Le Raincy is a small, leafy town on the eastern edge of Paris, a place of large villas, quiet streets and old trees, surrounded by much busier neighbours like Bondy and Montfermeil. It was once part of a vast estate belonging to the Orléans family, and when the land was divided in the nineteenth century, it was laid out as a residential park for the well-to-do. That gives it a calm, slightly old-fashioned feel that contrasts with the motorways a few kilometres away.
The town has one building that architects travel to see. The church of Notre-Dame du Raincy, built by Auguste Perret in the early 1920s, was one of the first churches made entirely of reinforced concrete, with walls replaced by a continuous screen of coloured glass. It was revolutionary at the time and is now considered a landmark of modern architecture. If you finish early enough, it is well worth a look.
The forest of Bondy, nearby, is a remnant of a much larger forest that once stretched across this part of the Île-de-France, famous in the Middle Ages for its brigands. Today it is a pleasant area of woods and ponds, popular with walkers.
The ride into Le Raincy is all about the eastern suburbs, with busy roads, traffic lights and roundabouts. The A3 and A86 are close, and the N3 heads east towards Meaux and the Marne valley. Expect heavy traffic at rush hour and speed cameras on the main roads.
Fuel is easiest on the arterial roads of the neighbouring towns. The little centre of Le Raincy itself has a handful of terraces, and after the N3 a quiet table under plane trees feels like a reward earned.