The Seine by Bike - From Bois-le-Roi to Moret-sur-Loing

Welcome to the landscape painter’s village at the edge of the Fontainebleau forest. This charming village between fields and forest was a homestead to many painters who made the place famous throughout the world.Barbizon is the meeting-point of painting and nature. A village where the artists and peasants alike wore sabots, forerunners of a new genre. A small hamlet whose name was given to a famous painting school: the landscape painters. Theodore Rousseau arrived in Barbizon first, Millet joined him two years later, followed by the other Pre-Impressionnists, such as Corot or Daubigny. At the Ganne Inn, they are given meals and lodging in exchange for paintings which decorate the wardrobes, sideboards, fireplaces. These places plunge you back in time, into the atmosphere of the artists who when working on the motifs of Nature, found the most beautiful subjects.

Thanks to it's privileged location on the edge of the forest , Bourron-Marlotte attracts many painters, musicians and writers such as Auguste, Renoir, Cezanne, Corot . Walking through the streets, the houses reveal their antique charm, recalling the atmosphere of the 19th century. The town hall/museum conserves many of the works of the painter's who came to paint for a short while or who came to live here permanently. A tour following the footsteps of the artists allows you to discover their homes.The village has preserved its charms and its quality of life. Those who come to experience the nice ambiance stroll along the small picturesque streets or in the footsteps of the painter’s towards the forest. The artist houses and also the town hall painting collection of 200 works bears witness to an outstanding artistic past during the 19th century and the impressionist era. Literature also had its quarters here Emile Zola wrote in the village and the “Villa chansonnière” was a musical hub. Jean Renoir shot his first movie here and lived for 20 years in the village. Gastronomic venues like the local Bistrot “Le Martingo” which formerly was a meeting point for artists a local honey producer “Delices de la Ruche” sells all kind of Gâtinais honey … Bourron Marlotte in many ways is a delightful village.

The Château de Fontainebleau is a big part of French history! This vast building, in both classical and Renaissance style, is not only famous for witnessing Napoleon's imperial adventure.From the royal charter of 1137 to the fall of the Second Empire in 1870, the Palace of Fontainebleau saw the lives of the greatest French sovereigns from day to day. The original medieval fortress was replaced by a Renaissance palace under the guiding hand of Francois I. At that time, two Italian artists, Primaticcio and Il Rosso vied in talent and founded the first School of Fontainebleau. The Galerie François I, which leads from the royal apartments to the chapel of the Convent of the Holy Trinity, is most original with its décor of frescoes, stucco and carved wood in praise of François I. The Ballroom was completed at the time of the last Valois kings, under Primaticcio’s direction. With Henri IV, the new Bourbon dynasty took over the palace, and built new rooms with interior decoration placed in the hands of the artists of the second School of Fontainebleau. Louis XIII completed the work started by his father. Under the Sun King Fontainebleau continued to be the royal family home, and the Grand Dauphin was born there in 1661. The king’s nieces were married from Fontainebleau, and the Edict of Nantes was revoked there in 1685. Louis XV and Louis XVI would spend the autumn there and initiated new, large scale building works and interior doing-ups. After the French Revolution, Napoleon I found the palace completely emptied of its furniture but intact. He undertook to refurnish the apartments and brought the palace back to its former glory as the home of the sovereign. Napoleon Bonaparte spent his last days there before his abdication in 1814 and departure for the Elba. Louis-Philippe was the first sovereign to order a complete restoration of Fontainebleau. The restoration of the Empire in 1852 gave renewed importance to the palace, and Napoleon III became strongly attached to this home, staying there regularly with his court. Housed in the Louis XV wing, the Napoleon I museum is dedicated to the Emperor and his family, with a large collection of objects from his everyday life, weapons used in military campaigns and gifts he received. The Chinese museum, created by Empress Eugenie, displays works of art from the Far East. The Jeu de Paume court, thought to be the oldest of the three surviving in France, is open to the public with demonstrations and introductory games. Le Nôtre's French gardens, the Queen’s English garden with its Fountain of Diana, the hedge maze and the Cour des Adieux are open to the public all year round. Boat excursions on the Etang aux Carpes or horse-drawn carriage rides are available. The Domain of the Fontainebleau Palace is inscribed at the UNESCO Humanity World Heritage. There is a little train going around the gardens during the touristic season.

Situated close to Montereau-Fault-Yonne the 12th century village of Flagy is crossed by the Orvanne creek and forms an enchanting setting.A real nice and romantic feeling gets you as you stroll over the place. Numerous bridges go over the Orvanne. The local church has on its turret top the head of a pig legend has it that the village’s inhabitants refused help to their neighbour village during the great plague of pestilence in the 15th century and the bishop condemned the village not to have a simple weathercock but also a pig head as symbol on the church turret it spins according to the wind directions. A stroll in this village is worth your time.

“It's not just a forest I want to see, it's Fontainebleau” Marcel Proust. Powerful smells from the undergrowth, the inhabited silence of the forest, shimmering colours and landscapes dictated by the seasons - the visitor delights in the multi-faceted personality of the forest of Fontainebleau.Jumbled sandstone boulders concealing caves with legendary secrets, greenness stretching as far as the eye can see, tinted with golden colours in autumn and bluish with frost on winter mornings - you can almost believe you have joined the immensity of the world! The forest at the dawn of time... The forest of Fontainebleau covers 17,000 hectares, extended by the 3,000 hectares of the massif of the Trois Pignons. Paths have been laid and marked out for 300 km. Sandstone has formed on its silty, sandy soil, throwback to the Stampian sea that covered it at the dawn of time: the grains of sand have cemented over millions of years, causing rock falls and creating caves and boulder fields, gradually eroded by rain and wind. A fresh water lake deposited limestone from shell debris on the sand and the sandstone, protecting the forest sand and keeping it white and pure. Multi-faceted flora and fauna 5,685 species of plant life have been listed: oak, beech, hornbeam, chestnut, locust, birch, maritime and Scots pine and juniper, plus a few curiosities planted by former owners: sequoia, spruce and cedar. Protected wild animals coexist in the seeming tranquillity of the forest: deer and roe deer, wild boar and foxes, squirrels, rabbits, badgers and even reptiles. Although you are unlikely to encounter any wolves, you may perhaps catch sight of some timid elk by penetrating into the depths of the forest, although they are active mainly at twilight and during the night when their kingdom is returned to them. The forest sings with the chirping of 250 different species of birds, but you need patience and a good musical ear to identify them all! Dream landscapes! The forest of Fontainebleau contains a number of outstanding landscapes and sites. Of particular note, perhaps, are the Franchard gorges, the former 12th century hermitage and the viewpoint over the forest and the far-distant plain; the Apremont boulder field and desert, famous for its rock piles; the heights of the Solle, for the panorama at their foot over the racecourse and the magnificent tall beech forest of Gros Fouteau, not forgetting the Croix du Calvaire, dominating the town of Fontainebleau and its château.

The location of the ‘Grand Parquet’ shows all of its advantages over 26 hectares of enclosed space, in the heart of Fontainebleau Forest!Equestrian tracks : • 2 competition tracks to Olympic standard equipped with capillary irrigation (dimensions : 100m x 80m) • 3 arenas with fibred sand surface of 3 600 m², 4 000 m² et 5 000 m² • 1 grass covered pitch of 13 000 m². • Cross-Country track • Gallop tracks with ford and cross country obstacles Stables : • 237 wooden boxes (3 m x 3 m), • Numerous showers for horses, • Farrier • Welcome Desk • Vet Office • Covered and secured storage zone (50 m²) Miscellaneous infrastructures : • 5 meeting rooms (69 m², 58 m², 36 m², 25 m² and 24 m²) • Infirmary • 4 Jury stands Since 2019, the ‘Grand Parquet’ has benefited from the renovation of its equestrian surfaces as well as public zones, stands with disabled access and general esthetic improvements. The 3 Olympic and Paralymic disciplines can be held on-site in a natural and calm environment with a discreet and professional team.

The Royal Square, the City Walls, the 12th century Keep are proud of their medieval origins and shape the architecture of the old city.Though most of the 1356 meters of walls and the twenty towers have disappeared over the years, the two gateways, Porte de Bourgogne and Porte de Samois, magnificently attest its medieval past. The majesty of the gates, the bridge and the banks of the River Loing as that of the Church Notre-Dame make Moret an exceptional site for history enthusiasts, dedicated walkers and painters. While strolling through the centre of town, you will discover superb Renaissance façades, the House of the Barley Sugar, a speciality of the nuns of Moret-sur-Loing since the 17th century or even the house and tomb of Alfred Sisley, the “Moret Impressionist”, who was the first to capture the majesty of light over the city. Numerous tourists come and see the sites painted by Sisley and these sites have been preserved: the Bridge over the Loing, immortalized by the painter ,the Church Notre Dame, the dominating Keep, the towpaths…To those who come from town or villages nearby, come and enjoy a guided tour and don’t hesitate to wander in the narrow streets or along the banks of the river, before enjoying a meal at one of the best restaurants in town. Enjoy rowing a boat or have a walk, canoe down the river, reach Moret by boat, arriving at the port of call. The “Point Sisley”, the Local Museum, the Bicycle Museum will welcome you. And don’t forget the Festivals! The heart of Moret keeps beating.

The Moret Nuns Barley Sugar has been well-known and appreciated for more than 300 years, It was originally made by the Benedictine nuns who, in 1638, founded a house in Moret, under the name of the Priory of Our Lady of Angels.This sweet, unique in its own way, was the delight of the most important people who carried of large quantities when the Court came to Moret. After having prospered under Louis XIV and gone through a period of glory until 1758, the monastery when through a number of ups and downs and disappeared in 1792. Production also stopped during the Revolution and even the secret recipe seemed to have disappeared forever, washed away with the nuns by the revolutionary tide. Luckily, after the bad days, a nun from the former Moret priory, Sister Felicity, came back with her secret to live in the Moret-sur-Loing region. Before dying, she confided the secret recipe to a faithful friend. Later, when other nuns came to live in Moret, the pious confident, in compliance with the recommendations of the deceased nun, lost no time in handing over the precious formula. In 1853, production started to grow again. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the nuns produced and sold their speciality in a corner of the Place Royale in front of the church. The nuns encountered all kinds of difficulties in the 1960’s. They had to stop production and leave Moret in 1972. In 1970, Sister Marie-André handed the secret of barley sugar to Mr. Jean Rousseau, confectioner. Thanks to the association “Produits et Terroir” this centuries-old speciality has been brought back to life and is being produced again. The Moret Nuns Barley Sugar museum in Moret-sur-Loing recounts the history and production of this delicious delicacy. Free tasting and on-site purchasing.

Au confluent de la Seine et du Loing, le village s’anime contre vents et marées, autour de ces bateliers.Au temps de la splendeur de la batellerie, il y avait le long de la Seine, en aval de Paris, Conflans Sainte-Honorine et, en amont, Saint-Mammès. Les deux villes rivalisaient sur le plan économique depuis le XVIIIe siècle. Si la batellerie n'a plus la puissance économique d'antan elle a forgé la commune à ses besoins, à son mode de vie. Aujourd'hui de ce passé, il reste une structure urbaine originale et un développement touristique privilégiant les activités nautiques. Navigation de plaisance et commerciale cohabitent parfaitement avec notamment la création en 2000 d'un port d'escale de plaisance. Depuis les larges quais, aménagés en promenades, vous pénétrez au cœur de l'ancienne cité par des venelles typiques et pleines de charme. Une église romane du XIe siècle, le château de la Croix Blanche du XIIè et tous les bâtiments liés au monde de la batellerie - bourse, ateliers, ancienne écluse - Saint Mammès a su garder et préserver l'authenticité d'un ancien port fluvial. Alfred Sisley, célèbre peintre impressionniste, avait su, au XIXè siècle, immortaliser les plus beaux sites de cette commune, pleine de vie, de ressources et de secrets.

Situé dans le sud de la Seine-et-Marne au cœur de la forêt de Fontainebleau et en bordure de Seine, le joli village de Samois-sur-Seine vous accueille pour vous faire découvrir ses multiples facettes…Samois-sur-Seine, la douce : où les doux murmures des clapotis de la Seine vous bercent et vous transportent, où il fait bon venir se ressourcer, siroter un verre au bord de l’eau, contempler les péniches arrimées, ou laisser le temps au temps tout simplement… Samois-sur-Seine, la rebelle : Samois devient le temps d’un week-end un village détonant où chants tzigannes et rythmes endiablés vous feront presque oublier le sage village au cœur de la Forêt. D’une durée de cinq jours, autour du dernier week-end de juin, le festival de jazz Django Reinhardt regroupe chaque année des artistes de grande qualité, de renommée internationale. Bienvenue à Samois-sur-Seine ! Bienvenue dans ce village exaltant !