The site of the Battle of Poitiers, starting from Old Poitiers

The walk starts from the car park at the Vieux Poitiers archaeological site, situated behind the ruins of the Gallo-Roman theatre.

The red and white markings of^{the GR®655}and the red and yellow markings of^{the GRP®} des Trois Batailles de Poitiers are present in both directions. The other markings are one-way, in the direction of this description. Signposts are located at major junctions.

Red and Yellow + Orange markings

(S/E) Head north and return to the access road to the archaeological site. Follow this road to the left. At the junction, go straight on and enter the hamlet of Les Berthons.

(1) Then take the^first left onto Place Maubert. At the next junction, turn right and, at the junction that comes up shortly afterwards, turn left. Turn left with the street, cross Rue Jules Courtois on the left-hand side and continue straight ahead.

(2) At the ‘give way’ sign, turn right and pass through the hamlet of l’Archillac.

Red and yellow + yellow markings

(3) At the junction, veer left and follow a small road with a slightly deteriorated tarmac surface uphill.

Red and white markings

(4) At the next junction, turn right onto a path heading towards the Carrefour des Volbières. Further on, cross the access track to Le Coudreau and continue along the path opposite.

(5) At the edge of a woodland, take a shaded path on the left. Ignore a private entrance on the left and cross a meadow. Enter the woodland and head uphill. Ignore a path branching off to the right (not shown on the IGN map) and you’ll reach a crossroads.

(6) Turn right towards Poitiers-la-Bataille and stay within the woodland. At a T-junction, turn left. At a three-way junction, turn right and walk along the edge of the woodland on your right.

Red and white + dark blue + light blue markings

(7) At the next three-way junction, turn right towards Poitiers-la-Bataille. The path turns left and runs alongside a small vineyard. Cross the D23 and continue along the path opposite.

(8) At the crossroads, turn right; there are two paths: take the one on the right (not shown on the map), as the one on the left is private. Join the path on the left after a metal gate and continue westwards. Pass through the hamlet of Les Volbières (rural lodge) and continue along a gravel track. Turn left onto this track and you will soon reach the site of the Battle of Poitiers.

(9) Continue along a small tarmac road.

No signposting

At the Stop sign, turn left and walk through the village of Pied Sec for about 500 m.

(10) Turn left onto the Chemin des Pouges, which is tarmac-surfaced at first and then becomes grassy. At the foot of an electricity pylon, veer right onto the path that runs between the fields. At the foot of a solitary shrub on the left-hand side, veer left.

Red and white + orange markings

(8) At the junction you passed earlier, carry on straight ahead. Cross the D23 and follow the path opposite. Turn right onto the path and you’ll soon reach a three-way junction.

(7) Then turn left towards the Croix Salvert. At the next three-way junction, turn left and enter the woods. After about 150 m, turn right and stay in the woods.

Red and yellow markings (rare)

(6) At the crossroads, go straight on along a gravel path at the edge of the woods. Ignore a path branching off to the right, enter the woods and head gently downhill. Stay on the main path and pass under a power line. Ignore a path branching off to the left and leave the woods. Continue straight on until, on the left-hand side, you reach a small enclosed plot with two sheds.

(11) Then turn left onto a small tarmac road leading downhill. Pass under a power line twice and enter the hamlet of Les Métairies, which is a dairy farm.

(12) Take the^first left, Rue Haute des Dairy Farms, towards Domine. Follow this small road for about 1 km.

Red and white + orange markings

(4) At a junction you passed on the way out, turn right. Continue straight ahead along a wide gravel track until you reach the car park where you started (S/E).

A good pair of trainers should suffice for this walk, which follows paths in very good condition or small tarmac roads.

There is a water point and picnic tables at the site of the Battle of Poitiers (9).

A detailed map is useful (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Walk completed by the author on 22 July 2020.

- Ruins of the Gallo-Roman Theatre in Old Poitiers (S/E).

- Site of the Battle of Poitiers (9): numerous information panels; paving featuring quotations, mostly of a pacifist nature. It is regrettable that ignorant individuals steeped in a repugnant ideology have taken the time to scratch out and deface all the Arabic names and references to Islam appearing on these information panels (as of August 2024).

Find out more about the Battle of Poitiers in the year 732.