Milly-la-Forêt lies south of Paris on the edge of the Gâtinais, a region of gentle hills, sandy soil and woods that has long been associated with herbs and healing plants. For centuries, the villages here grew medicinal herbs, called simples, such as chamomile, mint and verbena, and the tradition is still celebrated in the town's herb market and in a small conservatory of herbs. The village is quiet and handsome, with a medieval covered market hall of heavy timber that dates from the fifteenth century and still stands in the centre.
Milly has a surprising artistic connection. The writer and artist Jean Cocteau lived nearby and, in the 1950s, decorated the small chapel of Saint-Blaise-des-Simples, a tiny twelfth-century building, with delicate drawings of plants and figures in his light, clear line. He is buried there, under a plain stone, and the chapel is a quiet, strange and lovely place, open to visitors in season. The nearby Moigny-sur-École is a village of old stone houses beside a small river, with a calm, forgotten feel.
The ride heads east to Provins, a medieval town in the Brie, where merchants once gathered for the great fairs of Champagne. Its fortified upper town, with Caesar's Tower, a twelfth-century keep, and its ramparts, remain remarkably intact, and a tour of the underground tunnels gives a sense of the town's past. The road there crosses open farmland, with big skies and long straight stretches, before climbing to the old town on its hill.
The riding near Milly is gentle, with narrow roads between wheat fields and woods, and the occasional sandstone boulder beside the road. The roads are well surfaced, and traffic is light on weekdays. At weekends, the Fontainebleau forest, just to the south, fills with cyclists and climbers, so ride with care. In spring, the rape fields turn the landscape bright yellow.
Fuel is easy in Milly-la-Forêt, with a station on the main road and bakeries in the centre. Restaurants serve simple French food, and a plate of local cheese and a glass of wine is the natural lunch. Paris is about an hour to the north.