After all the amazing cycling along the La Loire River Path Valley, cycling the Gardens of Versailles and the Seine River was next.
For this I based myself for three nights in a great little country guesthouse between Rouen and Paris to explore the area by bicycle. The weather forecast also looked promising, with the Sahara heat upon France that week.
Cycling the Seine River
Although there are plenty of websites about bikeways and the 700km Seine River cycling path, most of cycling is actually done on the main road, and not on a separate bikepath.
And after my first ride near my hotel and around Mantes-la-Jolie I learned very quickly that cycling on the road with all the traffic is no fun in France. So I had to go to plan B. Drive the car to a destination where the cycling route starts and begin the journey from there. It was a good plan for both cycling trips.
P.S. I found this website was the most informative and detailed about the bike routes (after plenty of research).
Cycling around Rouen
And as I like Rouen so much, I thought I would do some cycling there. The cycling path along the Seine River started 7km south of Rouen so I parked my car there and started cycling.
Cycling up to and through Rouen was great and simple. The next 45min on the other hand were a little bit more unpleasant for a cyclist. Even though there was a bikepath, I had to go for 13km through a polluted industrial area were big trucks were going in and out across my route.
In addition the bike ways very dirty, there was no signage and it was generally not well maintained (way too many bumps on the path). Maybe France is overrating some of its bikeways?
I was close to turning around but I pushed through, luckily. Because once I got through all that, the scenery was beautiful. First I went through a line of cherry trees and then the path opened up to a stunning scenery. Plenty of gorgeous little houses and towns with the white chalk cliffs in the background. Just stunning and quite peaceful! And the bikepath improved as well.
On the way back I did my final walk around Rouen and headed back to my country home base.
Cycling the Gardens of Versailles
Cycling around Rouen was nice, however I was excited for some cycling around the Gardens of Versailles (with the car just parked a few kilometres away from the gardens).
The Gardens of Versailles (Jardins du Château de Versailles) cover close to 800 hectares of land. It is definitely a big area to spend hours cycling. At least that is what I did after trying to find an exit at the back of the gardens (which I found but it was closed).
Furthermore, the well manicured area … decorated with parterres of flowers at the back of the Versailles Palace, sculptures around the fountains and neatly trimmed bushes… are walking only and no bikes allowed. It was a shame because this part of the Gardens of Versailles is a very big area on its own. So why walk it if you could have cycled it? Nevertheless I parked my bike, and went for a walk.
As I was in Versailles you are probably wondering if I went to Paris as well? After all it is only 20km away. I have been to Paris a few times already so I decided to leave Paris for another day (and year)!
Cycling in France Summary
Although some of the bikepaths might not compare to the German or Netherland’s quality, I really enjoyed cycling here. You have to do more research to find the best cycle routes but the scenery makes it all worth while. And cycling the Gardens of Versailles is definitely a great way to see the gardens.
And so… After a ride in the morning near Banthelu (my hotel) it was time to head towards Le Havre to catch the ferry to England. With a detour through gorgeous Étretat on the coast.
Also let me tell you.. after cycling 680km this month my seat is finally broken in. Or is it my bum? Either way I am now comfortable and ready for more cycling!
Étretat 
