Why this ride
247 km from Paris to Paris, about 4 h 10 of riding. The stops in between: Palace and Park of Fontainebleau, Provins, back through Provins and back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Paris day out · Provins
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 247 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 10
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Paris → Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
This part of the ride is 77 km of Paris → Palace and Park of Fontainebleau.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 77 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Paris
Paris is a good place to start a ride and a bad place to ride in. The Périphérique, the ring road, carries more than a million vehicles a day, scooters thread through the lanes with great confidence, and cobbles, tram rails and painted crossings are slippery in the wet. The city also operates a low-emission zone, so check the rules and get the right sticker for your bike before you arrive. If you can, leave the bike at the hotel, ride the metro and save the machine for the morning when you head out.
Read the complete Paris write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Paris is where the day begins. Next is Palace and Park of Fontainebleau.
2. Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is the palace French kings actually lived in, as opposed to the one they built to impress, and for that reason it feels more human than Versailles. Almost every monarch from the Middle Ages to Napoleon III added a wing, a staircase or a garden, so the place is a jumble of styles, held together by its forest and its long ponds. Napoleon called it the true home of kings, and in April 1814 he said goodbye to his Old Guard in the courtyard that is still known as the Cour des Adieux, at the foot of the horseshoe staircase.
Read the complete Palace and Park of Fontainebleau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Palace and Park of Fontainebleau comes up 35 km in. Next is Palace and Park of Fontainebleau.
3. Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Palace and Park of Fontainebleau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
71 km in you reach Palace and Park of Fontainebleau. Next is Provins.
4. Provins
Provins rises out of the wheat fields of the Brie like something from a film set, and the odd thing is that it is almost entirely real. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries this was one of the four great fair towns of the counts of Champagne, where merchants from Flanders, Italy and beyond met to trade cloth, spices and money. When the fairs declined, Provins simply stopped growing, and so its ramparts, its gates and its medieval upper town survived the centuries more or less intact. UNESCO listed it in 2001 as a rare surviving example of a medieval fair town.
Read the complete Provins write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Provins, about halfway. Next is Provins.
5. Provins
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Provins write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Provins sits at 142 km, about halfway. Next is back through Provins.
6. back through Provins
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Provins write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Provins comes up 177 km in. Next is back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau.
7. back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Palace and Park of Fontainebleau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
212 km in you reach back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau. Next is back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau.
8. back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Palace and Park of Fontainebleau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau, late in the day. Next is Paris.
9. Paris
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Paris write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 247 km.
Leg by leg
Paris to Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
Paris → Palace and Park of Fontainebleau is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Palace and Park of Fontainebleau to Provins
Palace and Park of Fontainebleau → Provins is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Provins to back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
back through Provins → back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau to Paris
back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau → Paris is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.