pudgypilgrim
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- voie de tours 2015
Since there is so little information available about the Voie de Tours par Chartres in English, I thought I should post my experience walking this route last Sept. before I forget the details. Unfortunately I only got as far as Cloyes sur le Loir before my broken foot made it too hard to continue, but here's what I would say about walking from Paris this way. This post is about the part from Paris to Épernon.
First of all, the Lepere guide for this route is pretty appalling. Really nearly useless. At first I thought it was just my rocky French, but every time we stopped for help any French person who looked at the book would look, and look again and look up and look at us pityingly. One man said, "I can't say it's wrong. It will get you there if you can follow it, but it's a terribly complicated way to do it and I'm not sure anyone can follow these directions." It does have some use for suggestions for accommodations and it's pretty much all that's out there, though. There are a couple of others but they're seriously outdated.
The first day, from Paris, at first things went swell. We made it to Montrouge much, much faster than I thought we would, but then Lepere became so needlessly baroque (sending you three blocks this way and four blocks that way when you could have just gone right down the street you were on) that one of my companions who was tracking our progress on his phone began to complain loudly that this was crazy and we should just let Siri do it.
So we did, but she's just as whacky, so I'm not going to say anything about getting from Paris to Vauhallan except that you would do best to look at a map and see what looks like the shortest route and then ask someone about the best places to cross the highways on the outer edges of the Paris suburbs.
The Benedictine abbey at Vauhallan is a lovely place to stay the first night, but very busy with all sorts of retreats and such, so reserve well in advance. Also, my companions were surprised at the vegetarian meal--they didn't know most cloistered nuns don't eat meat. But we had the best cheese I had the whole time I was in France. Not everyone is there for spiritual reasons. Our dinner companion was a young man who was a financial planner who was studying for the test to move to the next level in his career. He said it was easier to study there than at home in Paris.
The next day we walked from Vauhallan to Chevreuse. I can't say much about that day because it poured torrentially and we were under the domination of Siri and I had no idea of what we were doing, except that we managed to walk 6 km in the Bois de St Aubin to get about 20 metres towards our goal. You will want to cut through the woods, but look at the signboard with the paths when you enter. It's mostly a huge loop if you don't see the path that cuts off towards St Rémy-lès-Chevreuses. We stayed that night in Chevreuse at Résidence Hotel les Ducs de Chevreuse, because September is a very busy month in this area and we had a hard time finding accommodation even 6 weeks ahead. It's okay but would not be my first choice.
The third day we walked to Rambouillet, again in torrential rain, mostly along the D906. There are many paths you could take going cross country that would be pleasanter and save time, but it was raining so hard we couldn't have seen them even if we knew for sure which ones to take. In Rambouillet, again everything was booked months before so we wound up at the Ibis Budget, a rather austere hotel in a huge shopping center with amenities like a McDonalds. I had fallen and broken my foot and cracked a rib and a bone in my arm the day before (rain had scooped out a big hole under the fallen leaves and my pole and one foot went into it), so I wasn't paying all that much attention to where we were going, I'm afraid.
The fourth day we walked from Rambouillet to Épernon. The Prieuré Saint-Thomas would be the place to stay but they were full up even two months before, so we stayed at the Epi Hotel, a very pleasant place with a very good restaurant, but not actually in town. It's on the southern edge of the town.
First of all, the Lepere guide for this route is pretty appalling. Really nearly useless. At first I thought it was just my rocky French, but every time we stopped for help any French person who looked at the book would look, and look again and look up and look at us pityingly. One man said, "I can't say it's wrong. It will get you there if you can follow it, but it's a terribly complicated way to do it and I'm not sure anyone can follow these directions." It does have some use for suggestions for accommodations and it's pretty much all that's out there, though. There are a couple of others but they're seriously outdated.
The first day, from Paris, at first things went swell. We made it to Montrouge much, much faster than I thought we would, but then Lepere became so needlessly baroque (sending you three blocks this way and four blocks that way when you could have just gone right down the street you were on) that one of my companions who was tracking our progress on his phone began to complain loudly that this was crazy and we should just let Siri do it.
So we did, but she's just as whacky, so I'm not going to say anything about getting from Paris to Vauhallan except that you would do best to look at a map and see what looks like the shortest route and then ask someone about the best places to cross the highways on the outer edges of the Paris suburbs.
The Benedictine abbey at Vauhallan is a lovely place to stay the first night, but very busy with all sorts of retreats and such, so reserve well in advance. Also, my companions were surprised at the vegetarian meal--they didn't know most cloistered nuns don't eat meat. But we had the best cheese I had the whole time I was in France. Not everyone is there for spiritual reasons. Our dinner companion was a young man who was a financial planner who was studying for the test to move to the next level in his career. He said it was easier to study there than at home in Paris.
The next day we walked from Vauhallan to Chevreuse. I can't say much about that day because it poured torrentially and we were under the domination of Siri and I had no idea of what we were doing, except that we managed to walk 6 km in the Bois de St Aubin to get about 20 metres towards our goal. You will want to cut through the woods, but look at the signboard with the paths when you enter. It's mostly a huge loop if you don't see the path that cuts off towards St Rémy-lès-Chevreuses. We stayed that night in Chevreuse at Résidence Hotel les Ducs de Chevreuse, because September is a very busy month in this area and we had a hard time finding accommodation even 6 weeks ahead. It's okay but would not be my first choice.
The third day we walked to Rambouillet, again in torrential rain, mostly along the D906. There are many paths you could take going cross country that would be pleasanter and save time, but it was raining so hard we couldn't have seen them even if we knew for sure which ones to take. In Rambouillet, again everything was booked months before so we wound up at the Ibis Budget, a rather austere hotel in a huge shopping center with amenities like a McDonalds. I had fallen and broken my foot and cracked a rib and a bone in my arm the day before (rain had scooped out a big hole under the fallen leaves and my pole and one foot went into it), so I wasn't paying all that much attention to where we were going, I'm afraid.
The fourth day we walked from Rambouillet to Épernon. The Prieuré Saint-Thomas would be the place to stay but they were full up even two months before, so we stayed at the Epi Hotel, a very pleasant place with a very good restaurant, but not actually in town. It's on the southern edge of the town.
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