Orsay walks

Discover part of the artistic, historical and scientific heritage of Paris-Saclay University: sculptures, frescoes, scientific instruments, archaeological sites, and more. An easy walk on a campus featuring a large botanical park and the neighbouring wooded hillsides.

A varied hike where you gain altitude. First, you climb up to the Saclay plateau and walk along the university campus before gently descending into the Yvette valley through the forest. We climb back up the other bank and cross the Gif-sur-Yvette forest from east to west. After an urban section, we walk between fields before descending back into the forest to Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse.

A loop in the Chevreuse Valley, with magnificent landscapes, in a wooded and rural setting close to Paris. The first part is a walk through the woods on the plateau overlooking the Yvette Valley. The return journey, parallel to the outward route, is mainly on flat ground. Most of the walk is well shaded and flat, but there are also some fairly steep ascents and descents. The area is very popular with walkers and mountain bikers, but it is well worth a visit.

A walk of many faces! On forest tracks interspersed with paths through the city, you follow an old railway line with a tunnel and viaduct, finishing along the course of the river Yvette. A walk to enjoy at any time of year.

Hike in the Yvette Valley offering beautiful views of the plain with its market gardens and requiring some effort thanks to the steep wooded hillsides covered in particular by the Rocher de Saulx national forest.

This is a fairly short hike that allows you to discover two rigoles (small water collection channels) on the Saclay Plateau: the Rigole Domaniale and the Rigole de Favreuse. These rigoles were built in the 17th century to supply water to the Palace of Versailles. The route alternates between woods and cultivated fields, with a rich heritage in Vauhallan.

A hike which is mostly in the forest, with lovely sections along the Mérantaise river and the ditches which run down from the Saclay Plateau.

Hike connecting Igny (Essonne) to the Palace of Versailles. The route follows the Bievre, and 80% of the route is on roads through forests. A calm, cool walk with scenery that will leave you with a unique souvenir.

From the charming village centre of Janvry, a circular route to discover two 17th-century castles. A short hike through cultivated fields and woodland.

This hike follows the route of the T12 tram-train, connecting Massy-Palaiseau to Évry-Courcouronnes, and allows you to discover a varied landscape combining urban areas, natural spaces and neighbourhoods undergoing rapid change. The route takes you along the greenway that runs alongside the T12, between Épinay-sur-Orge station and the Évry-Courcouronnes terminus, offering a pleasant and safe section for pedestrians and cyclists. This walk offers an immersion in the areas served by this new line, with opportunities to stop at the various stations to fully enjoy the local heritage and green spaces.

Second stage of the Grand Tour of Île-de-France via the GR®11, from Massy to Saint-Cyr l'École, behind Versailles.This stage, more bucolic than the previous one, consists of continuing up the Bièvre river in its valley, where it is almost entirely in the open air. Arriving near its source in Guyancourt, the GR® leaves the valley and continues towards Saint-Cyr-l'École.

A varied route in a peri-urban setting, along rivers and streams and the Bassin de Saulx, and in the heart of the Rocher de Saulx departmental forest. Please note! Work around the Bassin de Saulx means that the route has been changed at the end: follow the suggested alternative route.

A short half-day walk. After a good walk through the woods, the route becomes more heritage-oriented with the hamlet of Vauboyen and the Maison Victor Hugo. The walk ends along the River Bièvre.

A circuit with varied landscapes, in the Verrières forest and along the Bièvre river. A breath of fresh air and greenery just a few kilometres from the capital.

A hike from station to station, yo-yoing between the Yvette valley and the Saclay plateau, with a few fairly steep hills. After a mostly wooded route with some elevation, you cross Gif-sur-Yvette and then walk along a wetland area framed by two rivers. You climb back up onto the plateau, near the Paris-Saclay University campus. After visiting the old Troche quarry and walking along the edge of the plateau, you descend back into the valley.

Just 20 kilometres away, the Saclay plateau is the largest cultivated area closest to Paris. This easy route features numerous information panels explaining agriculture and environmental management in a highly urbanised region.

Tour du Rocher de Saulx, a forest home to interesting flora and fauna to discover along the way.

An unsuspected corner of wild nature, just twenty kilometres from Paris. In the Parc Départemental des Côtes de Montbron, the Ru de Saint-Marc and three ponds are home to a variety of flora and numerous birds. A short walk for nature lovers! 15/11/2024: A landslide has been reported just past the point (6) and it seems impossible to get through at the moment.

A beautiful, challenging hike with elevation gain, along trails and paths, away from the main forest roads. A good training route. Be careful, this is a complex route that is relatively difficult to navigate. If you are quiet enough, you may come across deer. This route is best in summer (or all year round if you don't mind water and mud).

Short, easy hike in the Verrières-le-Buisson Forest.

This magnificent route will allow you to discover the wonders of the Chevreuse Valley, passing through the Domaine de Coubertin, the Meridon Departmental Forest, the Bois du Vossery sandstone quarry, the village of Chevreuse with its shopping streets, its church, the Promenade des Petits Ponts and its medieval castle.

The first part of this walk alternates between woodland and fields. The return journey is through undergrowth, along the former railway line that used to link Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse and Limours.

From the RER B station at Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, visit the 11th-century medieval castle (1030) in Chevreuse and its ramparts, with a view overlooking the Chevreuse Valley. A day of nature, sport, excitement and gastronomy awaits you.

A hike from station to station where you play leapfrog with the Yvette River! The route is mostly close to the river and crosses a few woods and pretty parks, including the one in the western part of the Paris-Sud University campus.

A beautiful deciduous forest. A pleasant walk on dry ground, mostly on wide paths. A very short walk, accessible to all, for a breath of fresh air in the morning or afternoon.

A loop around the Bois de Montabé, following the edge of an old railway line, a short section across fields and ending on paths and lanes. A walk to get some fresh air in the afternoon.

This route allows you to discover both the Minière ponds, upstream of the Bièvre river, and to pass close to the Palace of Versailles by crossing the Parc des Suisses. It is also a route through the Versailles National Forest, allowing you to enjoy a pleasant walk along the Bièvre. It is a route for all seasons, as the landscape changes with the weather.

A green loop around the ponds of Moulin à Renard, La Minière, Val d'Or and La Geneste in the Bièvre valley, with an optional detour to admire the Arcades de Buc.

A very varied hike, showcasing the best features of the Hurepois, a small natural region in the south-west of the Ile-de-France. It starts with a few villages rich in heritage: churches, a castle, a keep, wash houses, etc. It continues through meadows with numerous horses. The hike ends with a very pleasant walk through the woods.

For tree and garden enthusiasts, this is an exotic walk just a stone's throw from Paris! The arboretum has a wide variety of species and landscapes. An enchanting detour through Île Verte completes the picture.

A few kilometres from Paris, this refreshing hike takes you through the village of Leuville-sur-Orge, along a path that runs alongside the Orge river, and to the Carouge basin in Brétigny-sur-Orge.

Although densely urbanised, the Hauts-de-Seine department offers wonderful opportunities for walkers, with a rich heritage and often a little elevation. This series of hikes, almost all of which are accessible by public transport, takes you on a journey of discovery through this department, avoiding major roads as much as possible and favouring footpaths and alleys, public parks and wooded areas.

This 15.5 km route starting from Antony station is easy to follow and invites you to discover Parc de Sceaux and the Coulée Verte in southern Paris on a charming sightseeing tour. Let yourself be surprised by the landscapes combining city and nature in the Coulée Verte and by the magnificent views from Parc de Sceaux.

In 1465, Louis XI and Charles the Bold clashed at Montlhéry. This hike takes you to some of the historic sites in Essonne that witnessed this confrontation (Leuville, Montlhéry Castle, the battlefield, etc.). The return route takes you via Longpont Basilica.

A short, varied and easy hike. Streams, meadows, forests, housing estates and fields, and of course the basilica of Longpont, are the ingredients of this walk just a few kilometres from Paris.

Greenery and culture abound on this hike from station to station (RER B) between Antony Croix-de-Berny and Sceaux. It passes through a veritable breeding ground for Nobel Prize winners. It takes in splendid parks, including Parc de Sceaux, Arboretum de Chatenay-Malabry, Vallée aux Loups and Parc Henri Sellier. It allows you to discover the places where no fewer than six Nobel Prize winners lived: Marie Curie, physics then chemistry, and Pierre Curie, physics with his wife, Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie, together for chemistry, Sully Prudhomme, literature, and Luc Montagnier, medicine.

Discover "New Urbanism", where proximity and diversity are key, and the commune of Le Plessis-Robinson is a typical example. The Promenade des Berges has the feel of a "little Venice in the Hauts-de-Seine" and the four wooded parks you pass through add an undeniable touch of greenery to this urban route.

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.

This is a very pleasant cycling route as most of it is on cycle paths. In autumn, the colours are magnificent.The few climbs in the first part are manageable for average cyclists on this route, which is one of the least difficult ways to reach the Verrières Forest by bike. It is also a reasonable length for those who cycle less frequently, but the route through the forest can easily be extended.

An urban route that runs partly through public parks or woods, sheltered from traffic! Each park has its own identity, and the town centres of Châtillon and Clamart add their own touch of heritage.

This route follows various types of paths: cycle paths, paths or trails suitable for cycling, streets and departmental roads.The landscapes vary between Coulée Verte, Vallée de l'Yvette (Basse-Vallée de Chevreuse), Saclay plateau and Bois de Verrières.Two hills of one to two kilometres make this approximately 40 km route "moderately difficult"; it therefore requires a minimum level of cycling experience.