The secrets of Parc de Sceaux

Through the Parc de Sceaux, the castle and pavilions, ponds, gardens and more secret places.

The waterfalls are reopening after renovation. (August 2021)

Moderator's warning (April 2021): between the points (1) and (2), the waterfalls are under construction and the area is closed to the public. Reach the Bassin de l'Octogone via the Plaine de l'Orangerie and the alley that extends from it, then descend a large staircase on the right and follow a gravel path.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.74 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 50 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 52 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 96 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 55 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from the car park at the Château de Sceaux.
From the Bourg-la-Reine RER station (line B), head south towards the Allée d'Honneur and follow it up to the castle car park.

(S/E) From the car park, head towards the château.

(1) At the first intersection, continue towards the château. At the foot of the château, turn left. Pass the refreshment stand and walk down the gentle slope into one of the two side lanes towards the waterfall and, in the distance, the large fountain.

(2) Go around the Bassin de l'Octogone on the left until you reach the Grand Canal. Then turn left and follow the Grand Canal on your right.
Just before the canal widens, turn left onto Allée de la Faisanderie and continue until you reach the sheep pen. Then turn right onto the fitness trail on a woodchip path.

(3) At the three-way junction, continue downhill to the right on a path that is now open to traffic. Pass the horse riding school and a refreshment bar at the entrance to the Prefecture. Go up alongside the tennis courts to the Fer à Cheval entrance near the Grenouillère swimming pool.
At the roundabout, leave the swimming pool on your left and turn right to descend towards the Pavillon de Hanovre.

(4) At the Pavillon de Hanovre, take the right-hand lane towards the Grand Canal. Atthe first roundabout, turn left into an area with cherry trees (white flowers in spring).
At the next crossroads, turn right back towards the Grand Canal, passing in front of the Guignol theatre. Turn left and follow the canal on your right.
When the canal curves around, turn left and head back up towards the Hanover Pavilion. Halfway up the hill, turn right into Allée des Cèdres.

(5) After a few metres, turn right into the square area with Japanese cherry trees (pink flowers in spring). Go to the centre of the square and then turn left to exit onto a roundabout.
Go around the roundabout on the left and continue straight ahead until you reach the cow enclosure. From there, go up to the left towards the Hanover Pavilion, keeping the sports course on your left. After about 50 metres, turn right and go up through a gap in the vegetation with no path or lane.

(6) Pass the Shoah Memorial and continue until you reach the path that runs alongside the park. Follow this path to the right. Pass the dog park and continue until you see the castle on your right.
Go up the lane on the right towards the château until you reach the balcony overlooking the Grand Canal: turn left and continue until you reach the Le Notre basin, leaving the canal behind you.

(7) Continue up to the last of the parallel paths, which you should take on the right towards the castle. Then turn left into the path before the steps. Going up this path, turn left towards the small castle, following a long pond below.

(8) Before reaching the park exit, turn right into the garden at the statue of the child. Then turn right again into the garden, keeping as far to the left as possible to pass in front of the shell fountains.
Leave the garden by going straight ahead across a path towards a circular pond.
Continue until you reach three circular ponds, one of which is filled with earth and another with water lilies (depending on the season). Continue towards the Aurora Pavilion.

(9) Shortly before reaching the Pavillon de l'Aurore, turn left towards two massive statues of women and a very large wisteria tree. Turn right here into a small garden with a narrow entrance, usually decorated with feather dusters. In the middle, turn right towards the magnificent floral park behind the Pavillon de l'Aurore.
Walk through the floral park. Once you exit, retrace your steps back to the Pavillon de l'Aurore, then turn left to return to the three ponds. Turn left before you reach them to enter the flower-lined alley.

(1) Leave the castle on your right and the car park on your left and continue straight ahead to the Orangery. Go around the Orangery on the right to go around it. At the end of the Orangery, go into the enclosed flower park with two gates. Go around the garden and exit on the right towards the rose garden.
After a quick tour of the rose garden, exit on the right to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 92 m - Parking at the Château de Sceaux
  2. 1 : km 0.1 - alt. 92 m - Crossroads in front of the castle
  3. 2 : km 0.81 - alt. 56 m - Octagon Pond - Water fountain
  4. 3 : km 2.1 - alt. 62 m - Three-way junction
  5. 4 : km 3.46 - alt. 70 m - Hanover Pavilion
  6. 5 : km 4.96 - alt. 59 m - Japanese cherry trees
  7. 6 : km 5.58 - alt. 70 m - Shoah Memorial
  8. 7 : km 6.89 - alt. 77 m - The ponds and Lenôtre garden
  9. 8 : km 7.32 - alt. 92 m - Statue of the Chou Child
  10. 9 : km 7.8 - alt. 95 m - Pavillon de l'Aurore
  11. S/E : km 8.74 - alt. 92 m - Parking at the Château de Sceaux

Notes

The Parc de Sceaux has several refreshment stands, public toilets and drinking fountains.

Worth a visit

The park has several different gardens, which are maintained throughout the year with frequently renewed floral displays.
In spring, the pink Japanese cherry trees are particularly remarkable.
There are many interesting features scattered throughout the park, including statues, ponds with ducks, Canada geese, moorhens, etc., animal enclosures (sheep, cows) and the Shoah Memorial.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 30 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Britanicus100
Britanicus100

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful route that shows you everything you need to see at Parc de Sceaux.

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User 4113685

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk in beautiful surroundings, done in the morning (a few joggers but certainly fewer people than on a Sunday afternoon!)
Before reaching point 5, going up the Châtenay plain towards the Hanover Pavilion, you cannot turn right into the cedar avenue halfway up the hill (the path is blocked by barriers), but you have to continue to the top of the hill and go down the other side of the hedge to the cedar avenue, which is not a very big detour in the end..

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active
active

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very interesting tour. Well shaded. We took public transport to the Parc de Sceaux RER station. We had a little trouble finding our way to the start of the tour. The Holocaust Memorial is not well signposted and we had trouble finding it. Otherwise, we had no problems. We'll be back! There are also toilets just after the start on the Orangerie side and drinking fountains along the route.

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cfrancon
cfrancon

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The magnificent Parc de Sceaux... we were lucky enough to visit when the cherry trees were in bloom... beautiful. Definitely worth a return visit...

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sylmalta
sylmalta

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The route offers superb views of the park and the castle. One slight drawback is that the route is very "straight" and does not take in any of the small paths.

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LaLDD
LaLDD

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great! Complete tour of the park, just one small issue getting to the Holocaust memorial: turn right at the sign for the Memorial.

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AnneP92
AnneP92

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice route. The Parc de Sceaux is as attractive as ever, but this allowed me to discover some places I didn't know.

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SOFIA MARMOTON
SOFIA MARMOTON

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A comprehensive map that summarises the main points of interest in the park. If you start at point 4, parking is easier and free. Accessible in all weather conditions.

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SCALA53
SCALA53

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A few steps away, you can visit the residence of CHATEAUBRIAND at point 3

Visit during this period to enjoy the colours of the trees

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collignonfv
collignonfv

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This was my first time visiting the park, and it was well worth a visit on 7 October. I enjoyed stopping at the Holocaust memorial. I'll be back to see the cherry trees!

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sarvie
sarvie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

From the RER B train station... Get off at Parc de Sceaux. Very convenient, as the entrance to the castle is about 400 metres away.
A beautiful walk with some stunning views. A complete exploration of the Parc de Sceaux, including the memorial to the deportation and the waterfall.
Tip for a Saturday hike: do it in the morning as there are very few people around

In the afternoon, the castle and its surroundings are very busy and the castle car park is very crowded.

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Yannick Barbeau
Yannick Barbeau

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful park, but the long paths of the French garden become monotonous. The memorial to the deportation of Jews from the Hauts-de-Seine is impressive and very moving.

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Ketthe
Ketthe

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A wonderful discovery in Parc de Sceaux.
Unfortunately, it was a little too early in the season for the vegetation and cherry blossoms.
To be repeated soon

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amostini
amostini
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A wonderful discovery of Parc de Sceaux during the Hanami cherry blossom festival. The tour took us to some of the more secluded and unexpected parts of the park (the Holocaust memorial, the shell fountains, etc.). Unfortunately, there was no water in the waterfalls. Thank you for this tour.

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amostini
amostini

After an hour of TVM, arrival in front of the park and entry denied due to a strong wind warning

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