The Bois de Galluis forest, starting from Frémainville

The starting point is a car park at the entrance to the Bois de Galluis, Rue de la Tourelle.
Coming from Mantes-la-Jolie, take the D983 then the D913, then drive through the villages of Jambville and Frémainville. Just after number 4 Rue de la Tourelle, turn left onto a paved road and you will immediately find the car park.
Coming from Cergy via the D14, the D43 and then Rue de la Tourelle, you will find the car park on your right just before entering the village.
Another car park on the route: (11). You will pass it when coming from Jambville.

(S/E) Head towards the woods (north-west). Just before a metal barrier, turn right to discover the Fontaine Saint-Clair a little further on. On the way back, turn right and go through the barrier.

(1) At the next crossroads, take the^PR®® on the right until you reach a T-junction.

(2) Leave the^PR®® on your right and continue to the left. Follow this path, which winds through the woods for about 800 metres, ignoring all the side paths until you reach a T-junction.

(3) Turn left and then immediately left again. Ignore any side paths until you reach a T-junction.

(4) Head right. At a fork in the road, in a bend, continue to the right. When you reach another fork, leave a path that descends to the right and climb up opposite. Further on, cross a crossroads and continue, ignoring any side paths, until you come to a red metal barrier.

(5) Just before the barrier, take the hairpin bend to the left. Then cross two crossroads and a little further on you will reach a metal barrier. Just before the barrier, first turn left then right to take a small path. At the end, turn right and then left. You will then come to a large crossroads (there is a metal barrier on your left).

(6) Continue straight ahead on a PR®^®. Ignore a path branching off to the left, then you will reach another metal barrier.

(7) At the fork immediately ahead, turn left. When you reach a road, turn left at the hairpin bend to reach some houses, then continue to the right. Ignore a turn-off on the right, walk along a field on your right and, further on, enter the woods. Ignore any turn-offs along the way. At the end of the path (there is an antenna), turn left towards Ferme de la Grue, then continue a few metres to the right.

(8) At the corner of the building, turn immediately left into a cul-de-sac, Chemin de Wy Dit Joli Village. At the end, turn right onto a grassy path. At a T-junction, turn right to reach Rue du Trianon. Cross Rue du Château and take the small path opposite.

(9) At the end of this path, just after the corner of a fence on your right, turn right, then cross a stream a few metres further on. Turn right to reach Rue du Verger. Turn left immediately, then left again onto Rue du Bois Galluis.

(10) Turn left at the first street, Rue de la Source, then turn right onto Rue du Bout Sirop until you reach the school.

(11) Enter the park on the left, walk past the children's playground and tennis courts on your right and take a footpath. At the end, first turn right then left onto Chemin de Mantes. Continue along the path, then turn left onto Rue de la Cavée. Cross the crossroads and take Rue du Puits.

(12) At the end of this street, turn right onto Rue du Pavé, towards the church. Then pass a street on your left, continue along Rue de la Tourelle, then turn left onto the path that leads back to the starting point. (S/E)

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Signposting: a quick reminder

Picnic: (11). Park (tables)

You will find information panels from a heritage trail set up by the French Vexin Regional Nature Park at several points along this hike.

Fontaine Saint-Clair: located on the edge of the forest, this fountain is situated under a 19th-century aedicule, whose niche once housed a statuette of the patron saint of the commune.
19th-century Hazay Farm: farm rebuilt by Count Vitali
Beautiful dovecote
After (7): beautiful panorama
Ferme de la Grue: large 19th-century complex, notable for its large crenellated gate tower, inspired by medieval architecture. This farm was built for Count Vitali, owner of the châteaux of Frémainville and Vigny.
Porch gate: Rue du Bout-Sirop
Small wrought iron crosses (rue du Bout-Sirop at the edge of the village and in front of the church).
Old well: junction of Rue du Puits and Rue du Pavé.
Saint-Clair Church, Rue du Pavée: apart from the base of the bell tower, which dates back to the 12th century, this church was only built in 1901. Like the church in Vigny, it was built at the expense of Count Vitali.
Gateway to the former presbytery, Rue du Pavé.
Facing the church façade, this gate overlooking the street is accessible via a stone staircase. The three columns with capitals are column shafts recovered after the demolition of the old church around 1900. On the left, the cockerel from the old bell tower has been reinstalled.
Frémainville Castle (you can see it!): this frequently remodelled castle features elements from the 17th and 18th centuries. (intersection of Rue du Pavé and Rue du Château).
Nearby:
Cemetery cross, in the centre of the current cemetery, on the right at the end of Rue de la Cavée: this 16th-century cross with flamed ends features Christ on the front and a blessing bishop on the back, probably Saint Clair, patron saint of the commune.
Former distillery
It can be seen from the cemetery (north-east).
It dates from the late 19th century. It ceased operations in 1963 and was left abandoned.
It was restored in 2011. It has been used as a location for several films, including "Diabolically Yours (1967)", "The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (1973)", "36 Quai des Orfèvres (2004)" and "Les Tuche 4 (2021)".