French Mystique Bike Tours

Our first stop brings us to The Menier Factory, the worlds first automated chocolate bar production facility. Five generations of the Menier family oversaw the construction and operation of one of the worlds largest chocolate production facilities of the 19th century. The factory exemplifies the grand ideals of 19th century industrial era philanthropy whereby the factory was the source of enlightenment and liberation for the workers. Its grand architecture is one expression of this ideal but its defining legacy is the workers village constructed for its employees. The village was the Menier's attempt to improve the lives of their workers by providing them affordable but attractive homes with gardens, education, healthcare, decent wages, entertainment, retirement housing and everything needed for the basics of day to day living. Today it is a charming village of attractive brick town homes and buildings that leaves the visitor nostalgic for a time that once was.

Next, we will ride to the stately château of Champs-sur-Marne and visit its Le Nôtre-inspired gardens.

Along the river we'll learn about guinguettes (famous drinking/dancing establishments), gangsters and some other interesting historical tidbits. Mostly we'll enjoy a beautiful ride along the banks of the river, lined with willows, flowers and 19th century villas.

After arriving in Chantilly we'll pedal out of town, saving our visit to the château for the end of the tour. First we'll spend some time riding through villages and forests.

After a pleasant ride through villages, fields and forests we'll arrive at one of our highlights for the day, the medieval town of Senlis. Senlis has been featured in several films set in the medieval epoque and if you got rid of street signs, lights and electric wires it probably wouldn't look much different than it did hundreds of years ago. It dates to Roman times and much of the Roman ramparts and later medieval ramparts still remain.

Senlis is noted for its cathedral.

After our visit to Senlis we'll ride through some more villages, fields and forest.

And our final destination of the day will be the Château de Chantilly.

We start in the town of Crépy-en-Valois with its quaint cobbled streets, impressive gothic churches, medieval castle and ramparts and an abundance of charm.

Leaving town we enter a valley of forests, meadows and fields dotted with villages touting historic churches. The valley was once the realm of a fairy kingdom in ancient times.

Out of the valley we ascend the heights of a large agricultural plateau to visit some Roman ruins comprised of a small amphitheater, temple and bath. The next part of our ride will take us through the Forest of Compiègne, long a royal hunting ground, where we'll stop by a charming village that was formerly a fortified farm and still boasts a gothic church.

Next we visit one of Frances most spectacular looking châteaux, Pierrefonds. It's no wonder the château is the setting for the BBC television series Merlin, as a more mythical, fairytale looking château would be difficult to find.

After some more riding in the forest, visiting a lovely village on the way, we arrive at Compiègne, a former royal town with a prestigious château built by the Louis XV. The château is now a museum featuring apartments from the 18th and 19th century, a museum of the Second Empire and an automobile museum. The town is loaded with charm with its windy cobbled streets and ancient buildings in the heart of the old town. There are also several notable churches and its impressive town hall and clock tower.

The château and town of Fontainebleau were traditionally one of the four main places of royal residence for the kings of France. This importance is reflected in the both the style of the town's architecture and the size and grandeur of the château. We'll explore the lively cobbled pedestrian streets, full of cafés, restaurants, food stores and boutiques, and enjoy exterior views of the château.

After leaving town we ride through the cool green forest to Barbizon, famous as the founding place of the 19th century Realist art movement. Its famous residents Jean-François Millet and Théodore Rousseau, whose works can be found in Paris's Musée d'Orsay, attracted other noted artists of the day (Monet and Sisley among them) and the works of these artists gave birth to the Impressionist art movement.

Leaving Barbizon we ride through some lovely country villages and agricultural fields, passing a few impressive but unknown châteaux on the way.

Our final major destination is Milly-la-Forêt, formerly a walled medieval town. In Milly we'll learn about medieval medicinal herbs and Saint Blaise, whose use of the herbs helped ease the suffering of lepers. We'll also learn a bit about French icon Jean Cocteau and visit the tiny chapel he decorated and transformed into a magnificent work of art.

We finish with some more countryside riding before arriving at the train station to return to Paris.

We start in the medieval town of Vernon where we will buy our picnic supplies.

After Vernon we'll pick up a bike trail to Monet's house and gardens at Giverny where you'll have the opportunity to do a one-hour visit of the house and gardens on your own.

After you have enjoyed the house and gardens we'll leave the tourist crowds behind and begin our journey into the tranquil and scenic countryside of the Epte river valley. About 10km after leaving Giverny we'll stop to have our picnic lunch next to this beautiful 18th century mill on the banks of the Epte River.

After our picnic lunch we'll rejoin the dedicated bike trail that we'll enjoy riding on for the rest of the day. The bike trail will take us through a scenic valley and along the way we'll pass by small villages and hamlets.

We'll pass by lovely meadows and the occasional chateau.

The destination for our journey will be the medieval town of Gisors. Gisors is a lovely and lively little town famous for its 11th to 12th century motte and bailey type stone fortress.

We start in the town of Villers-Cotterêts, birthplace of writer Alexandre Dumas (The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo) and where Francis I built a château and signed a decree proclaiming French to be the official language of the kingdom.

We move into the countryside and shortly after we stop in the village of Vez to view its impressive medieval keep. Just down the road we pass a picturesque abbey ruin and ride through several charming villages and some scenic countryside before arriving at the lovely village of Morienval, whose gothic church is noted for being among the first to use the ribbed vaulting technique and which displays several medieval and Renaissance statues.

Next we'll visit some Roman ruins comprised of a small amphitheater, temple and bath complex. From the amphitheater we'll ride on designated scenic roads through the countryside and charming villages.

Our journey ends in Crépy-en-Valois. Crépy-en-Valois is a little gem of a medieval village with quaint streets, old buildings, gothic churches and a medieval castle and ramparts.

An "off-the-beaten-path" circuit where you'll see a side of Paris you'd never find on your own (and which many Parisians I know have never seen). This circuit will take you through the eastern section of Paris (the Belleville and Ménilmontant neighborhoods) to show you "the real Paris" of your average Parisian, and it's just as beautiful and interesting as the main central Paris tourist sites. You'll absorb the full spectrum of Paris's vibrant and eclectic neighborhoods and have your own personal experience of finding those elusive, undiscovered gems you thought you'd never see.

A circuit focused on the primary central Paris sites and attractions (ex. the banks of the Seine, The Louvre, The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Musée d'Orsay, The Latin Quarter, Luxembourg Gardens, The Panthéon, etc.). You'll also get off the beaten path and see some of those quaint Parisian side streets you've been dreaming about, which are usually just a couple of blocks away from the main tourist trail. You'll see central Paris's main tourist sites, as well as its hidden away side streets, while adhering to the French Mystique Tours philosophy of offering a unique bike touring experience.

Touring distance and sites seen will vary according to your cycling speed (you cycle at your own pace) but you will most certainly enjoy the lovely and lush banks of the Marne river with it's beautiful villas and depending on your cycling pace the Bois de Vincennes with its shady forest paths, small lakes and floral gardens (and maybe even the medieval Château de Vincennes) as well as one or two of the famous guinguettes on the banks of the Marne river are options at your disposal.