Via the Coulée Verte towards the Chevreuse Valley

The route starts on the Coulée Verte in front of the Fontenay-aux-Roses media library. At the start, this building is on the right.

Coulée Verte from Fontenay-aux-Roses to Massy

(S/E) Take the Coulée Verte southwards. After Fontenay-aux-Roses, pass through Sceaux and then Châtenay-Malabry: first pass under the N986 (formerly RN86) and then under the A86 motorway.

Then cross Antony and arrive at Verrières-le-Buisson. After passing between a residential area on the right and the TGV line on the left, pass a small roundabout on the right (Rond-Point du 19 Mars 1962) and a street passing under the TGV line on the left.

(1) Continue straight ahead, still following the TGV line, until you reach Massy.
Then drive along a row of buildings on Avenue des Martyrs de Soweto until you reach a large crossroads with a street leading off to the left under the TGV line.

From Massy to Orsay, follow the signs for Palaiseau, then the signs for Orsay/Chartres

(2) Cross this street to find a cycle path and follow it to the next roundabout. Go around this roundabout and follow the signs for Palaiseau on the D120, taking Avenue du Président Salvador Allende. When you reach the next roundabout, go around it.

(3) Take the last lane on the left, Avenue Raymond Aron, following the signs for Palaiseau and the D156.

Pass the Massy-Palaiseau station on your left, then the sign marking the end of Massy and another for the entrance to Palaiseau.

Cross the TGV tracks, then pass under a motorway and finally over the RER B line and under a high-voltage power line. Follow the signs for Orsay-Chartres and N118. Pass the Palaiseau exit sign and cross the bridge over the Yvette River.

(4) Continue and pass the sign for the entrance to Villebon-sur-Yvette. Just after the sign marking the end of the Villebon-sur-Yvette urban area, followed by the sign marking the entrance to Orsay, you will come to a fork.

Drive through Orsay and Bures-sur-Yvette.

(5) Take the right fork (Avenue Saint-Laurent) and at^{the first} traffic lights, turn right into Rue du Lac, which winds downhill to two successive roundabouts.
Please note: the N118 entrance and exit ramps start or end at these two roundabouts.

(6) Just after the^first roundabout, follow a cycle path between the Yvette and Rue Guy Mocquet. This cycle path joins this street at its end at a crossroads with a fairly major street that crosses the Yvette.

(7) Continue straight ahead on Rue de l'Yvette, still following the river. After a left turn and passing under the RER, you will see a pond (Lac du Mail).

Leave Rue de l'Yvette just after the pond and just before a steeply sloping street. To do this, take a dirt track open to bicycles, running along the left side of the pond. On the other side of the pond, you will come to a footbridge. Cross it and then immediately turn right onto a small path that leads to Avenue de Lattre-de-Tassigny.

Turn left onto this road, which then curves slightly to the left, to reach a T-junction (with Rue du Château). Take the left fork, cross the bridge over the Yvette and, immediately after, turn right onto Rue Jean Teillac.

(8) At the three-way junction, turn right and continue along Rue Jean Teillac and its extension, Rue André Ampère, crossing the University of Orsay.

A yellow marking for bicycles is clearly indicated on the ground (March 2021). When you reach a small roundabout, continue straight ahead on Voie des Facultés. At the end of this road, at the T-junction, turn left for a few metres, then right onto Rue des Bleuets. At the crossroads, continue along Rue de la Prairie, which is a dead end.

From the Gif-Bures basin to the D306 in Gif-sur-Yvette.

(9) At the end of this cul-de-sac, discover the Gif-Bures basin and walk along it on a mixed cycle and pedestrian path clearly marked with a blue sign.

Follow this path, which runs along the left side of the basin, which resembles a marsh. At the end, turn right, then at the T-junction, turn left onto a GR® (the GR®655 from Paris to Chartres) along a stream.

This path and the stream pass under a street further on. Go under it, then turn left and continue to follow the GR®.
Change in March 2021: the path under the road is closed because the stream is overflowing; about ten metres before the underpass, take the footbridge on the right and then immediately after the path on the left that leads to the street, cross this street and take the GR® on the left^.
Follow this GR® trail, running almost continuously alongside the Yvette. When you reach a housing estate, you will come to a small monument with two columns between two car parks. Continue straight ahead and pass under a small road.

(10) Immediately afterwards, turn right (towards Les Sablons, indicated on a sign) and go around the Bassin de Coupières on the right, similar to the previous one, to find a T-junction with the GR® on the other side.

Turn right and, after a left-hand bend, you will come to a small country lane. Turn right and, after about 100 metres, you will reach the D306.

From Bures to Bièvres

(11) Turn right and follow the D306 for about 3.5 km. Opposite, you will see Lucien Léger's former workshop at number 106.
Caution! There is no designated cycle lane, traffic is heavy and half of this stretch is very steep.

(12) Reach the four-way intersection after the sign marking the entrance to Saint-Aubin.

(13) At the traffic lights, cross the D306 and follow the cycle path on the left-hand side of this road to reach the crossroads known as Christ de Saclay.

(14) To cross this major junction, follow the cycle path straight ahead until you reach a right-hand bend opposite the Relay café-restaurant. Cross the road, staying on the cycle path, and take a small cul-de-sac road immediately to the right of the café-restaurant.

Further on, you will find another cycle path and a sign pointing towards Bièvres. Follow this cycle path, which runs alongside the N118, and descend towards Bièvres. You will arrive at a large and dangerous roundabout at the entrance to Bièvres.

Continue straight ahead, cross the Bièvres and continue towards the centre of Bièvres.

(16) At the small roundabout in front of the town hall, turn right towards Petit Clamart as indicated on the sign.
Go up the street, and at the end, turn right under the N118 exit ramp and continue straight ahead.

From Bièvres to Fontenay-aux-Roses via the Bois de Verrières.

(17) You will come to the start of a path which climbs steeply for about 1 km into the Bois de Verrières. You may occasionally encounter a deer.

At the top of the hill, turn left and continue for a few metres until you reach Carrefour du Chevreuil. Then turn left onto Chemin de Verrières to reach Carrefour du Petit-Clamart. Caution: dangerous crossing!

(18) Stay on the cycle path, pass under the A86 motorway and, on the pavement opposite, follow the cycle path that crosses the D906 and turn right onto this cycle path.

Follow the D906 on shared car-cycle lanes, sometimes riding against the flow of traffic, always staying to the left of the avenue and the tram line you will encounter 500 metres further on. After about 5 kilometres, you will arrive at a shared pedestrian-cycle lane and ride alongside a cemetery.

(19) You will arrive at a very large roundabout just after the cemetery. Take the passage on the right in the centre of the roundabout to reach Avenue du Général Leclerc de Fontenay-aux-Roses opposite.

Carefully descend this long, wide avenue. Pass a^first set of traffic lights to reach a^second set at the Carrefour de la Cavée junction.

Turn right, then left at the next crossroads and continue straight ahead, passing one set of traffic lights to reach the Coulée Verte opposite the Fontenay-aux-Roses media library (S/E).

This cycle route is recommended for hybrid bikes.

The Coulée Verte runs alongside the TGV Atlantique railway line from Place de Catalogne (Paris 14th arrondissement) to Verrières-le-Buisson and Massy: it is a shared pedestrian-cyclist route. It is also the start of the Véloscénie route from Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel.

The route is signposted from Fontenay-aux-Roses, but you can of course start from any other point along the Coulée Verte.
For example, if you take the route from the Châtillon-Montrouge metro station, you will immediately be on the Coulée Verte right next to the start of Tram 6, and after 2 to 3 km you will reach the starting point (S/E).
At the end of the route, instead of turning towards the Centre de Fontenay at (19), continue along the D906, first turning left onto a long downhill stretch, then crossing the tram line at the bottom and following it on the right-hand side until you reach Châtillon-Montrouge.

Please note: a number of sections of this route, particularly Coulée Verte and GR®, are shared paths for pedestrians and cyclists.

Just after (11), at number 106 on the left on the D306, you will find the Gros Tilleul, the studio of the painter Fernand Léger from 1952 to 1955.
https://www.ville-gif.fr/1639/le-gros-ti...

In Bièvres, after the (16), going up Rue de Paris, you will pass number 78, just in front of the French Museum of Photography:
http://www.museedelaphoto.fr/