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Starting point and access: Saint-Michel-sur-Orge station.
- RER – Line C, on the section between Paris and Brétigny-sur-Orge, then Dourdan or Étampes.
Take Exit 1, Rue Anatole France, on the side of Platform 2 (towards Paris from Brétigny). If arriving from the opposite direction (Platform 1), use the underpass.
Yellow signposting
(S/E) On leaving the station, head to the right. Cross the D46 and turn onto the Mail de l’Europe opposite. Go down a flight of steps, cross a street and continue slightly downhill along the Mail de l’Europe. Cross Rue de Launay and walk past a secondary school on your left.
(1) At the end, turn left and walk past a stadium on your right. After a speed bump, turn right, passing a small car park on your left. Go through a metal gate and enter the Vallée de l’Orge sports complex. Continue straight ahead along a hard-packed track lined with tall plane trees. Cross a river and you’ll immediately come to a junction.
(2) Turn left here and walk alongside a lake on your right. At the fork in the road just past a tennis court, keep to the right, as close to the lake as possible. Ignore a path branching off to the left and stay by the lake. Walk past a chalet and, shortly afterwards, turn left to cross the Orge on a wooden bridge.
Markings: Yellow + Red and Yellow + Red and White
(3) On the other side, turn left and walk alongside the River Orge on your left. Take the first path on the left. Cross the D46 at the pedestrian crossing, continue along the path opposite and walk alongside the River Orge on your left. At a junction, carry straight on and pass under some power lines. You’ll come out onto a cobbled street; follow it to the right and uphill until you reach a crossroads.
No signposting
(4) Then take the second right (not signposted here) and continue uphill. At the end, turn left into Rue de Leuville. Cross Rue de Linas on the right-hand side and continue along Rue de Leuville. At No. 61, turn right into Voie des Arpents. At the end, turn left.
(5) Return to Rue de Leuville and follow it to the right, downhill (caution: narrow verges). Cross a river, ignore a road on the left and head back up the opposite side.
Yellow markings
(6) Take the first track on the right and note the Montlhéry Tower in the distance. Pass a caravan park on the left. At a Fork in the road at the foot of an electricity pylon, take the path on the right. Continue straight on, uphill, and cross the river again.
(7) At the end of the path, continue along a road and pass the cemetery. At a fork in the road, turn left into a one-way street. You’ll come to a junction with the church on your left.
No signposting
(8) If you wish, turn left, walk round Saint-Merry Church and return to the crossroads.
Yellow + Red and Whitemarkings (faded)
(8) Take Rue des Sablons: the second on the right when returning from the church, or the first on the right if you have chosen not to walk round it. Immediately ignore a street branching off to the right and take the first on the left, Chemin de la Garenne.
(9) Turn into the first left, the Chemin des Processions. At the Fork in the road, veer right onto the same track and head uphill. Ignore a road on the left and continue along the road, which becomes off-limits to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.
N.B. Between (10) and (12), not all paths are shown on the IGN map; the OSM map is more accurate.
(10) At number 28, turn left onto a path. Head uphill and immediately ignore a turn-off on the right. At the three-way junction that you’ll soon come to, turn left and then immediately right. Head uphill, ignore a shortcut on the left and you’ll soon reach a junction. Take the second path on the left, continuing uphill. After about fifty metres, turn right and continue climbing. Ignore a path leading down to the right and you’ll reach another junction.
(11) Turn left here, on roughly level ground, and pass at the foot of the tower. Walk past a few benches, then climb a flight of steps. At the top, turn sharply right and pass by the foot of the tower again (closer than before). Continue on roughly level ground until you come out onto a wider path.
No signposts
(12) Turn left to reach the drawbridge of the old fortified castle immediately (information sign). Retrace your steps.
Yellow + Red and Whitemarkings (weathered)
(12) Walk down the compacted path and pass through a wooden gate.
No markings
Cross Rue de la Poterne and turn into Allée de la Motte opposite. Walk past a water tank and follow a path between fences. At a junction, continue straight on downhill. At the bottom, take the first right, Rue Baudouin.
Yellow + Red and Whitemarkings (faded)
At the Stop sign, turn left into Rue des Processions. At the end, first turn right then left and walk along the right-hand side of Place Stetten.
(13) Cross a road, pass under a metal arch and walk between a football stadium on your left and the swimming pool, then the tennis courts, on your right. At a left-hand bend, carry on straight ahead, passing a school on your left. Follow a small road running parallel to the D133. At the junction of these two roads, stay on a parallel gravel track between two fences.
(14) At the end, turn right, cross the D133 at the pedestrian crossing and continue straight ahead along a small road. At the Stop sign (cross), carry on straight ahead along the one-way road. At the corner of a car park, take the first left onto Chemin derrière les Murs (a cul-de-sac). Soon, the tarmac gives way to a gravel track. At the end, turn right into a narrow lane that leads down to the gate of Longpont Basilica (entrance on the left-hand side).
(15) Facing the gate, veer to the right, go through a metal barrier and cross a car park.
Red and yellow + red and whitemarkings
At a crossroads, carry on straight ahead and head downhill between fenced-off meadows.
No markings
At the junction at the bottom, go straight on and cross a small metal bridge over the River Orge.
(16) Just before a wooden bridge, turn right, go past a chicane and follow another river on your left. At a Fork in the road, turn left and follow the Bassin de Saint-Michel on your right. Stay along the lake until you reach an intersection you passed at the start of the walk.
Yellow markings
(2) Turn left, cross the river via a wooden bridge and follow the hard-surfaced path lined with plane trees. At the end, pass a small car park on the right and turn left.
(1) Turn right and walk back up the Mail de l’Europe, in the opposite direction to your outward journey. After crossing the D46, you’ll find Saint-Michel-sur-Orge station on your right (S/E).
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