Vexin Region Bike Tour

[French Mystique Tours]

One of the most scenically beautiful areas near to Paris lies just to its northwest in the Vexin region. Its gently rolling hills are covered in a patchwork of forests, open fields and pastures bound together by ancient little villages tucked into the folds of valleys or commanding the hilltop heights. A sleepy sense of withdrawl from time fills the air and spreads a hushed whisper of serenity across the landscape. It's a great area to relax and unwind from the stress of urban living so with that in mind I decided it would be a perfect place to go for an invigorating bike ride on a sunny late autumn day. Walking out of the train station in Pontoise you step into a pleasant village square that yields a direct line of vision uphill to the proud church perched high above the town.




They're preparing for the market the next day and setting up the poles to support the canvas covers over the vendors.






There's an excellent boulangerie in the square so I stopped in to grab a sandwich and fruit salad for my picnic lunch later in the day. They've got great croissants too so I grabbed a couple of those tasty treats and downed them to give me a bit of energy to start the ride. Croissants are great energy food, right? It helps if you follow those with a good strong café so I did that too and then started making my way through town on my way off to the countryside. I'm not going to get into the history of places too much as I mostly want to give a glimpse of the look and feel of the region but Pontoise was a fortified place at one point in time and you can see the remains of the ramparts that used to protect what must have been an impressive looking hilltop fortress.




To start the ride I was going to follow the banks of the Oise river for several kilometers.




There's a pleasant road along the riverbank that doesn't have too much traffic and passes through some really pretty residential areas with attractive homes and pretty gardens.




After about 7 kilometers I arrived in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise.




Auvers-sur-Oise is a well known day trip from Paris. It is where Vincent Van Gogh spent the last two months of his life, arriving on May 20, 1890 and dying on July 29 at the age of 37. He was prolific during his brief stay, creating 70 paintings in 70 days, and there are plenty of places to visit and learn about the life and career of this famous artist. Here's the Auberge Ravoux, where Vincent lived in a tiny room on the upper floor.




Wherever Van Gogh painted a scene in town there will be a little plaque (nineteen in total) showing his painting so the visitor can compare and contrast the present view with Vincent's depiction. The town was also a haven for other well known artists of the time, such as Daubigny, Corot, Cézanne and Vlaminck.

The auberge is open for visits as are other sites and attractions in town but as I had mentioned I was only interested in a scenic bike ride of exploration. The fall foliage was just past its peak but still had plenty of color to display.




There's a little park with a statue by the famous sculptor Ossip Zadkine. It was inaugurated in 1961 and shows the artist with his easel and utensils.




I moved along out of town and after a few more kilometers turned off the road following the river. It started to become quieter and shortly I arrived in the village of Valmondois.










It's a quaint and polished little village and dare I say maybe even a bit posh. They've got a nice looking restaurant that appears to be in someone's home and in warmer weather they seat diners outdoors on the terrace in their front garden.








The proprietors must be a bit whimsical and humorous judging by the cartoon displays hanging on the gates.




In the below illustration the grieving widow says ''To think how much he used to like dining at Ratapoil''. The doctor responds ''I just received the results of his last meal''.




In the next illustration the nervous diner says ''It's a funny decor''. The owner responds ''It's very sentimental....it's our first client''.

[French Mystique Tours]

Moving out of town I rode through a little forested area and then happened upon an old mill so I decided to take a look.




Visitors are encouraged to smile as they enter the property.








I passed through the little hamlet of Verville.








Leaving Verville I encountered the first bits of more rural scenery.






There was a pretty châteaux behind this wall but all I could see was the top of it.




Entering Nesles-la-Vallée.










On December 1, 1783 Jacques Alexandre César Charles and Marie-Noël Robert landed their hydrogen filled balloon here after departing from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. It was the world's first hydrogen balloon flight. I'm telling you that because it's the only thing of any interest in the historical annals of Nesles-la-Vallée.

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Out of Nesles and into the countryside.




So as I'm standing there taking my camera out in preparation to take the above photo a car was approaching me and slowing down, as though they were about to ask me a question. The driver stopped and rolled down his wondow and I figured he was going to ask me for directions. A guy in his early 20's says hi to me and I say hi back to him, waiting for him to state the reason for his stopping to talk to me. He looks at me and says ''There's a lot of racism in France''. OK, I thought to myself, that's an unusual introduction. ''Well'', I said, ''there's racism all over the world. But I don't think it's worse in France than it is anywhere else''. I don't think that's the response he was expecting and we both just sat there staring at each other, me awaiting his next remark. I think I threw him off his train of thought and he said ''OK then.....maybe......I don't know. Have a nice ride''. ''Thanks, I will'' I replied and off I went thinking to myself what a strange encounter that had been.

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Entering the village of Labbeville.








Here's the 17th century Château de Labbeville.




And the 12th to 13th century Eglise Saint-Martin, restored in the 19th century after a fire.







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Then I entered a forested area.






There were pastures here and there along the roadside, with a few roaming horses or grazing cattle.






Entering Vallangoujard.






Every town and village in France seems to have a 12th to 13th century Eglise Saint-Martin. Here's the one in Vallangoujard.




It's rather ordinary on the exterior but apparently the interior is quite ornate with lots of period detail. I didn't see it though. Bikes aren't allowed in the church. There are a couple of gallo-roman sites in town and several others are scattered throughout the region, much like the Eglises Saint-Martin. Everyone's got one.










It was at this point in the ride that the scenery changed. Up to this point I had ridden through a lot of villages and forests and the occasional pasture but now I was approaching open country where fields of crops stretched out all around.

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You'll get to see my annoying shadow a lot in my photos.








Farmers are still busy at work before the winter sets in.




That was a great little stretch to ride on with all that wide open space and nothing but the road stretching out in front of me. Back to village life entering Epiais-Rhus.






Epiais-Rhus has the previously mentioned gallo-roman sites but this town seems to have been one of the more important places in the region and had a theater, baths, temples and a forum. I needed someplace to eat my lunch and I wanted someplace a little scenic and atmospheric and the steps of the church in the village square seemed the perfect spot.




It's not an Eglise Saint-Martin bur rather an Eglise Notre-Dame, equally as common. However, this is a rare Renaissance style church, dating to the late 16th century.










Here's my lunch view sitting on the church steps.






After lunch I rode out of the village and continued onward.






Maybe if I reach my camera off to the side I can get a pic of this rustic fencepost with landscape in the background without getting my annoying shadow in the photo.



Maybe not. Why bother trying anymore.












Entering Grisy-les-Plâtres.

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Through a brief stretch of forest.




And back out to open country with some beautiful distant views.














It's time for the sugarbeet harvest.








Entering Bréançon.






And then back into a nice stretch of countryside.
















And entering the town of Marines.




With a popuation of some 3,000 residents Marines is the largest town in its environs. Known as a Chef Lieu de Canton (chief town of its canton) it is the commercial magnet for nearby villages and has the most stores and services which sort of makes it the most important town in the area, a role which it has historically held. Since I haven't given you the history of any towns or villages so far I'll give you the history of Marines. The history of Marines is more or less the same history as other nearby towns and villages since the same events affected all of them.

Many prehistoric sites are found in the area dating from as old as 3,000B.C. to 4,000B.C. Then there is the typical follow up of the gallo-roman era. Then the Germanic invasions started around the 5th century followed by the viking invasions a few centuries later until 911 when The Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte was signed, granting the vikings the territory of Normandy and peace returned for a few centuries. It was around this time that the commnity of Marines began to develop. That is, until The Black Plague showed up in 1348 just in time for the start of the Hunded Years War with England.

Things finally started getting better again in the early 16th century and prominent markets and fairs were held and important people were attracted to the town. In the early 17th century a close associate of King Henry IV bought the Domain of Marines. In the 18th century it benefited from its position on the royal route between Paris and Dieppe. Then came The French Revolution and let's just say that much of France sufferred at that time and Marines was no exception. The railroad arrived in the 19th century in conjunction with the industrial revolution, drawing rural workers to urban locations like Paris, and towards the end of the century it settled into its role as a quiet country town. So there is the history of Marines and the region in general in a very brief and undetailed version.

If I didn't have such short daylight hours I would have biked around Marines and taken a few photos but daylight was limited and I had a train to catch back to Paris and several kilometers to go so I continued on out of Marines......



…..and back into the countryside.

[French Mystique Tours]

I can see the village of Santeuil in the distance.










The village church sits on a hilltop above the town and the village spills out down the hillside below it.






I guess Santeuil could be said to have had an important impact on the region due to its association with the former resident Agnès de Montfort. She vowed to build 17 churches if her husband returned from The Crusades and Santeuil's church Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul is one the best preserved remaining examples of her construction effort, as it was undamaged during The Hundred Years War.

Santeuil has a train station on the line to Paris.








One last look at Santeuil.








Off to my left I could see an elaborate looking château.




I could tell by its architecture that it was likely built in the 19th century and sure enough research revelealed that it had been built between 1852 and 1870. It is called The Château de Dampont (or the Château du Héron) and its style is a romantic interpretation of the Renaissance châteaux of the Loire. In 1920 a park was developed around the château inspired by 18th century motifs. I'm assuming it's privately owned and not open to the public.




I briefly rode through the village of Us and then continued on towards my destination. Here are a few photos I took towards the end of my ride.












And that is the end of the ride. I know you didn't learn anything but I hope you found it pretty enough. I certainly did and I plan on further exploring the Vexin region as there are many other beautiful rides waiting for me to discover them.