Medieval walk in Étampes

Starting point and access: Saint-Martin d’Étampes station.
- RER - Line C, terminus of a section coming from Paris.
Take the only exit, Rue Salvador Allende, located on the single platform, and go down the stairs.

In places, you will cross or follow signposted routes. In the description below, signposting is only mentioned where necessary.

(S) At the bottom of the stairs, turn right and walk down a slope running parallel to Rue Salvador Allende.

(1) At the ‘give way’ sign, turn right into Rue de la Digue and go under the railway bridge (red and yellow markings). Follow the road as it winds through a residential area, ignoring the dead-end streets and side alleys. Continue as the street becomes cobbled and narrower (watch out for oncoming traffic) and you will emerge at a junction at the foot of Saint-Martin Church.

(2) Continue along the street opposite and walk alongside a lawn on your right (it is best to keep a little distance from the church so that you can fully appreciate the tilt of its bell tower). Take the^first right, Rue du Cimetière (information sign). Walk past the base of the leaning bell tower (the entrance to the church is through a small door immediately after on the right). Then turn right, walk along the north wing of the church and return to the crossroads at its apse.

(2) Turn left, head down Rue de la Digue and retrace your steps until you reach the junction just after the railway bridge.

(1) Continue straight on along Rue de la Digue (red and yellow markings), following the River Chalouette on your right. At the traffic lights, first turn left then right onto a tarmac path running parallel to Avenue Charpentier. Note on the left the remains of the gate to Manoir Bressault, followed by a stone building known locally as Bastille des Portereaux and marked on the map as Tour du Loup.

Immediately after, cross a tributary of the Chalouette towards a sports ground, turn right and follow the main branch on your left. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and continue along the tarmac path between the two branches of the river. When you reach a small wooden bridge on the right, turn left, cross the main branch of the Chalouette and follow a cobbled lane straight ahead towards the clearly visible Saint-Gilles Church. Cross Rue des Cordeliers, follow Rue de Vendôme, pass a fountain and arrive at the foot of the steps leading to the entrance of Saint-Gilles Church.

(3) Facing the steps, turn right and cross the whole of Place Saint-Gilles. At the end, turn right into Rue Simonneau. At the end, turn left into Rue des Cordeliers. Then turn right into Rue de la Manivelle and then left into Rue Paul Doumer. Cross Avenue de la République and continue along Rue Paul Doumer. Pass Rue Pavée on your left and, at the Carrefour du Moulin Sablon, turn right into Rue de la Vigne.

At the “give way” sign, turn left then right into Rue de la Roche Plate. At the stop sign, go straight on. Pass Rue du Pont d’Anjouan on the right then Rue de la Queue du Renard on the left. At the next junction, turn right onto Rue du Pont Doré (red and yellow markings). Cross the main branch of the Chalouette and continue along a cobbled street.

At the end, cross Boulevard Berchère, pass a chicane on the right and cross the secondary branch of the Chalouette. Turn left and follow the river on your left. At a pedestrian crossing, cross the river again then cross a car park diagonally to the right. Continue along Rue au Comte then turn left into Rue de la République.

At the next junction, turn right into Rue Evezard. Take the^first left, Rue Mauconseil. Reach the apse of the Church of Notre-Dame du Fort and go round it on the right. Come out onto Rue de la République and turn left to find the church entrance gate.

(4) With your back to the gate, cross Rue de la République and then Place du Petit Marché. Pass a fountain. At the end of the square, first turn right then left to enter Impasse des Conilles. Turn back, turn right as you exit the cul-de-sac and keep the square on your left. Take the^first right, Rue de la Juiverie. Go straight on until you reach the Palais de Justice.

Then take a sharp right onto Rue Aristide Briand. You’ll come out onto a square; cross it diagonally to the left, walking alongside the Town Hall. Cross Rue des Marionnettes on the left, then turn left at the corner of the Tourist Office. Go straight on until you reach the apse of Saint-Basile Church.

(5) Continue straight on and walk past the church on your right. At the end of the street, turn right then left towards the station. Cross a wide street and you will immediately reach Étampes station (E).

To get back home:
- RER - Line C, towards Paris and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines or Saint-Martin d'Étampes.
- TER - Line towards Paris-Austerlitz or Orléans.

Train timetables: check the Transilien website.

Good trainers are sufficient for this short urban route.

No water points identified along the route. Bars, restaurants and shops in the city centre, between (3) and (E).

A detailed map is useful (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 16 February 2021.

The four medieval churches encountered are all worth a visit (in February 2021, all were open to the public except, unfortunately, Saint-Basile Church):
- Saint-Martin Church (2). A church built from the 12th century onwards, combining Romanesque and Gothic architectural elements. The bell tower porch was erected in the early 16th century; due to the ground settling under its own weight, it has been leaning since it was first built (a phenomenon identical to that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa).
- Saint-Gilles Church (3). A Gothic church (12th–13th centuries), partly rebuilt at the end of the 15th century. The barrel vault is decorated with frescoes.
- Notre-Dame du Fort Church (4). A fortified Gothic church (12th–13th centuries).
- Saint-Basile Church (5). Church built in the first half of the 12th century, restored in the 15th and 19th centuries.

Apart from the churches:
- A pleasant walk along the various branches of the Chalouette.
- Remains of Étampes’ 16th-century fortified walls.
- Town Hall and Tourist Office housed in Renaissance-style buildings.