Groundwaters from the Tithonian/Kimmeridgian, Oxfordian and Upper Dogger aquifers, within the eastern part of the Paris basin (France), were characterised using 3H, 14C and 36Cl, and noble gases tracers, to evaluate their residence times and determine their recharge period. This information is an important prerequisite to evaluating the confinement properties of the Callovo-Oxfordian clay formation sandwiched between the Oxfordian aquifer and the Dogger aquifer, currently being investigated by the French nuclear waste management agency (Andra) for radioactive waste disposal. Data presented in this paper are used to test 4 hypotheses : (1) The Oxfordian limestone is isolated from the overlying Tithonian/Kimmeridgian surface aquifer. This first hypothesis is supported by the presence of measurable 3H activities in groundwaters from the surface aquifer (6–11 TU), and by its absence in groundwaters derived from deeper aquifers (<3 TU), as well as by geochemical data from earlier studies. (2) The Callovo-Oxfordian clay sequence in the vicinity of the URL serves as an effective barrier to advective flow and transport between the underlying Upper Dogger aquifer and the overlying Oxfordian limestone aquifer. This second hypothesis is supported by relatively low concentrations of Cl (3.5–78 mg L−1), Na (15–145 mg L−1), Br (0.08–0.4 mg L−1) and 4Herad (0.2–2.3 ccSTP g−1) and slightly higher 36Cl/Cl ratios (2.7–59 × 10−15 at at−1) in groundwaters from the Oxfordian aquifer, compared to those from the Upper Dogger aquifer (345–4027 mgCl L−1; 402–2390 mgNa L−1, 1.8–22.2 mgBr L−1, 1.6–37.2 ccSTP He g−1, 1–5 × 10−15 at 36Cl at−1 Cl). (3) Groundwaters from the Oxfordian aquifer, in the vicinity of URL are pre-Holocene, with residence times exceeding 10 ka. Geochemical and isotopic lines of evidence for this hypothesis include: (a) δ13C values measured on Oxfordian aquifer waters that are close to δ13C of the aquifer matrix, reflecting strong isotopic exchange over several thousand years; (b) noble-gas temperatures that indicate recharge temperatures between 3 and 8.6 °C, lower by 2–7 °C than the modern average temperature in this area; (c) radiogenic 4He concentrations between 0.16 × 10−5 and 2.3 × 10−5 ccSTP g−1 of water, about 2–3 orders of magnitude greater than the 4He concentration of air-equilibrated water. (4) Groundwater residence time for the Upper Dogger aquifer in the vicinity of the URL probably exceed several hundred thousand years. Such long residence times are indicated by the accumulation of radiogenic He-up to 37 × 10−5 ccSTP g−1 assuming a closed system. Primary contributors to uncertainties in interpretation of the data presented in this paper are the lack of : –well-defined 36Cl/Cl input ratio; –knowledge about the 4Herad sources for Oxfordian and Dogger aquifers; –knowledge about transport processes occurring through the Dogger aquifer, and the extensive dilution of initial 14C activities by dissolution/exchange with aquifer matrix. Overall, however, although the data presented in this paper remain semi-quantitative due to inevitable intrinsic limitations of the methods, none contradict the hypotheses of long residence times and aquifer isolation in the vicinity of the URL.