The weekend promises to be summer.
Gardens, parks, expanses of water ... In order to make the most of this sunny Saturday and Sunday, here are some original ideas for outings in Ile-de-France and Oise.
Surprising marshes in Montauger (Essonne)
The departmental domain of Montauger.
LP / Yann Foreix and Jean-Baptiste Quentin
It is the gateway to the marshes of the lower Essonne valley, a world-renowned ecological site. Located a stone's throw from the towns of Evry and Corbeil, the Montauger estate is a green parenthesis on the outskirts of the city. An ode to biodiversity. An astonishing array of landscapes, too. Along 15 ha of walks, we go from an orchard to a meadow, we cross forests, hillsides and reed beds. We focus mainly on the ponds, canals and swamps forming a hypnotic aquatic labyrinth. If you liked this “appetizer”, immerse yourself in the hundreds of hectares of marshes that can be discovered along the hiking trails.
Departmental domain of Montauger, Côte de Montauger, D 153 in Lisses (Essonne).
Park open Wednesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
House of the environment open Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Free entrance.
Information 01.60.91.48.90.
or
essonne.fr
A superb path on the side of a cliff (Val-d'Oise)
Walk on the Chemin des Crêtes between Vétheuil and La Roche-Guyon.
LP / Pauline Conradsson
There are signs that never fail. When an impressionist painter comes to put his easel somewhere, it is often that this place is beautiful. And it makes you want to go and see. Claude Monet settled for several years in Vétheuil, in Val-d'Oise (Val-d'Oise). He tirelessly painted this loop of the Seine, the reflections of the water, and the omnipresent green. Nothing better to observe this landscape than the path of the ridges. Perched more than 120 m on chalk cliffs overlooking the river, it connects the small village of Vexin, where the artist lived, to its neighbor Roche-Guyon. It also has something to seduce the walker with its old streets and troglodyte dwellings. It is even the only municipality in Ile-de-France classified among the most beautiful villages in France.
The course, which follows the GR2 hiking trail, offers a bird's eye view of the river and its valley.
Read our report here.
Starting point: church of Vétheuil or to make the way in the other direction, the castle of Roche-Guyon.
Duration: 2 hours (7 km).
Information:
larocheguyon.fr
or itinerary on
mongr.fr
In Chevreuse (Yvelines), the gentle promenade des Petits Ponts
Chevreuse (Yvelines).
The washhouses in the village were used until the 1950s. LP / Philippe Lavieille
Are you looking for a place to make your marriage proposal, or a declaration of love?
Do not search anymore !
The promenade des Petits Ponts, in Chevreuse, is certainly the most romantic place in Ile-de-France.
Imagine a path along a canal, crossed by twenty flowered footbridges, not two alike.
Beautiful stone houses, and old wash houses.
Bucolic and charming.
This walk is like Chevreuse.
Places that can be discovered by searching a little.
Push through the alleys, raise your head in front of the old facades, cross the bridges and sit on the terraces of the cafes.
You will discover a very lively city, in the heart of a lush valley, endowed with a rich past.
Read our report here.
Discovering the Carnelle forest (Val-d'Oise)
On the GR1 with Parisian journalist Sandrine Bajos.
It is located on the route of the magnificent GR 1 path which surrounds the Paris region.
How beautiful is the Carnelle forest!
The walk from Presles to Asnières-sur-Oise (Val-d'Oise) conceals exotic surprises.
On old quarries, the Blue Lake (rather green) and the Small pond were built, perfect for swallowing a cereal bar while listening to the lapping of the water.
What a joy to wallow near Noisy-sur-Oise in a green and flowery pasture for a picnic.
Gerberoy (Oise), village in bloom
Gerberoy is classified among the most beautiful villages in France.
LP / Arnaud Dumontier
It's hard to find a prettier village around Paris. An hour's drive north of the capital, Gerberoy, with its postcard decor, seems frozen in time with its old red brick and half-timbered houses, and flowering rosebushes running along the facades. It is beautiful and tourists know it. Many of them flock to the village of Oise, ranked among the most beautiful villages in France. Especially at the beginning of summer, when the roses are in bloom and fill the streets with fragrance.
Rather than do like them and arrive in this town by car, parking in the car parks, there is a much more charming way to discover Gerberoy.
More sporty too.
By the hiking trail, which leaves from Songeons, a neighboring town.
With its beautiful church and medieval market, it also has pretty finery.
The route starts in the square of the religious building, where you can park.
We follow the markers, yellow lines, which we can easily spot along this 9 km loop.
Read our report here.
In Courances (Essonne), back to basics
The park of the Château de Courances, in Essonne.
LP / Sarah Andersen
Visiting the estate with its fourteen springs and seventeen water points is a real sensory experience. "Le Sens de la fête" by the duo Toledano-Nakache was filmed in Courances. The site also has a sense of change of scenery. Open your eyes of course, but also your ears to listen to the sound of spring water flowing on both sides. Also use your sense of smell to enjoy the scents emanating from plants, trees, grass, and the ambient freshness. Finally, run your hand through the leaves of the trees, lie down in the fresh grass to reconnect with nature. The real jewel of the park is its Japanese garden. Located on a small islet, it is the preferred location for visitors and owners alike.
Open only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
From 7 to 12 euros.
Information on
domainedecourances.com
One of the most beautiful meanders of the Seine in Samois (Seine-et-Marne)
The banks of the Seine at Samois.
LP / Yann Foreix
All cut stone, Samois-sur-Seine, refuge of souls with a thousand shades of sandstone, emerges from the bowels of the forest of Fontainebleau.
Along one of these majestic meanders of the Seine which becomes misty at the first light of dawn, hides a village which reveals to the patient walker its past steeped in history.
Here dance the centuries.
Something to seduce visitors such as Victor Hugo, Balzac, George Sand.
Then the painters Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot, the poet Stéphane Mallarmé, the composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.
At the bottom of the hill, defying the floods which are nevertheless always winning, exuberant houses born in the 19th century, nicknamed Les Affolantes, impose their crazy charm.
Read our report here.
Seine-Port (Seine-et-Marne), shaped by a marquise
Many artists have visited Seine-Port, known for its charm and calm.
LP / Yann Foreix
Nestled on the banks of the Seine, 10 km from Melun (Seine-et-Marne) and Corbeil (Essonne), Seine-Port (Seine-et-Marne) proudly bears its “village of character” label. On the facades of 30 stone houses from the 18th century, a porcelain tile bears the blue figures of the Duke of Orleans. Here, no building, not even a three-story residence. The village of 1900 inhabitants has 700 residences, most of them with large gardens. As you walk through the streets lined with stone walls, you breathe in the sap of the trees in summer. Canada geese can be heard splashing along the shores in winter. We watch the boules players tap the jack under the 180 lime trees of Place Montesson. Or we have been hunting at the antique dealers' flea market which has been held on the first Sunday of each month in this same square for 40 years. Read our report here.