Élancourt is part of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, one of the new towns built around Paris from the 1970s to absorb the capital's growth. Its landscape of housing estates, business parks and roundabouts is not the stuff of dreams, but the town has two surprises. One is France Miniature, a theme park where the country's monuments are reproduced at small scale. The other is the Colline d'Élancourt, a man-made hill built from construction spoil and landscaped into a park, offering one of the widest views in the west of the Paris region.
From the top, you can see the Eiffel Tower and La Défense on the horizon, as well as the forests and fields that surround the new town. It is a strange but rewarding spot for a photo, especially in the evening light.
For riders, Élancourt is the threshold of some lovely countryside. To the south and west lies the Haute Vallée de Chevreuse regional park, with wooded valleys, small rivers, châteaux and villages, and beyond it the forest of Rambouillet, once a royal hunting ground. The roads there are narrow and winding, with good surfaces and plenty of curves, and are popular with Parisian motorcyclists and cyclists on weekends. Further west, the route leads towards the Seine and its great loops, with chalk cliffs and the château of La Roche-Guyon.
Traffic in Élancourt can be heavy, especially at rush hour, and speed cameras are common on the main roads. The town has plenty of fuel stations, shopping centres and fast food, so it is a convenient place to fill up before heading into the countryside. Then leave the roundabouts behind and seek out the valleys.