Post by French Mystique Tours on Feb 14, 2011 23:17:49 GMT 1
A bike tour in Paris is great but a bike tour day trip from Paris to go biking in the French suburbs or countryside is a good choice too. I like doing bike tours in Paris as much as I like doing bike tours as day trips from Paris to go biking outside Paris. It's not necessarily that far by train from Paris to find interesting and beautiful places that are also largely off the tourist radar. Some of the western suburbs of Paris provide an interesting day trip and all are within an RER or short SNCF commuter train trip from Paris. This trip report will detail my bike ride through four western suburbs bordering The Seine River beginning with Marly-le-Roi and then on to, Louveciennes, Bougival and ending in Rueil-Malmaison.
The tour begins in Marly-le-Roi. Marly was formerly divided into 2 separate villages. It was a favorite hunting ground for Louis XIV and a place where he decided to build a new chateau, more intimate than Versailles. He bought the 2 villages and created the new city of Marly-le-Roi. Work began on the Chateau de Marly in 1679 under Jules Hardouin-Mansart with gardens designed by Andre LeNotre. It was ready for Louis's arrival in 1686. The chateau was destroyed during the revolution and all that remains today are some foundation stones. The gardens/lawns, paths, some statuary and waterworks were restored and completed in 2007.
Adjacent to the park of the old chateau is the old village. Anyone seeking to find one of those quaint old villages in the countryside with the old buildings and windy cobblestone streets need go no further than here to find what you seek. Of all the towns I visited on this day, this one was my favorite and I think the most charming. It was very quiet the day I was here (don't know if it's always so quiet) and looked like an enjoyable place to have a bite to eat. I noticed an adequate number of cafes and a few restaurants that seemed to have nice looking menus. Let's look at a few photos of old Marly and be charmed by its quaintness.
The tour begins in Marly-le-Roi. Marly was formerly divided into 2 separate villages. It was a favorite hunting ground for Louis XIV and a place where he decided to build a new chateau, more intimate than Versailles. He bought the 2 villages and created the new city of Marly-le-Roi. Work began on the Chateau de Marly in 1679 under Jules Hardouin-Mansart with gardens designed by Andre LeNotre. It was ready for Louis's arrival in 1686. The chateau was destroyed during the revolution and all that remains today are some foundation stones. The gardens/lawns, paths, some statuary and waterworks were restored and completed in 2007.
Adjacent to the park of the old chateau is the old village. Anyone seeking to find one of those quaint old villages in the countryside with the old buildings and windy cobblestone streets need go no further than here to find what you seek. Of all the towns I visited on this day, this one was my favorite and I think the most charming. It was very quiet the day I was here (don't know if it's always so quiet) and looked like an enjoyable place to have a bite to eat. I noticed an adequate number of cafes and a few restaurants that seemed to have nice looking menus. Let's look at a few photos of old Marly and be charmed by its quaintness.