Nature and heritage around Gorze

Between nature and heritage, cross the Graoully Forest, descend into the "Fond de la Gueule", discover the mysterious Saint-Clément Chapel and its altar, small cliffs, the Rocher de la Pucelle, and end your walk at the Benedictine abbey of Gorze and its abbey palace.

Technical sheet

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.84 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 206 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 209 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 346 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 202 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park opposite the tennis courts in Gorze.

(S/E) Retrace your steps for about 50 metres, then take a dirt road that climbs to the right. Walk along a field on the left and look for the second path on the right.

(1) Turn right onto this path, enter the Graoully Forest keeping to your left and climb until you reach a forest road.

(2) Turn left onto the forest road (stay on it until the next crossing point), then take the first right. Continue straight ahead until you reach a hairpin bend to the right (view of Mazagran farm). Continue straight ahead.

(3) At the crossroads, leave the forest road, continue straight ahead and take the path downhill. Continue along the path and turn left. Continue straight ahead until the path descends steeply.

(4) Once at the bottom, turn right and descend into the "Fond de la Gueule". Continue straight ahead into the valley, then take the first path that climbs slightly to the left (white kilometre sign) to the Saint-Clément Chapel.

(5) Take the very steep path that climbs up to the left (between the chapel and the altar), pass by the Croix aux Loups and continue until you reach a forest road. Turn right and continue straight ahead until you reach the cemetery.

(6) Take the first path on the right opposite the cemetery gate. Continue straight ahead (caution: do not take the first path on the left or the next one on the right). Walk along the small cliffs on the right and pass the Rocher de la Pucelle on the left. Then continue straight ahead on the path that descends steeply.

(7) Then take the path that descends to the left (do not take the path that continues straight ahead into the forest, which is not visible on the map). When you reach the Chemin de Saint Clément, turn left, pass in front of the retirement home (which unfortunately disfigures the town and the landscape) and descend to the abbey and the abbey palace.

(8) Turn right just before the Town Hall (Rue du Général de Gaulle). Continue straight ahead and take the second right to reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 205 m - Tennis court car park. Close to the - Gorzia (cours d'eau) - Affluent de la Moselle
  2. 1 : km 0.37 - alt. 241 m - Climb up to the Graoully Forest
  3. 2 : km 0.94 - alt. 317 m - Forest road
  4. 3 : km 2.97 - alt. 331 m - Crossroads
  5. 4 : km 3.6 - alt. 299 m - At the bottom of the slope
  6. 5 : km 4.77 - alt. 240 m - Saint-Clément Chapel
  7. 6 : km 6.15 - alt. 272 m - Cemetery
  8. 7 : km 6.73 - alt. 254 m - Turn left
  9. 8 : km 7.14 - alt. 213 m - Abbey palace, Town Hall - Abbaye de Gorze
  10. S/E : km 7.84 - alt. 205 m - Tennis court car park

In the nearby area

Mazagran farm.

(5) Saint-Clément Chapel (built by the archpriest of Gorze Mangin Chavais in 1603), and a Renaissance-style altar with a built-in niche (1582). Above the chapel: the Croix aux Loups, a place of pilgrimage on Good Friday (1607).

(6) Cemetery.

Small cliffs and Rocher de la Pucelle.

(8) Benedictine abbey and abbey palace (stairs, bas-reliefs, small French garden, sculpted fountains).

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 18 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.1 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
Laurimhoff
Laurimhoff
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

lovely walk in the woods

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vsmb
vsmb

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Busy trail : No

In my opinion, the walk is not particularly interesting overall. Half of the wooded areas have not been cleared and the bottom of the ravine, for example, is full of nettles and brambles, which makes it very difficult for children to walk through and not particularly pleasant for adults. Trees block the paths at least three times.
The few points of interest (Chapelle Saint-Clément, Croix au Loup, etc.) do not, in my opinion, add to the overall appeal of the walk.

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JFR57
JFR57

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Hello
Nothing to complain about regarding the hike itself.
The problem was the very muddy paths at the end of May!
We came back covered in mud but still happy with the walk!

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Ju57
Ju57

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

A very beautiful short hike in the forest
not very busy but with clean paths
and a large car park with easy parking

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Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep

Thank you, Valeriede M.
Happy hiking!

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valeriede M
valeriede M

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Hello and thank you for sharing
Dog walking route tracked on GPS
Please note that in early February 2024, forestry work has significantly damaged the path between points 3 and 4, and shortly after that, it is muddy.
In the description, the term "steep" was not an exaggeration!
Alternative route between 7 and 8: after the descent and once on the path, we turned left towards the retirement home. We did not pass in front of this building because we turned right onto a downhill path running along a wall on the left in order to follow a grassy path behind the gardens of the houses on Rue du Général de Gaulle. This leads to the tennis court car park.
Still very nice and varied. Straight line in the forest but allows the dog to sprint within sight.
A walk to be repeated.

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DeniseB
DeniseB

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 29, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

We didn't follow the route exactly because we were looking for mushrooms
Then we got back on track

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nolive73
nolive73

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A very pleasant walk, with no difficulty (except for a steep slope after No. 5 between Chapelle St Clément and Croix au Loup, but it's not long...).
I did this hike in December 2019, in rainy weather: be careful at this time of year, as there were hunters in the Graoully forest (between 2 and 3) around midday. I had to make a big detour when I reached the right-hand bend after No. 2, as it was impossible to pass (some hunters I met by chance at their cabin at the bend kindly dissuaded me from continuing, as there was a lot of shooting going on...)

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5corinne
5corinne

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

hello,

the route description was too vague. For example, at number 3, we took a path that descended to the left, continuing downhill as indicated in the description.
We crossed and descended through the woods to end up on the path, turning right.
we didn't understand number 4 and returned to the car park.

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Fréjussine
Fréjussine

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Nice, peaceful walk (no hunters)

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jlp57
jlp57

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Pleasant walk, beautiful places to visit in the forest

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Gallicus
Gallicus

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely, varied walk through wooded countryside. Unfortunately, we missed point 5 (St Clément Chapel) because, in Fond de la Gueule, as we approached St Clément Chapel, at a certain point the narrow path came to an end (or was overgrown) and, 3 metres higher up on the left, there was a passable forest path. This led us to the path that goes to the cemetery (after a detour of 2 km), which wasn't unpleasant.

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giro57
giro57

Many thanks for the map outlines. Very good description of places to visit.

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kiki70
kiki70

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 18, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

no problems at the start, good directions. Problems then from No. 3 onwards due to unclear descriptions and misplaced signposts; we missed the whole end of the walk from No. 5 onwards and returned to the village to visit the abbey church.

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Mathidub
Mathidub

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 24, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Great hike in the forest!

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