Chantilly to Ermenonville Flow · short arc

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fuel stop near Lagny-sur-Marne

   Lagny-sur-Marne sits on the river Marne about thirty kilometres east of Paris, a busy town with an old centre, a riverside quay and a large, unfinished Gothic church, Notre-Dame-des-Ardents, all that was completed of an ambitious abbey church begun in the thirteenth century. The town was an important market in the Middle Ages, part of the network of Champagne fairs, and Joan of Arc fought near here in 1430, shortly before her capture at Compiègne.

   Read the complete Fuel stop near Lagny-sur-Marne write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Chantilly to Ermenonville Flow is where the day begins. Next is Food stop near Crépy-en-Valois.

2. 2. Food stop near Crépy-en-Valois

   Crépy-en-Valois was once the capital of the Valois, the old county whose name passed to a whole dynasty of French kings. Today it is a busy market town of some fifteen thousand people on the plateau north-east of Paris, a natural place to refuel before heading on to Laon and the Aisne valley.

   Read the complete Crépy-en-Valois write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Food stop near Crépy-en-Valois is where this day stops to eat. Next is High point near Creil.

3. 3. High point near Creil

   Creil is an industrial town on the Oise, about fifty kilometres north of Paris, and it would be easy to pass it by. Yet within a few kilometres lie some of the finest forests and châteaux in northern France, and the high ground around the town gives you a good sense of how the river has carved its way through the chalk and limestone plateaux of the Île-de-France.

   Read the complete High point near Creil write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Scenic stretch near Meulan-en-Yvelines.

4. 4. Scenic stretch near Meulan-en-Yvelines

   Meulan-en-Yvelines sits on a bend of the Seine, about forty kilometres north-west of Paris, where the river divides around an island. The old town climbs steeply up the hillside from the water, and from the top you get a fine view over the river, the bridges and the valley. Across the water, Les Mureaux has a long aerospace history, and parts of the Ariane rockets are made there.

   Read the complete Scenic stretch near Meulan-en-Yvelines write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch near Meulan-en-Yvelines, about halfway. Next is Paris / Île-de-France escapes return.

5. 5. Ézy-sur-Eure, on the way back

   Ézy-sur-Eure is a modest town of three thousand on the river Eure in Normandy, close to the border of the Eure and Eure-et-Loir, and its neighbour, Saussay, is a hamlet. The place is a few kilometres from Anet, a small town with one of the most celebrated châteaux of the French Renaissance, built in the 1540s by the architect Philibert de l'Orme for Diane de Poitiers, the favourite of King Henri II. The château, with its elegant courtyard and its famous carved entrance gate, is open to the public, and the story of Diane, who was about twenty years older than the king and ruled his heart for decades, is told in the rooms.

   Read the complete Ézy-sur-Eure, on the way back write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Paris / Île-de-France escapes return sits at 254 km, late in the day. Next is Photo stop near Corbreuse.

6. 6. Photo stop near Corbreuse

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 323 km.