Why this ride
A 246 km round trip from Paris - roughly 4 h 10 in the saddle. The stops in between: Palace and Park of Fontainebleau, Provins and back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Paris and Provins
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 246 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 10
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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 68 km of Paris → Palace and Park of Fontainebleau.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 68 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Paris
It is a gift from the ruler of Egypt, about three thousand years old, and it was set up here in 1836 on the spot where the guillotine stood during the Revolution. Louis XVI was executed on this square in 1793, and so, in the Terror that followed, were over a thousand others. Now the square is a roundabout with fountains, ringed by traffic and framed by the Tuileries gardens on one side and the Madeleine church on the other. The banks of the Seine in this part of the city are UNESCO listed.
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 about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is Provins.
3. 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
about 123 km into the recorded legs you reach Provins. Next is back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau.
4. 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.
5. 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
Back at Paris. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Paris to Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
Paris → Palace and Park of Fontainebleau is 68 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 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Provins to back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
Provins → back through Palace and Park of Fontainebleau is 55 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 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.