The Belvédère and the Château de Chamarande

Starting point and access: Chamarande station.
- RER – Line C, on the section between Paris and Étampes.
Take the Rue des Écoles exit on the side of platform 2B, the one heading from Étampes to Paris (if arriving from the opposite direction, use the underpass).

Blue + Red and Yellow markings

(S/E) On leaving the station, follow Rue des Écoles to the right and, at the junction immediately ahead, keep right to follow Chemin des Barbiettes (dead end). Walk alongside the railway line on your right. At the end of the tarmac, cross the Sente des Mésanges on the left-hand side and continue straight on along a path running parallel to the railway line. Cross a stream (tunnel under the railway line, on the right).

Blue signposts

Turn immediately left onto a path and you’ll soon reach a wide track.

(1) Follow the path to the left, down a slope dotted with rocks on the right. Pass through a forest gate, a small car park, then another forest gate, and continue along the Route de Longuenoue. The climb is gentle at first, then becomes steeper. Stay on the main, stony, signposted path and ignore the faint tracks on the right. Take a hairpin bend to the right and continue climbing. Reach a plateau and carry on straight ahead along the edge of the field, on your left, until you come to a three-way junction.

Then turn right and walk along level ground towards the south-east. As you approach a shelter, leave the signposted path briefly and veer right onto a track. Leave the shelter on your left and this will take you directly to a viewpoint at the top of a rocky slope.

(2) With your back to the panorama, cross a grassy area, keeping the shelter on your left. Ignore a path on the right and continue north-east along a compacted track (you’ll rejoin the blue markings).

No markings

After about 250 m, take a wide track on the left. At the junction that appears after about 200 m (plot no. 15), turn right onto a narrower track. Pass a pond on the left. At the next junction (plot no. 18), go straight on. Pass another pond on the left and arrive at a T-junction at the edge of the forest. Then follow a wider track to the right and immediately arrive at a three-way junction.

(3) Here, there are two options:
- Turn left onto the Allée Royale and follow the alternative route described in the practical information section.
- As shown on the map and described below, continue straight on (south-east). Further on, cross the compacted track you left earlier.

N.B. From this point onwards until point (4), the paths taken do not appear on the IGN map, only on the OSM map.

Pass a picnic table on the left and cross a lawn. Join a marked path and follow it to the right. Ignore a ravine on the left (moss-covered rocks) and you will soon reach a faint Fork in the road (small exposed rocks). Ignore the clearer path on the right and follow a trail on the left that winds its way between small rocks. Immediately descend a flight of sandstone steps. Continue along a better-marked path interspersed with steps; at the^third flight, take a sharp left-hand bend (ignore a steep shortcut on the right). After another flight of steps, take a sharp right-hand bend. Join the shortcut and head off to the left. The path widens and descends gently to a stony track.

Blue markings

(4) Follow the lane to the right and downhill. Pass through a forest gate, walk past a car park on your left, follow the Allée Royale and ignore a red and yellow arrow indicating a right turn.

No markings

Pass under the railway bridge (paved crossing). At the Stop sign, cross a small road with care and enter the Domaine de Chamarande.

Inside the estate, signposts are located at major junctions.

Keep going straight on, towards the clearly visible château, either along a tarmac path or on its wide grassy verge. At the end of the path, cross the bridge over the old, now-dry moat and enter the château courtyard. Turn right, pass between two stone pillars and cross another courtyard. Pass under a porch (entrance to the archives) and cross the old moat once more. As you leave the bridge, turn left (paved section).

(5) At the junction (with a small pond opposite), turn left, follow a gravel path and walk alongside the castle on your left. At the corner of the castle (with a large plane tree on the right), veer right onto a path not shown on the IGN map. Cross a bridge over a canal.

(6) As you leave the bridge, turn left towards the Canal des Amoureux. Pass an abandoned building on your right and walk along the left-hand side of the canal you crossed earlier. At the junction just before a bridge, turn right towards the Juine. Walk along the left-hand side of the Canal des Amoureux, lined with beautiful plane trees. When you reach a footbridge over the canal, turn right and walk alongside the River Juine on your left. Continue straight ahead along the riverbank on your left, with lawns and reed beds on your right (some sections may be damp).

(7) At the end of the path, turn left and cross a canal via a small masonry bridge. Turn left immediately to take a wooden footbridge over a stream.

N.B. From here onwards, up to a signposted old gate, the paths taken do not appear on the IGN map, only on the OSM map.

As you leave the footbridge, turn left onto a path and you’ll find the River Juine on your left. You’ll come to a sort of small clearing; turn right and follow a canal on your left. Ignore a path on the right and carry on straight ahead between two canals until you reach an old gate that is now boarded up. Then take a wide path on the right towards the castle. Ignore the grassy paths on either side.

(8) At a three-way junction, turn right towards the island. Shortly afterwards, carry on straight ahead (in December 2021, access to the island was blocked) and walk alongside a pond on your left. Then take the^first small bridge on the left (not shown on the IGN map) towards the marsh. As you come off the bridge, turn left and walk alongside the pond, keeping it on your left, until you reach a junction you passed earlier.

(6) Turn left towards the archives. Pass the imposing plane tree on your left and, at the corner of the castle, veer left to walk alongside it on your right.

(5) At the junction you passed on the way there, carry straight on. At the next junction (with the church opposite), turn sharply right. At the following junction, veer left to leave the estate. Turn left into a one-way street and emerge onto a small square (Place de la Libération; town hall on the right).

(9) Turn left towards the church and, immediately afterwards, turn left again into a cobbled alleyway. Begin walking round the church in a clockwise direction. At the foot of the bell tower, turn left onto a cobbled path. Walk past a wash house on your left, turn right, leaving the remains of an aviary on your left, and emerge onto a street.

Blue signposting

Follow the street to the right and you’ll soon reach the small square in front of the town hall.

(9) Turn left towards the station, go past a chicane and take a short pedestrian street. Cross Rue du Commandant Maurice Arnoux and continue straight on towards the station. At the end of the street, turn left and you’ll soon see Chamarande station on your right (S/E).

To return home:
- RER – Line C, towards Étampes (immediate access) or Paris (use the underpass).

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.

For motorists, there are two parking options:
- In the car park at Chamarande station (S/E).
- In the car park at the viewpoint, a short distance further on (4). Start the walk from the Domaine de Chamarande.

Hiking boots are recommended.

Public toilets and plenty of picnic tables are available at the Domaine de Chamarande. There are a few bars and restaurants in the centre of Chamarande.

Alternative route:
At point (3), turn left onto the Allée Royale. At the next junction (marker 142), continue straight on and follow the blue signposts. After a right-hand bend, you’ll reach a junction (marker 125). Continue straight on (south-west) down a stony path. Rejoin the main route at point (4).

A detailed map is required (at the very least the one accompanying this description) or, better still, follow the route using the Visaorando app. The section between points (3) and (4) requires a good sense of direction. Many of the paths taken do not appear on the IGN base map used for the PDF but are shown on the OSM base map. To follow the route using the app, download both base maps.

Hike completed by the author on 21 December 2021.

- Boulders in the Forêt du Belvédère, between (1) and (2) and between (3) and (4).
- Chamarande viewpoint (2).
- Chamarande Castle (17th century), just before (5).
- Canals, the banks of the Juine and a pond on the circular path through the park from (6).
- Saint-Quentin Church (12th–12th centuries) (9).
- Wash house and former aviary shortly after the church.