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).