Heritage walk in Le Raincy

Starting point and access: Le Raincy-Villemonble-Montfermeil station.
- RER – Line E, on the Paris–Chelles-Gournay section.
Take the main exit, towards Le Raincy.

Yellow markings

(S/E) On leaving the station, cross the bus park then Allée Clémencet and take Allée de Gagny opposite. Follow this road to the end; it is flat at first, then climbs with an increasingly steep gradient. You will pass, in turn, Allée Victor Hugo, Allée Nicolas Carnot, Allée Chatriant, Avenue Didier, Avenue Charles and Allée de la Fontaine.

(1) At the roundabout, turn left onto Allée de l’Ermitage, continuing uphill. You’ll cross Allée des Coteaux and continue on level ground (on your left, there are a few views of the eastern suburbs). At the junction, continue along Allée de l’Ermitage, passing the Protestant church on your right, and head back downhill. At the next junction, turn slightly left onto Allée Gambetta. Go down a flight of steps and you’ll come out at a roundabout. Cross Avenue de la Résistance, follow it to the right and you’ll soon reach the church forecourt.

(2) Continue along Avenue de la Résistance, passing in turn Allée de Verdun, Allée Valère-Lefebvre (war memorial on the right) and Allée Gabriel. At the corner by the Town Hall, turn left into Allée Hérold and walk alongside a park on your right. At the end of the street, turn left. At the traffic lights, turn right onto Allée Valère-Lefèbvre and walk past the Lycée Albert Schweitzer on your right.

(3) At the next set of traffic lights, turn right onto Boulevard de l’Ouest, keeping the school on your right. At the next junction, cross the D117 and continue straight ahead onto Boulevard du Nord. Note an Armenian school on your left, followed by the bell tower topping a building on a former estate. At the fork in the road at the corner of No. 18, turn right onto Allée du Village. At the next junction, turn left, passing Allée des Acacias on the left and then Allée Maurice on the right, and continue along Allée du Village.

(4) At the roundabout, take the^first left onto Avenue de Livry. At the traffic lights, cross Allée des Bosquets. Ignore the next street on the right. Immediately afterwards, temporarily leave the yellow markings and turn right into the square at Place des Fêtes (see practical information). Cross the square, then go round the Église Saint-Louis on the right. Then turn right onto Allée Thiellement and rejoin the signposted route. At the next Fork in the road, take the left-hand lane, still following Allée Thiellement.

(5) At the Stop sign, turn right onto Boulevard de l’Est. Head uphill and ignore two streets on the left. At the junction, take the^second left, Allée des Sapins. At the next junction, turn right onto Allée du Château d’Eau. Cross Allée de Montfermeil and then Allée de Chelles. At the Stop sign, turn right (no sign; marked as Allée du Télégraphe on the map).

(6) At the roundabout, take the^first left onto Boulevard du Midi. At the next set of traffic lights, carry on straight ahead downhill and ignore the side streets on the left.

(1) At the roundabout, veer left as you head downhill onto Allée de Gagny. Ignore the yellow arrow indicating a left turn at the first junction (two different^{PR®® routes} cross here) and follow Allée de Gagny in the opposite direction to the outbound route until you reach the station (S/E).

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.

Trainers are sufficient for this route, which is entirely in an urban setting. There are several bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

The street names in the commune of Le Raincy are unusual in that they do not include any ‘rue’ (street): there are 74 ‘allées’ (a word apparently used instead of ‘rue’), 6 ‘avenues’, 5 ‘villas’, 5 ‘boulevards’, 4 ‘places’ and 3 ‘impasses’.

Signposting is clear and plentiful (as at January 2017). A map is still useful (at the very least, the one accompanying this description).

Opening hours for the square at Place des Fêtes:
- From 1 November to 28 February: 09:00–17:30.
- 1 March to 30 October: 09:00–19:00.
If the square is closed, follow the yellow signposts: continue along Avenue de Livry, take the first right and walk alongside the square on your right-hand side. Go round Saint-Louis Church on the left (past its apse) and you will come out on the other side onto Allée Thiellement.

Walk undertaken by the author on 27 January 2017.

The town of Le Raincy is closely associated with the Battle of the Ourcq, the first phase of the Battle of the Marne in September 1914. At that time, General Maunoury (1847–1923), commander of the Sixth Army, had set up his headquarters in the Town Hall. One of the groups of soldiers transported to the front by the famous ‘taxis of the Marne’ was picked up in Le Raincy. This connection is commemorated at two locations along this route, both situated on Avenue de la Résistance: on the war memorial and in the Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption, in the first stained-glass window on the left as you enter.

Places to see along the route:
- Beautiful houses, notably on Allée de Gagny and Allée du Village.
- The Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption (1923), nicknamed ‘the Sainte-Chapelle of reinforced concrete’ (2). Outside, there is an impressive bell tower and, in the tympanum, a Pietà by Antoine Bourdelle. Inside (open to the public during the day except during services), there are abstract blue stained-glass windows in the chancel and side windows depicting the life of the Virgin Mary.
- Town Hall, just past (2).
- Clocheton, Boulevard du Nord, between (3) and (4).
- Saint-Louis Church (18th–19th centuries), between (4) and (5).