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Departure from Massy-Palaiseau station (RER lines B and C). On the footbridge, take exit 2 Massy-Villemorin (line C side).
(S/E) At the bottom of the stairs leading down from the footbridge, cross the avenue at the traffic lights, then Place de l'Union Européenne, and continue straight ahead into Mail Henry de Vilmorin. At the next junction, continue straight ahead on the concrete path and climb gently, keeping to the right-hand lawn. At the next intersection, turn right and pass a small square on your left (palm trees). Go through a chicane, cross the street and continue straight ahead on a winding cement path. Cross another street, continue in the same direction and walk along a playground on your left.
(1) Turn left onto the next street (Rue Robert Schuman). At the end, turn right onto Rue des Ruelles on the right-hand pavement. At the traffic lights, cross Avenue du Président Salvador Allende, then first turn left then right and head towards Saint-Fiacre Church (a modern church that is easy to spot).
Walk past the church on your right and continue along a cement path at the foot of a building on your left. At the next intersection, continue straight ahead on Sentier du Vignoble, which slopes slightly downhill. At the bottom, take a first turn right then left and take Rue Robespierre. When this street turns right, continue straight ahead, pass a barrier and follow Sentier des Sorbiers.
(2) At the next junction, turn right onto Sentier Vert de Massy. Walk between the small buildings on your left and the small houses (numbered 54 to 38) on your right. Cross a street (Rue des Fourmis on the map) and continue straight ahead, still between small buildings and houses. At the end (cedar tree on the right), turn left, go through a chicane and come out onto a roundabout. Then take the first right, Boulevard du 1er Mai. At a three-way junction, turn left into Rue de Versailles. Cross Rue du Métro Charonne and then Rue Jeanne d'Arc and you will arrive at Rond-Point Salvador Allende.
(3) Then take the second left, Avenue des Martyrs de Soweto, and follow it on the right-hand pavement (shared with a cycle lane). Walk along the left-hand side of the Lycée Fustel de Coulanges buildings.
At the next intersection, cross the avenue coming from the right in several stages. Then leave Avenue des Martyrs de Soweto and turn diagonally into the Coulée Verte (sign, barrier). Go up a paved path and, at the top (playground opposite), turn right at an acute angle towards the RER station (sign). Climb a staircase with a central handrail and, on the first landing, turn left (yellow arrow). After a few metres, turn right at an acute angle. Then turn left (benches on the right), cross Avenue de Verrières and arrive at the foot of Massy-Verrières station.
(4) Turn right and go under the railway bridge. Continue straight ahead on Avenue de la Gare. After about 150 metres, at a crossroads (large house opposite), turn left at a 90° angle onto Chemin des Sablons, a cobbled lane leading uphill. Turn right at the first street, Rue Eugène Crétel. Cross Rue Mangeon and continue straight ahead until you reach a square. Then turn left onto Allée du Clos d'Origny, which winds between the buildings (note the old bandstand on the left).
(5) At the end, turn right (Rue André Chénier on the map). At the next intersection, first turn left then right and enter Rue Pasteur (private road accessible to pedestrians). At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue Appert and ignore the side streets.
At the roundabout, continue straight ahead onto Rue de Lisbonne. At the end, cross the avenue at the traffic lights and make a first turn left then right onto Rue des Canadiens. After a few metres, climb a flight of steps on the right and take a wide alley between shops and restaurants (the map is unclear at this point, so follow the satellite view). Cross Place de France diagonally to the left and pass between a newsagent and an optician. Then turn right onto the forecourt of the Opera House (the glass roof is clearly visible).
(6) Pass under the glass roof and go around the Massy Opera House on the left. After going down a staircase, follow Rue du Théâtre on the right. Cross Allée Barbara and walk along the right-hand side of a modern chapel, easily recognisable by its bell tower. At Place Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, first turn right then left to cross Avenue du Noyer Lambert and continue straight ahead on a tarmac path starting with a car park on the left-hand side.
Walk past a building on your right (the tarmac gives way to a stabilised path), pass under an arbour, ignore a path on the right and pass under a second arbour. At the three-way junction, turn left and go around Lac de la Blanchette on the left. After a slight climb, go up some steps and take the bridge on the left over the four-lane road (Avenue du Maréchal Koenig). Continue over the bridge that crosses a four-lane exit ramp and enter Parc Georges Brassens.
(7) Take the first path on the right, Allée Lorete da Fonseca. At the fork just before the Jardin Mellifère, follow the narrower path on the left. Ignore a path coming from the right and walk along a laurel hedge on your right. Pass a playground on your left, then another on your right, and you will arrive at the lake lined with reeds. Then turn right to walk along the lake on your left. Take the second path on the right and walk along a playground on your right. At the crossroads immediately ahead, continue straight ahead. Pass the swings on your right and, at the fork (bench), turn left. Then turn right to take the bridge over the four-lane road again.
At the end of the bridge, turn left and go down a flight of steps. Walk past a playground on your right and turn right to walk past a building on stilts on your left, at 2 Allée de Pologne. At the corner of the building, turn left and go down a tarmac path. Then follow Allée de Pologne on your right, past a car park on your left.
(8) At the end, turn left onto Voie de Wissous. Pass Espace Jean Mermoz and, at the stop sign, turn right onto Rue de Longjumeau towards the town centre. When this street turns right (there is a memorial to the liberators of Massy in 1944), continue straight on Rue Fustel de Coulanges (there are a few old houses here). At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue du 8 mai 1945 and walk down to the former home of Fustel de Coulanges at No. 80.
(9) Turn around and walk back up the street. After about 75 metres, turn left under a porch and follow Rue Normandie-Niemen. At the end of the street, cross Rue de la Division Leclerc and go up to the forecourt of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine Church (modern church and old bell tower). Go around the church on the left and walk along a street on the left. Go down a staircase and you will come to a small square. Turn left, walk past the foot of a statue of Toussaint Louverture, go under a porch and you will come to the top of the steps opposite the Town Hall. Turn right and go down a staircase. At the bottom, turn left to cross Avenue du Général de Gaulle at the pedestrian crossing.
(10) Go around the Town Hall on the right, go down a flight of steps and you will come to a small square with a cluster of blue, white and red masts. Go down a second staircase to reach the edge of the Bassin des Goachères. Walk around the basin in either direction (clockwise on the map), passing a cultural centre on the west bank and a restaurant on the east bank. Go back up the steps to the small square with the tricolour masts, then take the steps to Avenue du Général de Gaulle.
(10) Follow the avenue on the right. At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue de la Division Leclerc and go under the railway bridge. Go around the Nelson Mandela roundabout and take Avenue Carnot opposite. Walk up the avenue on the right-hand pavement, passing car parks and Massy-TGV station on your right, and you will find Massy-Palaiseau RER station on your right (S/E).
Visorando member
Difficult 
Moderate 
Association / Club / Walk leader
