Heritage and the banks of the Seine in Mantes-la-Jolie

The starting point is on Île aux Dames: Allée des Îles Eric Tabarly. Car park near the tennis courts.
You can also park in the car park on Rue du Vieux Pont, on Île de Limay (best avoided on weekdays as part of the car park is reserved for carpooling).

(S/E) Turn your back on the tennis courts, enter the park and head towards the Seine. Turn left, walk along the Seine and go under the Pont Neuf. Immediately take the steps on the left leading to the footbridge. Use this to cross the Seine (beautiful view of the collegiate church opposite). Turn left onto Place de l’Étape, heading towards the collegiate church.

Continue along Rue Thiers and pass by a fountain. Immediately afterwards, turn left onto Rue de la Heuse. At the end, turn left into Rue du Dr Stéphane Bonneau and return to the foot of the collegiate church. Then follow Rue du Château to the right. Go round a car park on the right and leave the Parc du Château on your right. Turn right into the Clos des Vieilles Murailles and go down a flight of steps leading to Rue du Fort. Follow this street to the right and, after a few dozen metres, turn left under the Porte aux Prêtres. You’ll come out onto Quai des Cordeliers; follow it to the right, along the Seine.

(2) Turn right into Place Hèvre (car park). At the end, turn right into Rue de la Sangle, then immediately right into Rue des Basses Tanneries. At the end, turn left into Rue des Tanneries. Ignore Rue de la Sangle on your right, walk past Collège Notre-Dame and continue along Quai de la Vaucouleurs. After passing a veterinary clinic on your left, turn right into the passageway near the Centre Abel Lauvray and take the steps leading from it. Cross the road and continue, slightly to the left, along Rue Saint-Bonaventure. Take the^third on the right, Avenue Victor Hugo, then, immediately on the right, Rue de la Pompe. At the next junction, turn right again into Rue Saint-Vincent.

(3) Take the^second left, Rue de la Tour Saint-Martin. At the end, turn left into Rue des Martraits. Ignore Rue du Chapeau Rouge on the left and you’ll come out onto Rue Porte aux Saints. Follow this street to the right. Take the^second left and cross the Porte aux Saints car park (sign). You will come out onto Rue l’Evesque; follow it to the left.

(4) Turn right into Square Brieussel and walk past the Pavillon Duhamel (museum) on your right. Cross the square to the right, leaving the media library and a playground on your left. Walk past the town hall car park, then the town hall itself. Turn left onto Place de la République. Cross Rue Nationale and take Rue Chanzy diagonally to the right. Cross Rue du Vieux Pilori, then turn right into Place du Marché au Blé, heading towards the Tour Saint-Maclou.

(5) At the foot of the tower, turn left into Rue Baudin. At the end, turn right into Rue Notre-Dame, then left into Rue Potard. Then follow Rue Henri Clérisse to the left. At the crossroads, turn left into Rue Porte Chant-à-l'Oie.

(6) At the fork in the road, turn right into Rue des Écoles. Cross Rue Castor and take the next street on the left, Rue de Strasbourg.

(7) Cross Rue d’Alsace and continue straight ahead. At number 30, turn right into Rue Saint Louis. At the end, turn left into Rue de Gassicourt (temple on the right). Cross Rue de Strasbourg, come out onto Boulevard du Maréchal Juin (D113) and follow it to the left. At the junction, turn left onto Rue Castor. At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue d’Alsace.

(7) Cross Rue de Strasbourg and continue along Rue d’Alsace. Take the^first right, Rue Denfert Rochereau, then the^first left, Rue Berthelot. At the end, follow Rue de Seine to the left. Then turn right into Rue de Gassicourt. Go straight on and ignore all the side streets. Pass the post office on the left.

(8) At the traffic lights, turn left onto Avenue Paul Bert. At the end, first turn left then right to continue along this avenue. Then turn right into Rue Christian Gavelle and take the^first right, Rue Ferdinand Buisson. At the end, turn left into Rue Pierre Curie. Then turn right onto Rue Fernand Bodet. At the traffic lights, rejoin Rue de Gassicourt and follow it to the right.

(9) Turn left into Rue Marceau. Follow this street to the left, ignoring two streets on the right. At the end, turn right into Rue Sainte-Anne. Turn left to pass in front of the church entrance.

(10) Continue right onto Rue du Val de Seine. Cross Rue Robert Peary on the right-hand side and continue along Rue René Dugary Trouin. At the next junction, first turn right then left to follow Rue Jean de La Pérouse. When the street turns left, take the path to the left that runs alongside Lac des Pêcheurs. Walk around the lake on the left and follow a football pitch on your left. Before reaching the houses, take a path on the left leading to a small flight of steps. Use a pedestrian crossing to cross the riverside road.

(11) Head right, following the Seine until you reach some small blocks of flats. Continue along the Seine with the houses on your right. Take a short detour to the right into Rue des Arquebusiers (plaque) to see the murals in memory of Uderzo, then carry on to the Pont Neuf, ignoring all the turnings to the right.

(12) Just before the bridge, take the steps on the right, cross the street and climb the other set of steps. Turn left and cross the Seine. On the other side of the bridge, go down the steps on the left and you’ll soon reach the starting point (A/D).

The Suricate portal
You, as users of the trails and natural environments, can get involved in this scheme today by reporting any issues you encounter during your walks: Nature Sports Watch

Shops and restaurants on site.
Picnic spots: Lac des Pêcheurs (tables), banks of the Seine (benches), Île aux Dames (benches).

Places to discover, in this order, along the route:
You will find information boards near the locations not written in italics.
Pont Neuf (or Pont Perronet)
Notre-Dame Collegiate Church
Hôtel-Dieu Museum (Rue Thiers)
Renaissance Fountain (Rue Thiers)
Square du Château (behind the collegiate church)
Vigne de Mantes-la-Jolie (small staircase leading to Rue du Fort)
Rue du Fort
La Porte aux Prêtres (Rue du Fort)
Watchtower (Quai des Cordeliers)
Rue des Basses Tanneries
Footbridges on Quai de la Vaucouleurs
Sawtooth houses (after crossing a street on the left, Rue Saint-Bonaventure)
Saint-Martin Tower (Rue des Martraits)
Pavillon Duhamel (Square Brieussel)
Map of the fortifications of Mantes (on the ground at the exit of Square Brieussel)
Saint-Maclou Tower (Place du Marché au Blé)
Mansion (Rue Baudin)
Mansion (Rue Notre-Dame)
Square Gabrielle D'Estrées (Rue Porte Chant à l'Oie)
Temple (12 Rue de Gassicourt)
The “Chalet” (72 Rue Castor, after turning off Boulevard du Maréchal Juin)
Villa (26 Rue d'Alsace, after leaving Rue Castor)
Semi-detached houses (22–26 Rue de Seine, after leaving Rue Berthelot)
Statues (Rue de Gassicourt and Rue des Coquilles)
This sculpture commemorates the merger of Mantes and Gassicourt in 1930.
The group is carved from a single block of Beauvilliers stone. The figure of Mantes can be seen holding the coat of arms, consisting of half a fleur-de-lis and half an oak leaf, whilst Gassicourt holds a sheaf of wheat.
Sculpted decoration by Lagriffoul (Avenue Paul Bert)
It depicts a child running after a phoenix. Town Hall and School, now the Paul-Bert Community Centre
Ferdinand Buisson School Complex, (Rue Ferdinand Buisson).
Sainte-Anne Church in Gassicourt.
Murals depicting panels from Asterix (On the initiative of the Bulles de Mantes association, two murals depicting panels from Albert Uderzo’s Asterix have been reproduced on the walls of the Maison de la petite enfance near the Uderzo school.)
Les Chiens de Mantes, bronze sculptures from 2002 by the sculptor Bernadette Kanter (1950-) (entrance to the Pont Neuf, Mantes-la-Jolie side).

Nearby:
- The old bridge at Mantes-Limay (11th century), upstream from the Pont Neuf, spanning the branch of the Seine on the Limay side. This bridge was part of a three-part structure linking Mantes to Limay, comprising 37 arches in total. The ferryman’s house is still visible.