The oratories of the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Circular in the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, passing notably by the Étoile Notre-Dame de Bon Secours, the Oratory of Sainte-Geneviève, the Mare aux Canes, the Étoile Saint-Anne and the Étoile Saint-Joseph.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.24 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 12 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 12 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 78 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 55 m

Description of the walk

Departure from the Croix de Noailles. Park in the car park on the south side of the D308, on the left just before the crossroads and the cross when coming from Maisons-Laffitte.

(S/E) Start south-east along the Route de la Biche, i.e. the path on the left when looking at the stone bench (sign at the entrance to the path).

(1) At the crossroads, turn right onto Route du Maître Particulier. After about 150m, cross Route de Bourbon. Continue straight ahead, south-southwest, at the various crossroads that follow, including Étoile du Maître Particulier. This will take you to Étoile du Bon Secours (oratory on a tree on the left).

(2) Take the second road to the right of the oratory, Route de Notre-Dame du Bon Secours (sign), and head south. When you pass the Croix d'Actéon, continue straight ahead on the road that descends for another 250 m or so and find a path on the right, before the Étoile Caroline.

(3) Take this path, Sentier du Val (blue salamander sign on a white background). At the T-junction, turn left and continue straight ahead until you reach the Étoile Royale junction (ignore the salamander sign on the right).

(4) At the crossroads (tarmac road with no traffic), turn left onto Route Royale. Continue straight ahead until you reach the D284. Cross this roadcarefully, following the pedestrian signs (T13 line construction site).

(5) On the other side, at the Oratoire Sainte-Geneviève, turn right towards the Maison de la Légion d'Honneur and follow the D284 along the parallel path. At the Camp des Loges crossroads (elevation 78), cross the D284 again and follow it to the left. Take the first path on the right, Route de la Vierge. Cross the small tarmac road again and immediately take the path on the right. Reach the Mare aux Canes and go around it on the right.

(6) Leave the edge of the pond via the fifth path on the right and return to the Route de la Vierge. Then take the second path on the left (west-northwest), the Route des Mares (yellow and red markings). Continue straight ahead to the Étoile des Six Chiens (also known as Carrefour de la Fête des Loges or Carrefour de la Maison de la Légion d'Honneur). Cross the N184 at the pedestrian crossing.

(7) Follow the road opposite that leads to the Maison de la Légion d'Honneur. The Oratoire de Saint-Fiacre is to the right of the entrance. Retrace your steps.

(7) Take Route de la Mare aux Canes, to the right of the restaurant. At Étoile Richelieu, continue straight ahead.

(8) At the Étoile Sainte-Anne (oratory on a tree), take the third right (south-west), the Route Saint-Joseph (a blue cross on a white rectangle marks the way). At the next crossroads, go straight ahead.

(9) Take the first road on the right (just before Route Saint-Joseph joins the D190 road). You will soon reach Croix Pucelle. Continue along the road behind the cross. At the next junction, take the second road on the right and join the next one.

(10) Take the path almost opposite between plots 174 and 180 (Route de la Charmeraie).

(11) At the next junction, turn left onto Route de la Justice. At the first junction, go straight ahead and reach the next one.

(12) Turn right and go straight ahead (north-east).

(13) At Étoile des Volières, take the second road on the right, Route de l'Angle, and continue to Étoile de la Charmeraie.

(14) Then take the second road on the left, which climbs slightly, Route de la Charmeraie (sign slightly damaged). At the next crossroads (elevation 64), turn right and follow the road to Étoile Saint-Joseph.

(15) Cross the tarmac road to take Route Saint-Joseph (second road on the left) and pass by the foot of the oratory, which is about thirty metres away and visible from the crossroads.

(15) Follow the path to the next crossroads (Étoile de la Descente). Then take the path on the left.

(16) At Étoile du Dos d'Âne, take the first path on the right (Route de Bourbon) to Étoile du Grand Veneur.

(17) Then follow the third path on the left to the Croix de Noailles crossroads. At the end, turn left and cross the D308. Then turn right to cross the N184.
Be sure to obey the traffic lights, as there are no marked pedestrian crossings.
Then walk along the D308 before crossing it a second time, at the restaurant car park, and return to the car park (S/E).
N.B. For safety reasons, I recommend returning to the car park by crossing the D308 twice in succession.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 66 m - Croix de Noailles
  2. 1 : km 0.46 - alt. 71 m - Route du Maître Particulier
  3. 2 : km 1.76 - alt. 73 m - Étoile du Bon Secours
  4. 3 : km 2.54 - alt. 70 m - Val Trail
  5. 4 : km 2.9 - alt. 76 m - Route Royale
  6. 5 : km 3.68 - alt. 76 m - Sainte-Geneviève Oratory
  7. 6 : km 4.85 - alt. 77 m - Mare aux Canes
  8. 7 : km 5.4 - alt. 72 m - Etoile des Six Chiens
  9. 8 : km 6.97 - alt. 71 m - Sainte-Anne Oratory
  10. 9 : km 7.72 - alt. 72 m - Trail start towards the - Croix Pucelle
  11. 10 : km 8.1 - alt. 68 m - Path between plots 174 and 180
  12. 11 : km 8.53 - alt. 70 m - Crossroads
  13. 12 : km 9.03 - alt. 61 m - Crossroads
  14. 13 : km 9.58 - alt. 58 m - Etoile des Volières
  15. 14 : km 10.03 - alt. 65 m - Étoile de la Charmeraie
  16. 15 : km 10.89 - alt. 69 m - Saint Joseph Star
  17. 16 : km 11.84 - alt. 55 m - Étoile du Dos d'Âne
  18. 17 : km 12.48 - alt. 67 m - Star of the Grand Veneur
  19. S/E : km 13.24 - alt. 66 m - Croix de Noailles

Worth a visit

Throughout this hike, you will pass by a number of oratories in the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
gilleschareyre
gilleschareyre
• Edited:

Very well. We'll do it again on 4 May (I was scouting locations with a friend). I'll let you know if we managed to avoid any "mistakes".
Note: the arrival crossing the N184 is a bit complicated.
Have a good evening.
Best regards
Gilles

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Denis26
Denis26 ★

Thank you, gilleschareyre, for your comments. I have just modified the description to provide further details. I have also added waypoints, which means that it no longer corresponds to your comments on the waypoints.

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gilleschareyre
gilleschareyre

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
I did this hike on 15/04 with a friend and we got "lost" at the following points/places:
1. Between points 3 & 4: at the crossroads (tarmac road), take the Route Royale on the left (if you go right, you will end up at the Bon Secours crossroads).
2. Point 5: Around the duck pond, there are now five paths, and you need to take the fifth one (if you go around the pond, otherwise it's the first one on your left).
3. Between points 8 & 9: we "missed" the Route de la Charmeraie and therefore passed by the Sainte Anne star again.
4. Between points 10 & 11: We "missed" the Étoile des Volières and therefore the Étoile de la Charmeraie
Kind regards,
Gilles

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Samico
Samico

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice hike. Lots of paths, but if you follow the route on the map, there's no problem.

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Verider
Verider

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Overall, it was an enjoyable outing. Given the weather this summer, we appreciated being able to hike in the woods. The route was easy in terms of walking.

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PAT95
PAT95

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very pleasant route, well signposted

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JPB92
JPB92

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Moderately interesting route. The forest resembles more of a pasture. The human impact is very noticeable: large geometric paths, tree felling.
The route was completed in April, when nature is still in its early stages of development.
Hikers and cyclists. You can't expect anything else so close to Paris.
On the other hand, the terrain is very easy to walk on.

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visogor
visogor

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Pleasant walk. Descriptions are not always accurate, so it is easy to get lost. With the map, you can find the right path. Watch out for cyclists.

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amu53san08
amu53san08

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

In such a location, without any particular difficulty, it would have been wise to systematically put up a sign indicating the name of the road.

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pikabibou
pikabibou

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The Saint Germain forest was a wonderful discovery. We got quite lost along the way, not because the route wasn't clear, but because we weren't paying attention, and our steps led us down longer straight paths
But we used the map to find our way back, of course!

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thierrymarie
thierrymarie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The route through the forest is very pleasant and the landmarks make it easy to find your way. The final section is a bit tricky (crossing the 184).

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JP3000
JP3000

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 11, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

At present, the tramway construction work is making it difficult to cross the N184.
The starting point car park is well chosen.

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