Vareilles (Yonne) walks

A short, flat, easy walk or cycle (suitable for all types of bikes).Along the way, you’ll discover, amongst other things: the Ferme des Prés (a listed dovecote), the Ru de Vareilles, the village of Pont-sur-Vanne, the old railway line from Sens to Troyes, the Vanne (a Category 1 river), the Paris water pumping station in Chigy, the Lavoir à Moutons, the narrow streets of Chigy, the Fontaine Saint-Léger, and the church in Vareilles.

A walk through the Vareilles Valley to Vaudeurs along a quiet little road, then back via the hilltop hamlets surrounding this pretty valley. A few disused wells along the route, a Bollée windmill and a medieval tower, the Salazar Tower.

All around this route, you will find signs with QR codes telling you about the history of the places you encounter.

From Vareilles, discover the beautiful Champs-Fêtu forest, reforested at the end of the 18th century. You will walk along the wild boar park and arrive at the old Champ-Fêtu farm and its 35-metre giant sequoia.

From Chigy (Les Vallées de la Vanne) to Pont-sur-Vanne, this trail passes through natural sites included in the European Natura 2000 network, which recognises the richness of their flora and fauna. The dry grasslands on chalk offer significant and unique floral diversity. The view over the Vanne valley is breathtaking. Information boards along the route explain the site’s natural riches.

You will discover the village of Cerisiers, the old brick dryer and the Villechétive stud farm. It is a beautiful walk in the forest with a recommended detour to Les Brissots, a museum and cider producer.

This varied route allows you to explore the commune of Dixmont – the seat of a royal castellany in the12th century – and its surroundings. Of particular interest: the Priory of L'Enfourchure, founded by the Counts of Joigny in 1209. Ruined by the wars ofthe 15th and16th centuries, it was rebuilt in the16th century. Also visible along the route is the entrance to a former lignite mine, which was in operation duringthe 19th century.

This easy route takes you on a journey of discovery through Dixmont and its surroundings. Above all, it allows you to step back in time to the spring of 1944 and walk in the footsteps of a member of the Maquis known as "Bourgogne". This route, marked in red and dotted with historical information panels, recounts the attack of 15 May 1944, the lives and struggles of the maquis fighters, as well as the sedentary resistance fighters, who were numerous in the farms, hamlets and villages.

After admiring the church dedicated to Saint-Loup and the wash house dating from 1877, head towards the Hauts de Flacy via the Source Bézeaux and the Flacy forest.

Discover the village of La Postolle: the Church of Saint Joseph and Saint Fiacre, the Bollée windmill built in 1898, and its remarkable trees.

This looping route in and around Rosoy takes in the countryside around Sens, alternating between farmland and woodland. It offers beautiful views of the Yonne valley, as well as the city of Sens and its Cathedral of Saint-Étienne, the first Gothic cathedral. There is also a water collection aqueduct. Don't forget that some of the rivers in the Sénonais region supply Paris with drinking water.

Listening to the Cistercian Abbey of Vauluisant, discover the monks’ irrigation system, the old flour mill, the Saint-Thomas gate, the old farms of Vauluisant, La Singerie and the Vauluisant State Forest.

The path reveals the intertwining of the forest and human activities, agricultural enclaves, hamlets, logging areas, always close to the majestic atmosphere of the forest. From the top of these tall trees, centuries contemplate us. It also shows the first impacts of climate change, with dry ponds, emaciated trees and new species. It invites us to give the forest back its freedom to adapt and migrate at its own pace, to let it take control. The trail aims to restore a sense of confidence in what nature and the forest can achieve with and even without us. It is this forest that the Ruban Vert wishes to help migrate to the next forest massifs of the woods and ponds of the Gâtinais in Burgundy.

This pleasant circuit offers beautiful views of the town of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, thanks to its small climbs. The path across woodland provides shade on one-third of the route during sunny weather.

This route, which alternates between sections along cultivated fields and sections through woodland, offers beautiful views of the village of Passy, the Yonne valley, the lakes of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne and the town itself. On a clear day, you can even see the bell tower of Saint-Étienne Cathedral in Sens.

Animal-themed walking trail created by Year 4-6 pupils at Villevallier Primary School in June 2015 as part of the "Un chemin, une école" (One trail, one school) initiative run by the Yonne branch of the French Hiking Federation.