Bike ride to Versailles

I needed some time to get my thoughts straight, so I took a bike ride from Paris to Versailles yesterday. It’s great to know that you can escape the city without the need to take a car or train trip. Personally, I love the feeling of independence. It’s easy, too: plenty of bike tracks criss-cross the suburbs. The one below is in the centre of Versailles.

I bought the IGN 1:25 000 map number 2314 OT (Paris forets de Meudon). This helped enormously, because it is extremely detailed. You get a massive 1cm for every 250m in real life. I was able to avoid cars almost all day. Also, buying it meant that I had an excuse to visit my favourite shop in the city: Espace IGN, 107 rue de la Boétie, just off the Champs-Elysées. If you like maps, allow an hour or two in here.

The basic route that I took is: Arc de Triomphe - Porte Maillot - Bois de Boulogne - Passerelle de l'Avre (photo above) - Parc de Saint Cloud - Foret Domaniale Fausses Reposes - Versailles. I'd recommend this route to anyone. One or two easy climbs and great views of Paris from up on the western hills.

It was good to be riding my bike. I’m not sure how many kilometres I did, because I couldn’t make my Sigma computer work. Never mind. The air was fresh and the forests had the steely smell of winter. I took it easy.

Having done a “tour of honour” of the lake in the gardens of the Chateau de Versailles, I headed back into Paris, along the wintry Route de L'Impératrice (below) as the light began to fade.