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Park in the car park at the end of Rue du Parc, on the right, just before entering the Parc aux Daims.
(S/E) Leave the car park heading north and enter the park through the Porte Madame gate. Cross the first bridge over the Aujon, turn left, cross a second bridge and take the first path on the right that runs along the right bank of the river. Follow the main path which crosses the Aujon on a recent bridge. Go up the construction site path opposite, until you come to a beautiful lane and turn left. You will reach a T-junction.
(1) Turn right: you can also take a detour to the left to the old bridge for a view of the valley. At the T-junction with Allée des Bonshommes, turn left. At the end of the lane, go through the gate (close it behind you) and you will arrive at the equestrian centre. Continue straight ahead, go through the old gate and follow the road on the left. Cross the bridge and when the road turns right, leave it and take the path opposite that climbs into the forest and joins the Belle Balade car park.
(2) Follow the path indicated on the left. The Belle Balade trail is generally marked with red fabric strips wrapped around small trees, yellow signs on posts, and/or small posters that look like three letters "e" followed by three "b" superimposed on a blue background.
Pass the first artwork (Cuida Solencio) on your left. Continue until you reach a kind of flying saucer (Flying Lentille), then turn left. Go downhill until you reach the artwork "Racine". Go back a little and take a path on the left that winds along the bottom of the valley. When you reach "l'Œuf", you will rejoin the main path.
(3) Turn left. A little further on, in a meadow on the right, admire "J'ai vu passer une Antilope" (I saw an antelope pass by), then continue. You will come to a huge wooden hand on the right ("Mano à Mano"). Continue until you reach a vertical sign supporting numerous pivoting mirrors (Polazo).
(4) Turn around, go back to "Mano à Mano" and take a path on the right that climbs up the hillside. You will arrive at "La Belle Mort", tree trunks carved into the shape of giant bones scattered among rocks. Reach the fence of the deer park, turn right and follow the signs indicating to turn right.
(5) Follow this marked path, which passes by "Wind" (a house suspended upside down) and then "Qui Vive", before arriving at "La Salamandre Tachetée". Continue, turning right onto a forest lane.
(6) Turn right onto the straight lane that passes in front of a wooden hut. You will reach "L'Esprit de la Forêt", a tall deer silhouette made from woven vines.
(7) Turn around.
(6) Turn left: end of the Belle Balade signposts. Reach the fence of the Parc aux Daims and turn right to follow it. Pass the Maison Forestière du Pavillon, continue straight ahead and reach the D107.
(8) Turn left for about 300 m, then take the first farm track on the right. Pass a buried reservoir and arrive at a four-way crossroads.
(9) Turn left. When you reach the Châteauvillain cemetery, follow it and then go around it until you reach the entrance on the west side.
(10) Take the lane opposite the entrance, turn left onto the road, then take the first left onto Rue des Lavoirs. Turn right before the end of the street, cross Rue de Richebourg and turn onto Rue des Récollets almost opposite. A little further on, enter an arched porch on the left to admire the Saint-Marc Tower and the former Récollets convent, which is not accessible.
(11) Return to the street and turn left. Take the first right (Ruelle Saint-Marc) and then turn left onto Rue de Penthièvre. Pass in front of the Jules Verne School and take the narrow alleyway on the right. At the end of the alleyway, turn right and then left twice to follow Rue du Duc de Vitry until you reach a small car park.
Signposting: "Circuit de Fortifications"
(12) Continue down Rue du Duc de Vitry, take the first right and then turn right again onto Rue de la Fontaine. Pass Moulin Bas and at the next crossroads, turn left to cross the bridge over the Aujon. Immediately turn left onto Rue des Fossés, which runs alongside the river.
(13) Take the cul-de-sac on the right, cross the road with caution as there is no pedestrian crossing, and continue straight ahead to reach the Chapelle de la Trinité.
(14) Return to the Aujon.
(13) Turn right, go left onto Place de Verdun, cross two bridges. Follow Rue Saint-Jacques until you reach the narrow passage on the left leading to the wash house with a floating floor, built in 1789 and unique in France.
(15) With your back to the wash house, take the narrow passageway that goes uphill and then turns right into an interesting cobbled alleyway that passes under the buildings like a tunnel. At the exit, turn left, then right and left again to reach the Tourist Office and the Forestry Office on Rue de Penthièvre.
(16) Retrace your steps, continue down Rue de Penthièvre until you reach the church and the town hall.
(17) Go around the church to the north, turn right and go down Rue Amiral Decrès until you reach the Simone de Beauvoir house.
(18) Retrace your steps, turn right at the church and head for the car park on the left (S/E).
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