Bike and Barge Tour from Paris to Montargis

Paris:

Embarkation and check-in at 2pm at the Quai de Bercy on the Seine river in the centre of Paris. After a welcome by the captain, crew and tour leader there is time for a walking tour through Paris. After dinner on board there is a first briefing about the barge, bicycles and tour program.

Paris – Evry | Evry – Melun 30km

Breakfast while sailing. You will spend the morning on board to enjoy Paris from the river. Around 9am there will be a safety lecture. After lunch, the bicycle tour starts from the lock of Evry. You will stay along the banks of the Seine river for a while. Destination of your first bicycle tour is Melun, a town which is known as “le Domaine des Reines blanches”, because in former years it used to be the domain of the widows of the French kings.

Melun – Moret-sur-Loing 40km

Today you will cycle through the wonderful forests of Fontainebleau. First destination is the artistic village of Barbizon, where since the first half of the 19th century many painters have found inspiration. At the time, a group of landscape painters formed the “Barbizon School”. You can visit the local museum. After this, you continue your tour to the palace of Fontainebleau, much in favour among the French kings, because of the extensive possibilities to hunt in the surrounding forests. The castle itself houses a museum of Napoleon, among other things. Fontainebleau is also a pleasant town to walk around or to shop. You will find the barge again in Moret-sur-Loing, a charming medieval fortified town, strategically situated on the banks of the Loing River, where painter Sisley found inspiration for his beautiful impressionist paintings.

Moret-sur-Loing – Nemours 38km or 51km

You will stay in the valley of the Loing and visit Grez-sur-Loing, where many artists used to live in the early years of the 20th century. In the charming town hall of Bourron-Marlotte, you can admire a few magnificent impressionist paintings. You will meet the boat again in Nemours. Nemours is supposed to derive its name from the woods (nemora). Gallo-Roman remains to indicate its early origin. The castle erected around 1120AD, now is a prehistoric museum of the Ile-de-France region.

Nemours – Néronville 35km

Breakfast during sailing. Today you will cycle through a wooded area with rugged rocks. Before lunch, you will visit the sculpture garden “Jardin Bourdelle”. In this garden, you can admire some 57 bronze monumental sculptures by the artist Antoine Bourdelle. Around lunchtime you will reach Egréville. This village has been an important commercial crossroads for hundreds of years. Its markets and fairs enjoyed great renown. Final destination of today is rural Néronville.

Néronville – Montargis 30km or 41km

Today you will first cycle to Chateau-Landon, a beautifully situated town, with the Abbey of St. Séverin from the 13th century. Your bicycle tour goes to the medieval town of Ferrières with its old town centre, which has been preserved beautifully. And in the middle of the narrow streets, you find a splendid monastery. Today’s destination is Montargis, even with 15,000 inhabitants the biggest town of the Loiret, after Orléans. Unfortunately, this former royal residence was destroyed by a fire in the 16th century. But the canals are still there. They are decorated with many flowers and give the town a lot of charm. Today there is no dinner on board. You can select one of the local restaurants of Montargis.

Montargis (45km

From Montargis, you will cycle to Château-Renard, where you can visit the ruins of a castle from the 10th century. You will also visit an Apiculture’s Living Museum. There you can see beekeepers and their bees at work, and you’ll be able to sample their delicious honey. Along the river Ouanne you will return to Montargis.

Montargis

End of your tour: Disembarkation after breakfast until 9.30am.

The planned itinerary is subject to change due to nautical, technical or meteorological reasons and other unforeseen circumstances. If there is low or high water and a route cannot be shipped, the captain reserves the right to change the route in view of your safety (this cannot be accepted as a reason for free withdrawal).