Little Switzerland Lorraine.

Little Switzerland Lorraine in the vicinity of Gézoncourt.

Details

14400
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 22.01 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 7h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 327 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 324 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 342 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 208 m

Photos

Description of the walk

The starting point is Place de la Fontaine in Gézoncourt.
Head towards the Moulin de Villervaux mill, leaving the village via the D106.

(1) Pass the old mill and follow the yellow circle markings to join the famousGR®5trail.

(2) Follow theGR® on the right, which goes up the Esch river. We are now in the woods.

(3) When you reach the ruins of an old mill, you will need to cross the river via a ford to reach the D106 road. Cross the road and enter the Martincourt communal wood (this avoids walking along the road for over a kilometre). Walk through the wood for 500 metres to reach a white path at the end of the wood.

(4) Turn left to reach Martincourt. Continue on theGR®5to Saint-Jean.

(5) At the edge of the village, leave theGR®5trail and take the trench that heads towards Lironville, starting with a 2 km climb to the first field (Haut Poirié).

(6) Turn right (you will see the bell tower of the village of Lironville). Take the white path that runs alongside the field for 1.5 km to join theGR®5and the village of Mamey. The Meuse department is not far away.

(7) Leave Mamey via the trench of the same name and follow theGR®5to the Tranchée de Vaux de Châtel.

(8) Take it on the right for about 2.8 km until you reach the Tranchée du Haut Piémont.

(9) Continue along this trench on the right for 800 metres.

(10) Then turn left onto the Tranchée du Milieu for 1.5 km.

(11) Turn right and after 500 metres, turn left then right to join the path marked with a yellow circle, which takes you back to Gézoncourt, passing by the wash house (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 230 m - Place de la Fontaine
  2. 1 : km 0.87 - alt. 208 m - Villervaux Mill - Esch (rivière)
  3. 2 : km 1.81 - alt. 246 m - GR, on the right
  4. 3 : km 4.04 - alt. 214 m - Fording
  5. 4 : km 5.08 - alt. 275 m - Dirt track, on the left
  6. 5 : km 7.03 - alt. 221 m - Leave the GR5 on the left.
  7. 6 : km 8.93 - alt. 305 m - Haut Poirié, on the right
  8. 7 : km 12.68 - alt. 319 m - Mamey
  9. 8 : km 15.14 - alt. 304 m - Vaux de Châtel trench, on the right
  10. 9 : km 17.78 - alt. 256 m - Haut Piémont trench, on the right
  11. 10 : km 18.47 - alt. 299 m - Tranchée du Milieu, on the left
  12. 11 : km 19.93 - alt. 276 m - Crossroads, on the left
  13. S/E : km 22.01 - alt. 230 m - Place de la Fontaine

Notes

The route begins along the Esch river on a footpath, then after Saint-Jean takes long dirt tracks back to Gézoncourt.
Be careful during hunting season, mainly from Saturday to Monday evening.
Can be done in any season and also by mountain bike.

There are no shelters along this route.

Worth a visit

Pont à Mousson, Dieulouard, Lac de la Madine, Nancy.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 15 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
pclop
pclop

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The first part to Martincourt is interesting, but after that it's less so.
the route to Martincourt is unclear. Once you cross the D106, you have to walk through fields.
This hike can be done when it is very hot because much of it is shaded.

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quatrieme
quatrieme

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello. Due to the heat, I shortened the route (unfortunately removing what was probably the most picturesque part). I went from point 3 to point 8 by road. The part I did was a mixture of forests and the vast expanses of the Lorraine plateau with a very pleasant breeze. I'll do the whole thing again in the autumn

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Jotour
Jotour

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, exceptional scenery, pleasant trails, the only slight downside being the long straights between 8 and 11 on a road. An alternative route would probably be worth looking for.
Nevertheless, I recommend it despite a few inaccuracies in the route at the start of the route, which may penalise those who do not have a GPS.

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lestoinous
lestoinous

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike that allows you to discover some charming villages.
We were struck by the calm that reigned throughout the route, which allowed us to take a few liberties, notably to visit the "grimo santé" cave.
We deliberately skipped point 6.
We appreciated the discreet signage, although from this point of view, less experienced hikers may experience some uncertainty.
The least interesting part, in our opinion, is the section between points 8 and 11. We are not fans of long, flat, wide straight lines. However, this section does offer welcome shade in hot weather...
In general, the route alternates between intimate forest trails and magnificent open spaces where the welcome breeze refreshes walkers and beautifully combs the immensity of the still-green cereal fields. A feast for the eyes!
Passing through villages, you can admire some beautiful country houses and other fountains and wash houses, where the cool water is always welcome. It should be noted here that we do not recommend carrying too little water, given the length of the route.
Finally, having completed this beautiful hike on a sunny day, we were also charmed by the diversity of the crops grown, the numerous animal tracks we observed, and the diversity of colours and scents of wild and cultivated flowers.
A hike to be enjoyed with all your senses alert!
Thanks again to Visorando!

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

Thank you for your comments.

You noted:

Reliability of the description: Disappointing
Reliability of the map: Disappointing

Did the description and route cause any problems? If so, how can we remedy this?

Kind regards

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raimbault sandrine
raimbault sandrine

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

What a shame for such a beautiful hike
You have to keep your eyes on the map at all times and count the paths you cross from the last village.
It's also difficult to find the right path to the first village. The lack of landmarks is a shame because the hike is really great.

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Frantz57
Frantz57

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Beautiful hike, beautiful scenery. It's easy to see why it's called "Little Switzerland".
You just need to have an IGN map or GPS track... there was some confusion about which path to take at certain points.
Thanks to the author.

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massenetjepaul
massenetjepaul

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 07, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hike completed in 4 hours and 15 minutes of walking, 5 hours in total (snack break and photos). 22.2 km.
The only slight "hiccup" is when rejoining the GR5. There's more! It's marked as 1.5 km of dirt track, but it
enters the woods, narrows, becomes difficult to walk on, and you end up on a downhill slope without knowing where to go. We turned right and followed the stream (the GR is on the other side) for about 800 metres, or a total of nearly 2.5 km.
Have a good day.

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Mariepelagie
Mariepelagie

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Great hike!

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Mars57190
Mars57190

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very beautiful hike, pleasant in this warm and sunny weather. Ending in Esch for refreshments.

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ma.arveiler
ma.arveiler

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Nice hike, a bit too much tarmac road (especially in hot weather), the forest sections were welcome.

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Jacques W2.
Jacques W2.

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

This route is not suitable for people who do not have a pedometer, GPS or smartphone.
The description should include the markings on the ground, which indicate the yellow rings but not the blue triangles, which would have been very useful! Also indicate the numbers of the spans marked on the trees by the ONF, rather than announcing 500 m to the right and then 1,500 m to the left...
Two-thirds of the route are very pleasant, but the return journey through the forest is rather tedious...

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dixy
dixy

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 06, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

lovely walk. We're a bit adventurous, so we took a few detours along some side paths. Thank you for sharing these beautiful landscapes with us.

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MicDo
MicDo

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 30, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A pleasant and varied hike. It was the season when grey cranes were particularly numerous and vocal in the region. On the way, I met some Belgian hikers who had set off on foot from the Liège area!

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hjd
hjd
• Edited:

Please let me know which path to take in the Martincourt communal woodland just after crossing the footbridge over the Jus, the old mill, so that I can avoid taking the D106 road to Martincourt
I have to go now
Enjoy your hike in Lorraine.

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