Parks and gardens along the Yerres

Park at 12 Avenue Léon Jouhaux in Crosne. The car park is quite big.

(S/E) On leaving the car park, follow l'Avenue Léon Jouhaux to the right and then take Chemin du Grand Hâ-Hâ on the right.

(1) After entering the forest, take the first path on the right waymarked in Yellow and Red. Continue on this path and cross Allée du Général Lejeune. Ignore the two paths heading off to the sides and then turn right towards the reservoir.

(2) Just before the reservoir, take the path on the left waymarked in Yellow and Red which goes downhill. At the next crossroads, turn left and climb back up until you reach Allée Royale. Follow this road to the right for about 200m.

(3) Turn left at a 90-degree turn, continue to follow the Yellow and Red waymarking, ignoring the two paths heading off to the left. You will re-join allée du Général Lejeune. Follow it to the right.

(4) On arriving in front of the Château Park, turn left and go along the moats. At the park corner, turn right and continue to go along the wall for about 300m.

(5) Veer to the left and keep following the waymarked path. Continue on this waymarked route by taking the first path on the right. At the end, turn left and then right and follow the railway line.

(6) Go under a bridge and then turn right and go along the road. At the passage, admire the château (former residency of the Count of Saxony). Cross the road and then take the path waymarked in Yellow which heads off to the left just after the roundabout. Continue up to the next crossroads (high voltage electricity line).

(7) Follow the path to the right (due south). Continue on this path and then turn right in order to re-join the road which passes in front of the château. Continue on this road up to the car park situated just before the next roundabout.

(8) Cut across the car park and then turn right onto Avenue de la Grange. Continue along this avenue for about 600m and then take the small Sentier de la Folie on the right located between the lodges.
At the end, turn left onto Rue du Mont Griffon and then, at the end, turn right onto Rue René Coty. Continue down this road, veering to the left as it goes, and go downhill to the foot of Yerres Town Hall.

(9) Go past the front of the town hall and continue on Rue Charles de Gaulle. Turn right onto Rue Marc Sangnier. Admire the château situated at the start of the road. Go down the road to the River Yerres. A washhouse is situated just before the bridge on the right.

(10) Cross the bridge while staying on the right-hand side. You will reach the entrance to Park Caillebotte which is a very lovely place to walk. Once you've visited the park, return to the banks of the Yerres. Go along the river on the right-hand side for about 2.1km, crossing a road just before going past the front of a swimming pool, still staying on the same side of the river. 750m further on (around 10 mins), cross over a small bridge over the Yerres. After going past a horse riding centre, cross over the small bridge (in order to go over the Yerres again) so that you end up on the right-hand side.

(11) Leave the path and return to the road situated on the left when you see a second small bridge and the number '9' on the Moulin de Senlis road on the left. Turn right onto Route du Moulin de Senlis. Just before the windmill, go alongside an Orthodox church on the right. Continue straight ahead up to the windmill (which looks like a church).

(12) At the windmill, take the path on the right which spans across the Yerres over two small bridges. Continue on up to the entrance to Park Moulin on the left. In the distance you can see the cross-district hospital.

(13) Go into the park and then cross through the park through an uncultivated area (the exit is located opposite the entrance). Go alongside a mound of earth on the right. The pre-existing road is completely ruined. Be careful as there are holes everywhere. Exit into Rue de Pampelune and turn right. At the roundabout, turn left and take Rue de Crosne. Stay on the left to go alongside the Yerres.

(14) At the end of the road, continue going straight ahead in order to enter Crosne town centre. Next, take the first road on the right, Rue de l’Église, with a bakery on the corner, climbing uphill. Continue on and take the road on the right called Rue de la Grande Montagne (still going uphill).

(15) Go along the wall of the cemetery along Rue des Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris. After about 250m, take Chemin de la Grange, which heads off to the left after the car park. This path goes alongside allotment gardens on the left. It is waymarked in Yellow and Red.

(16) On arriving in the forest, at the first intersection, turn onto the small path on the right. Continue straight ahead on this path up to the D324 road. Follow this road to the right in order to return to the car park (S/E).

WC: Park Caillebotte; swimming pool between and (11).

Picnic area: Yerres town centre (9), in the washhouse if its open, if it rains there is shelter in the theatre; Park Caillebotte is very lovely with seats; Park Moulin (13).

(6) Château du Maréchal de Saxe
The Grange estate, first mentioned in 1389, was then a large wood, cleared for a religious Parisian community. Around 1581, a fortified farm was built.
Construction of the château was undertaken in 1617 by Charles Duret, Comptroller General of Finance and son of the chief physician to Charles IX. As was the fashion at the time, the landscaped gardens were landscaped along with the château.
In 1748, Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France, acquired the château, which he kept until his death two years later. He had the large gallery built.
Landowners related to royal power lived there until the French Revolution. In the 19th century, the estate belonged to Boscary de Villeplaine stockbrokers and passed to the families of Du Taillis and Gourgaud, whose name is linked to Napoleonic history.
Between 1914 and 1918, it welcomed war causalities (hospital No 223).
The Americans turned it into an airplane engine repair workshop during the second world war.
In 2000, the château was bought by the Savry Group which turned it into a prestigious hotel called "Château du Maréchal de Saxe".

(9) Yerres town centre
Yerres is situated on an old Roman road connecting Paris to Montereau. The known history of the area begins with the construction, starting in 1120, of the Notre-Dame d'Yerres Abbey undertaken by the Benedictines. In 1130, Lord Guillaume de Hierres built a château, a small castle still remains today in the town centre. The feudal castle was built in the 15th century by Dreux Budé in a defensive architectural style. The Budé family produced the lords of Yerres from 1452 to 1628.

Caillebotte Park
Entry to the park is free. In 1860, Father Gustave Caillebotte, the painter, acquired his property in Yerres, situated close to the old ford and bridge over the river. The main building, called "Casin", inspired the 'Casina de Raphaël', located in the gardens of Borghèse Villa in Rome. The artist produced more than eighty paintings in this property, as well as in the surrounding countryside.