[] Cergy on the river: from Port
[] Cergy to the leisure centre

 
A breeze from the Mediterranean seems to have reached the banks of the Oise, where lively,
cosmopolitan bars and restaurants with their outdoor tables look down onto the boats swinging gently in time to the river's rhythm. Like Port Grimaud, near Saint Tropez, Port Cergy was created in 1989 by Bernard Spoerry. With a hundred moorings, it is the largest river marina in the Ile de France. Its pastiche of imitation pediments, steeples, and a half-timbered tower reproduces the feel of an old-world village.
 

Walk under the arch and turn left to cross the footbridge leading to the leisure centre. At the end of the bridge, go down the steps and turn right onto the path around the lake. Sand excavated from the old sandpits was used to make the concrete for the New Town's buildings; the pits were then filled with water to create artificial lakes for water sports. To the left of the path are the lakes, on the right the banks of the Oise. You can see the Axe Majeur on both sides as you walk along. Follow the loop that takes you past the lakes to return to the marina and then to Port Cergy. Orchards and washhouses: pathways through Cergy Cergy's footpaths, winding through orchards and vegetable gardens, evoke its agricultural past. Hidden away on both sides of the village high street, they lead you on a journey back in time, to the sound of the streams which flow down the hillsides.
The lighting plan: the art of illumination
After nightfall, Cergy shines with a thousand points of light. Along the streets, at the corners,
parks and buildings are quite different from their daytime appearance. To highlight its heritage and provide agreeable surroundings for the lives of its citizens, in 1999 the town of Cergy established an ambitious lighting plan. Gracefully illuminated thanks to the work of lighting designers such as Alain Guilhot, important buildings take on a new dimension at night-time, offering wanderers a new experience
of the town’s evocative streets.

[] Orchards and washhouses:
[] pathways through Cergy

 

Cergy's footpaths, winding through orchards and vegetable gardens, evoke its agricultural past. Hidden away on both sides of the village high street, they lead you on a journey back in time, to the sound of the streams which flow down the hillsides.

As you walk up from the Maison du Tourisme et du Patrimoine (tourist office) past the houses of the Rue Nationale, wisteria blooms exuberantly in the gardens. Go left down the Rue Lévêque,
then take the Sente des Roches to the right: this pebbly track halfway up the hillside always stays dry, and was used when the river flooded as an alternative to the impassable road along the banks of the Oise. As you cross the Sente de la Rousselette, look out for an old washhouse just below you: it was used by local washerwomen up until the 1950s and is still fed by a number of springs which flow down the hillside and into the Oise. Continue along the Sente des Roches, then climb back up on the Sente des Etessiaux.
 

Continue straight ahead along the Chemin du Montoir, through the fields: from this path there is a splendid view of the old village and the New Town. Turn right down the Allée de Bellevue, a former railway line which also offers some nice views as it winds through cultivated fields, kitchen gardens, and the Parc du Ponceau. It forms the dividing line between the old village and the new town. At the end of the Allée de Bellevue, continue down the Rue du Tertre by the side of an old orchard to make your way back to the centre of the village and the Maison du Tourisme et du Patrimoine.