The Via Romana

Starting point: The hamlet of Éluiset (Viry). Access by car. The car park and information board are signposted from the departmental road by a wooden sign reading ‘Sentier du Vuache’.

(S/E) From the Éluiset car park, take the road heading east, then turn right towards the hamlet of Champ de la Croix.

(1) Then, turn right onto the old Roman road that once crossed the Genevois plain. It will take you to Maison Neuve. In the heart of this hamlet, you can enjoy a drink or have lunch at the Vers village inn, housed in the former dairy.

(2) Continue to the left along the footpath, which runs parallel to the road, and discover the church at Vers.
First mentioned as far back as the 13th century, it stands out for its bulbous bell tower, which is both distinctive and rare in the Pays du Vuache. The village centre, with its weather-beaten farmhouses, is well worth a visit.

(3) Opposite the church, turn right onto the road leading up to the upper part of the village, then turn left onto the Chemin des voyageurs and head towards the hamlet of Sous le Plan.

(4) You can turn right here to join the Grande Randonnée (^GR®) long-distance footpaths ‘Balcon du Léman’ and ‘Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle’.
Alternatively, carry on straight ahead until you reach the road, then turn left – take care – to reach the Notre-Dame des Voyageurs Chapel.

(5) Return along the same route in the opposite direction to reach the Church of Vers.

(3) Turn right onto the path and head towards the Route de Pré Paradis.

(6) Turn right onto this road and you’ll reach the Bois du Ban. This former Thouvet woodland once belonged to the Carthusians of Pomier.

(7) Turn left and finally reach L’Éluiset via the signposted path that winds through the undergrowth, then across the fields, to the original junction at the hamlet of Champ de la Croix.

(1) Turn right and head back to the car park (S/E).

Within the Bois de Ban, you may come across the ‘Pierre Croisée’, situated off the marked trail. This immense boulder, marked with a cross, marks the boundary between the territories of Viry, Présilly and Feigères.
It was also at this stone that the inhabitants of L’Éluiset would come every year to pay the monks the fee for the right to collect wood from the forest. Tired of this obligation, the inhabitants of L’Éluiset joined forces and bought the Thouvet woods from Pomier Abbey.

The Bois du Ban is also a remarkable natural area. It is home to numerous forest pools which support a thriving population of ‘yellow-bellied toads’, a small, rare species that is protected in France.