Sens – Villeneuve-sur-Yonne

The route starts at Sens railway station (Intercités line between Paris-Bercy and Dijon).
There are plenty of parking spaces near the station.

(S) From the station, turn right onto Avenue de la Gare, which leads to a roundabout. Turn right onto Rue Émile Zola, which takes you under the railway line to the car park, where you can park easily. Cross the Rond-Point de l’Armée Patton, then head up Avenue Aristide Briand to Rue Pierre Curie, where you’ll find the^GR® 213; follow the red and white markings for most of the day.

(1) From Avenue Aristide Briand, turn left onto Rue Pierre Curie, which runs alongside a large factory. Follow this street to the Pierre and Marie Curie Secondary School. The street then curves slightly to the right in front of the school. Cross Rue de Saint-Bond to take a small path that climbs towards the hermitage of the same name.

(2) From the hermitage, the path is tarmac-surfaced and passes in front of a large sports complex (tennis courts and football pitches). After the pond, at the bend, continue along a path on the left which descends towards the Galette Chicouchet roundabout in Paron

(3) Leave the^GR® and cross the roundabout to continue along a path leading to the Ru de Subligny, which you cross. Immediately after the small stream, turn left onto Rue des Bruyères, which you cross straight away. On the other side of the street, you’ll find a cul-de-sac at the end of which is a path that, after the last few houses, leads to the bottom of a small wooded valley. As you emerge from this, you’ll come to a path that climbs quite steeply through the fields before reaching a level stretch near the Bois des Grandes Arbres (which is not actually a wood).

(4) Continue straight on along the path, which runs alongside a few copses, then passes under a small power line, before descending towards Collemiers and passing the small cemetery before joining the road (D 157). Turn right to reach the village centre.

(5) At the entrance to the village, take the first street on the left, which quickly crosses a first stream and then a second (Ru de Collemiers), before continuing straight on to a fork in the road. Turn right onto what is still a tarmac road but which soon turns into a track at the last building. The path climbs slightly before entering a woodland.

(6) Cross the woodland and, as you emerge, you’ll see a large field on your left before coming out onto a good track at the edge of the woodland. Follow it to the right for about 500 metres until you reach a main track coming from the right.

(7) Turn left to join a track situated between the edge of a woodland and a large field crossed by high-voltage power lines. Continue straight on and cross a field until you pass under the double power line. A little further on there is a third power line.

(8) Turn left onto a path that enters the woodland, just before the power line crosses the track you have just come from. At the first fork, turn left onto a path that takes you to the hamlet of Les Régipaux.

(9) Cross a small road in the village centre, then carry on until you reach a fork just past the last houses. Keep left to come across a farm (La Closerie) standing alone in a field slightly off to the left of the path, just before you reach another fork.

(10) Turn right onto the path leading to a small cluster of houses. From the last house, rejoin a path heading downhill and carry on straight ahead until you reach a road, which you cross near an isolated house,

(1) Almost immediately, cross another, slightly larger road (D 24). If you look to the left, you can see the hamlet of Le Brassy, which you should bypass. The field path continues straight on until a bend in the road, where you follow the road to the left before reaching another fork.

(12) Turn right to pass a cluster of farm buildings through which the Ru de Montgerin flows. From here, you can see our path climbing straight up through the fields. At the top of this, you’ll find another track which you take to the right towards a power line. You are now on the^GR® 113. After passing the power line, walk past the Gogette farm, where you’ll come to a tarmac road.

(13) After 200 m, take the first path on the left towards a copse. You are surrounded by fields. Continue in the same direction until you reach a crossroads where you’ll find the^GRP® du Pays d’Orvanne.

(14) Turn left. Further on, ignore a path on the left and walk alongside the Bois des Pilans on your left.

(15) Take the first path on the right, between two fields. The path soon veers left, staying on level ground, and joins a small road leading to the hamlet of Les Gaillards, which you cross.
Continue straight on along a tarmac road to reach the hamlet of Les Lagneaux, whose houses cluster around the main street. You are now on the^GRP® de l’Orvanne and the^GR® 113.

(16) Cross the road and take the cul-de-sac opposite, which soon turns into a tree-lined path. Take the first path on the left, which climbs up to a road (D72).

(17) Cross the road and then the Ru de Bourienne before reaching the Fontaine Rouge, where there is a beautiful house with a small pond.

(18) After the pond, carry on and then take the first path on the left. After 300 metres, leave the signposted path (marker 118) and take a fairly steep path which climbs to the right, before opening out onto a field and then a sort of plateau.
The path follows the edge of the forest until it rejoins a main track, which you take to the left, following a power line. Pass the track leading to the Quatre Vents farm, situated to the left, off the main track.

(19) Carry on for 300 m and rejoin the^GR® where two power lines cross. Continue straight on until you reach a small road.

(20) Cross it before continuing along a field track. Shortly afterwards, leave the^GR® as it turns right and carry on towards another double power line. You’ll soon come across the^GR® markings again; follow them straight on and, after the first houses, turn left onto a wide track that leads past the cemetery.

(21) At the cemetery entrance, turn right onto Avenue Georges Bolnat. At the junction on the right, there is a car park and, below it, a sort of large green space crossed by a path leading downwards. Take this path to reach a cul-de-sac leading to Rue des Renvers.

(22) After the Foyer Marc Gentilini, turn right onto a footpath. Shortly after entering the woodland, take another path on the left which leads back down towards Rue Édouard Bouthier. Turn right, then take the first cul-de-sac on the left; at the end of this, a passage allows you to go under the railway line. After the small tunnel, turn right, then immediately left onto Rue du Faubourg Saint Laurent, which leads to Rue de la Gare.

(23) If you wish to reach the station, turn left and continue for about 300 metres.
If you wish to reach the town centre, carry on straight ahead to cross the Yonne and the Île d’Amour via the Pont Saint-Nicolas.
After the bridge, continue along Rue Joubert, which leads onto Avenue Carnot at the Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption. Avenue Carnot is the main street running through Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, where you’ll find all the usual shops (E).
To get to the tourist information centre, turn right. It is situated just before the town’s southern gate.

Equipment: make sure you have good walking shoes and enough water for the day.

Transport.
By train – Sens station; the route is described from Sens station.
In Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, the station (see point (23)) is situated close to the finish.
By car to Sens: there is a large car park above the station at the start of Place Émile Zola.

Shops: you’ll find all the shops you need in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, including a chemist’s, a grocery shop, a bakery, etc.

Accommodation: Villeneuve-sur-Yonne Tourist Office, 4 Boulevard Carnot (next to the town’s South Gate), tel 03 86 87 12 52 – email: accueil.villeneuve@tourisme.sens.com

Villeneuve-sur-Yonne is a small town with a rich heritage, notably featuring two beautiful gates dating from the medieval period.
The banks of the Yonne and the Saint-Nicolas Bridge are also lovely places for a stroll.