along the Sec Iton and leads to a well-preserved Neolithic dolmen.

These circulars will not take you into the bush in search of large predators, but along good paths through woods and fields on the outskirts of the Perche, in this transitional region known as the Thimerais. You will pass through the landscapes that inspired the painter Maurice de Vlaminck, who founded Fauvism at the beginning of the 20th century with his friends Derain and Matisse.Having settled in La Tourillère, near Rueil-la-Gadelière, 100 years ago, the artist fell in love with this region, which he tirelessly explored until his death in 1958 in search of places of inspiration.These circular loops take you through the landscapes "where the wind bends the trees and chases the clouds across a dark sky" that captivated the painter.This route starts in Saint-Lubin de Cravant, where the church inspired the painter. It follows the Meuvette valley, which was once canalised. The Avre Aqueduct crosses the valley on imposing arches. It supplies Paris with drinking water.