Crécy-la-Chapelle to Coulommiers €300
We start this tour in the little medieval town of Crécy-la-Chapelle, which is referred to as "the Venice of the Brie region" due to the canals that cut through town. Like Moret-sur-Loing, this town and others nearby were the haunts of many international artists from the late 19th through the early 20th centuries. Also like the Moret-sur-Loing Tour, unless you are an art historian you've likely never heard of any of the artists that were drawn to this area. But anyway, after leaving Crécy we'll leave the art behind and see some lovely countryside landscapes (no wonder painters were attracted to the area) and cycle through the usual quaint little villages before we finish up our tour in the town of Coulommiers, where we'll briefly cycle through its pretty little town center. Here you will have the option of cycling uphill and outside of town to see Coulommier's Knights Templar Commandery (exterior viewing only) or you can pay a brief visit to its little museum, which has an unusual little religious grotto and a very unusual and interesting original apothecary preserved from the 19th century (you'll see that doctors did actually prescribe weird and unusual treatments that today seem like something from the witch doctor's handbook). This tour does have hills so is only suitable for experienced cyclists, but like other tours with hills the majority of the terrain is gently rolling and the hills are not long or arduous (with one or two brief exceptions, that hill climbers will appreciate).
Click HERE to see the Tour Summary for this tour, which will provide you with a sampling of photos of some of the sights you will see on this tour.
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Meeting time and train times: We will meet at the bike rental store at 8:45AM and take a 9:31AM train leaving Paris and arriving in Crécy-la-Chapelle at 10:22AM. We will take a train departing from Coulommiers at 3:36PM and arrive in Paris at 4:42PM.
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Total round trip train time: 2 hours
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Touring Time: 5 hours 15 minutes from train arrival in Crécy-la-Chapelle to train departure from Coulommiers
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Distance round trip from bike store to train station: 2.5km / 1.5 miles
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Touring Distance: 30km-35km / 18.5-21.5 miles
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Total biking distance: 32.5km-37.5km / 20-23 miles
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Level of Difficulty: Moderate. The topography on this ride is gently rolling to hilly. This is a ride for those who are physically fit, regular bikers that can handle a few hills with ascent times of 5 to 8 minutes. A tour for experienced cyclists.
Additional Per Person Costs:
€10 (train)* + €30 (bike rental) *(unless you have a transportation pass covering zones 1-5)
This tour is only for experienced cyclists used to riding steep hills