The château de Vincennes

Take in two distinct atmospheres on this Scandibérique stage. Between Ermenonville and Gressy, you ride through vast cereal and sugar beet fields. From Gressy, you follow the towpath track beside the Canal de l’Ourcq, providing a narrow, distinctive setting, quite separate from the string of suburban towns of Tremblay, Villepinte and Sevran along the way. The route leads past La Poudrerie Forest Park, a green haven of 137 hectares, classed as a Natura 2000 area. After Sevran-Livry Forest Park, the route carries on towards Aulnay-sous-Bois, Bondy and Villemomble; along this stretch, the cycle path runs beside the broader section of the Canal de l’Ourcq, surrounded by urban parts.

From Bondy, the Scandibérique leads you boldly southwards along the Seine, through a mix of natural and industrial landscapes, offering a surprising way to cross Paris by bike! At the Rotonde de la Villette, you switch from following the Canal de l’Ourcq to riding beside the Canal St-Martin. Further southeast, the confluence of Seine and Marne Rivers is marked by the startling hotel complex Huatian Chinagora, built along the lines of Beijing’s Forbidden City. Note the industrial heritage visible alongside the cycle path, many old factories converted to new uses: the Saint-Raphaël Factory has become an offshoot of the University of Paris VI, the Eaux de Paris waste-water works a depot for Paris’s spare art works, while the former EDF Coal-fired Power Station, the Rhône-Poulenc Factory and the Hollander Factory are now home to a theatre company and artists’ studios! Reaching Vitry-sur-Seine, admire the Pont du Port à l’Anglais, completed in 1928, replacing the former ferry that linked the banks of the Seine here. At Choisy-le-Roi, take in the old Choisy train station dating from the first half of the 19th century. Note that there’s a ‘service station’ specifically for cyclists on the quays of Choisy’s industrial port!