Green Paris at the end of an RER line: a medieval castle on a wooded hill, a river valley of meadows and old mills, the ruins of a famous abbey, and a château at the end. Or, closer in, the vast park of Versailles on the one day the palace is shut.
South-west of Versailles, the little River Yvette has carved a green valley through the plateau. It is now a regional nature park, the Haute Vallée de Chevreuse, and the RER B runs right into it.
From the terminus at Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, the red-and-white waymarks of the GR11 lead along the valley to Chevreuse, a small town of stone houses and tanneries, and up to the Château de la Madeleine, a medieval fortress whose towers and walls look out over the valley. The château houses the park's visitor centre.
Beyond, the path enters the forest. Continue to the ruins of Port-Royal des Champs, an abbey at the heart of 17th-century French religious and intellectual life, where the young Racine was educated: a path known as the Chemin Jean Racine links it to Chevreuse. Or head to Dampierre, a village with a moated château. Carry water: there is little on the way once you leave the towns.
The GR11 is well marked. Make it a loop back to the RER, or arrange a lift at the far end.
Leave the station and follow the GR11 waymarks along the valley floor, among meadows and water mills, towards Chevreuse.
Wander the old streets and the tanners' channels along the Yvette, then climb the wooded slope above town.
Walk the ramparts of the medieval fortress for the view over the valley, and pick up maps at the park's visitor centre.
Continue through the forest to the ruins and museum of Port-Royal des Champs, or to Dampierre and its château. Return the same way, or loop back to Saint-Rémy.
The gardens and park of Versailles are huge, and the outer park is free to walk on most days.
Beyond the formal gardens, the park stretches for kilometres along the cross-shaped Grand Canal, lined with avenues of trees. Walk the full loop round the canal, then on to the Trianon palaces and the Queen's Hamlet, Marie-Antoinette's model village of thatched cottages. Bikes and rowing boats can be hired by the canal in season.
On Monday the palace is shut but the park is open, which makes it the quietest day for the walk. On fountain-show days and in some seasons the formal gardens near the palace are ticketed; the outer park usually remains free. Check the official site before you go.
RER B runs from central Paris (Châtelet, Saint-Michel, Luxembourg) to Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse in about 45 minutes; make sure your train goes all the way to the terminus.
Saint-Rémy and Versailles are inside the Île-de-France zones covered by a single regional ticket or a Navigo pass.
Combine with the 25 Bosses in Fontainebleau for two very different days in the green belt.
Paris practical notes →Wikimedia Commons photographs are used under their licences; Pexels photographs under the Pexels licence.
