The Fauvettes Viaduct

The Fauvettes Viaduct, also known as the Bures Viaduct, is a decommissioned railway bridge from the old Ouest-Ceinture line in Chartres. Located in the towns of Gometz-le-Châtel and Bures-sur-Yvette, it overlooks the Yvette Valley and is close to the Domaine de Saint-Jean-de-Beauregard.

The viaduct was built between 1907 and 1913 to enable the construction of the Chartres-Gallardon-Paris line. Used by the German Army during the Second World War, it was bombed in 1944 by the Allies, which damaged one of its vaults. The place started to become a climbing site at the end of the 1970s, but was then closed.

Work began in late 2003 to shore up and stabilise the structure, and was completed after one year. After reconstructing the arch, installing guardrails and re-waterproofing the structure, the viaduct was reopened to the public to enjoy leisure activities, including walking, climbing and caving training.
Used as a training site for climbing and caving, it is also occasionally employed to train paragliders to open their emergency parachutes while attached to a zip-line.

In this stunning natural environment, you can climb over 130 climbing routes from 7 to 36 meters high. Mostly made up of porous millstone, the Fauvettes Viaduct is ideal for improving your balance, continuity and route reading.