The religious buildings of Lisieux

Park in the sports hall car park on Rue Victorine Magne.

(S/E) Head towards Rue Victorine Magne, which is opposite the entrance to the sports hall. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing opposite the hall, then take the small lane opposite leading to a statue of the Virgin Mary. Turn right, cross the bridge and continue to the Calvary.

(1) Cross the road at the traffic lights and continue straight ahead along Allée Jean Czeslaw Ruminski, which runs between two stadiums. At the end of the lane, turn left onto Rue Pierre de Coubertin. Walk to the T-junction, with the Church of Saint-Jean Bosco on your left, and turn right onto Rue de la Touques. At the next junction, turn right and then left onto the first path just before the Normandy Football League. At the end of the path, climb the steps next to an old open-air washhouse on your right.

(2) Turn left onto Rue de la Cité Jardin. Ignore two turn-offs to the left – Rue Ernest Manchon – and one turn-off to the right – Chemin du Point de Vue. Walk past the Evangelical church on your left and take the first road on the right, Rue du Point de Vue, which is a one-way street. Ignore Rue Labbey on your left and continue to the junction just after number 52 on the street.

(3) Here you have two options:
- turn right at a sharp angle onto Chemin du Point de Vue, go on for a hundred metres and turn left immediately.
Go through the barrier to enter the courtyard of the Fondation d’Auteuil and continue to the chapel of the same name. Then, continue to the far end of the courtyard, turn right, take the path on the far right and follow Chemin de la Cavée down to the Willy Brandt roundabout,
- carry on straight ahead along Rue Bon Ange, ignoring the turnings on the left, until you reach the Willy Brandt roundabout.

(4) Cross the roundabout to reach the pavement on the opposite side. Turn left onto Avenue du 6 Juin, pass the Église Saint-Désir on your right, go past the roundabout and continue to the next one, the Rond-point des Droits Humains.

(5) There is a petrol station on your right; turn right onto Boulevard Sainte-Anne. At the next roundabout, the Sainte-Anne Tower is on your left. Turn left, staying on Boulevard Sainte-Anne, and pass the police station on your right. Cross the T-junction with traffic lights, continue straight ahead to the Léopold Sédar Senghor roundabout and carry on straight on to the next roundabout, the Jean-Paul II roundabout.

(6) Take the^first right onto Rue du Carmel, passing the Ermitage Sainte-Thérèse and the Chapelle du Carmel on your left. At the roundabout, ignore Rue de la Gare on your left, go round the roundabout and carry on straight ahead onto Rue Fournet. You’ll pass the Church of Saint Joseph on your right; turn left, directly opposite the church, onto Rue des Loges until you reach the T-junction.

(7) Turn left onto Rue d’Orival, pass the Palais de Justice on your right and turn right immediately. Cross the bridge over the Grandin stream, carry on straight ahead, cross the car park and enter the station platform through the gate. Turn right and go up the iron staircase of the footbridge. Halfway across the footbridge, go down the steps, cross the station (remember your face mask), to reach Place de la Gare, then head to the right.

(8) Turn right onto Rue des Pavements, cross the railway tracks and go over the bridge over the River Orbiquet. At the end, cross Rue d’Orbec and continue straight ahead along Rue des Terres Noires, which leads up to the entrance to the basilica. At the top, at the T-junction, turn left and continue to the next T-junction, then turn right onto Avenue Sainte-Thérèse until you reach the first roundabout.

(9) Turn right to visit the basilica (please wear a face mask) and the monuments behind it. After your visit, retrace your steps to the roundabout and cross the road – Avenue Jean XXIII – on the right-hand side of the junction. Turn right immediately, follow Avenue Jean XXIII until you reach the^first road on the left. Turn left onto Rue Eugène Boudin and turn left again straight away onto Boulevard Maréchal De Lattre De Tassigny, continuing on to the Church of Saint-François-Xavier.

(10) Turn right onto Avenue du Maréchal Lyautey, go straight on until you reach the T-junction. Turn left onto Rue Roger Aini and continue down to the first junction with traffic lights. Cross the road, ignore the pavement opposite, veer slightly to the right and enter the Parc des Jardins Lexoviens. Walk through the park, passing the skatepark on your left, until you reach the wooden gate at the exit. Turn right onto Rue Roger Aini; at the next roundabout, continue straight on downhill and take the first right onto Chemin de Lourdes. Walk past the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Chapel on your left and continue to the T-junction.

(11) At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue de Paris. Continue for approximately 550 m until you reach the first junction with traffic lights. Turn left onto Rue Roger Aini, enter the hospital grounds and continue straight ahead until you reach the exit gate. Go past the barrier and, at the T-junction at the end, turn left. Continue along this road, with the care home on your right. After the right-hand bend, pass the small car park on your right and turn into the first small path on the right which leads down across the lawn to a small iron gate; go through it.

(12) Turn right onto Allée Jeanne D’Arc and follow this path down the steps to reach Boulevard Jeanne D’Arc at the bottom. Turn right, then immediately left onto Rue Saint-Jacques, running alongside the church of the same name. At the bottom, turn right onto Rue au Char. At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue Henry Chéron, then immediately right onto Rue du Paradis; you’ll find yourself facing Lisieux’s Saint-Pierre Cathedral, and follow the road to the left.

(13) With your back to the cathedral entrance, follow the road straight ahead and take the^second right into Rue Paul Banaston. Pass the Lycée Institution Frémont on your right. At the T-junction, turn right onto Boulevard Carnot and take the second left into Rue du Maréchal Foch. At the next junction, continue straight ahead along Boulevard Herbet Fournet until^{the second} turn-off on the right.

(14) Turn right onto Chemin des Buissonnets, walk up to the Maison Musée Les Buissonnets and, after your visit, retrace your steps back down the hill to Boulevard Herbet Fournet. Turn right and, one hundred metres further on, turn right again at a sharp angle onto Chemin des Rocques. In the courtyard of the Résidences La Providence, on your left, is the Chapel of the Sisters of Providence. Retrace your steps back down the hill to rejoin Boulevard Herbet Fournet.

(15) Cross this boulevard and turn right. Take the^first left into Rue de Caumont. Walk for about a hundred metres, then take the^first left into Impasse de Caumont. Walk down the tarmac section, take the path just to the right as you round the bend, go through the gate and cross the railway line, taking great care. After the^second barrier, turn right and join Allée Delaunay. Follow this road; at the end, where it bends to the left, ignore a turn-off to the right; at the T-junction, turn right onto Rue Marin Bourgeois and continue straight on until you reach the sports hall and the car park on Rue Victorine Magne (S/E).

Please note (3): there are two options. When I walked the route, I obtained permission from a resident to cross the courtyard of the Fondation d’Auteuil. If in doubt, you can start from Rue Bon Ange as specified in the description.
Remember to bring a face mask for when passing through the station and for any visits to holy sites (2022).

(S/E) Rue Victorine Magne: Statue of the Virgin Mary near the River Touques.
(1) Rue de la Touques: Saint John Bosco Church.
(2) Rue du Camp Franc: Evangelical church.
(3) A place known as La Colline: Chapel of the D’Auteuil Foundation.
(4) Avenue du 6 Juin: Saint-Désir Church.
(5) Boulevard Sainte-Anne: the Sainte-Anne Tower.
(6) Rue du Carmel: the Vannage du Carmel, the Sainte-Thérèse Hermitage and the Carmel Chapel.
(7) Rue d’Orival: the Palais de Justice.
(8) Rue Pavements: the River Orbiquet.
(9) Avenue Jean XXIII: the Basilica of Saint Thérèse, the Thérèse Martin Diorama and Boulevard Maréchal De Lattre De Tassigny: Saint François-Xavier Church.
(10) Chemin de Lourdes: Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Chapel.
(11) Rue Roger Aini: Hospital.
(12) Rue au Char: Saint-Jacques Church; Rue du Paradis: Saint-Pierre Cathedral.
(13) Rue Paul Banaston: Saint-Laurent Manor, Sainte-Catherine Manor, Notre-Dame-de-la-Charité Chapel.
(14) Chemin des Buissonnets: Les Buissonnets House Museum, Chemin des Rocques: Chapel of the Sisters of Providence.