Cathryn
Legendary Member
- Location
- Marlborough, Wiltshire
Just back home after a fantastic little adventure in Normandy! My husband, son (aka Pog, 14) and I rode from Dieppe to Paris and back over four days of cycling, with two days touristing in Paris. I'll do a brief little write-up below! I planned the whole thing on cycle.travel and, as ever, it didn't put a foot wrong. I made the mistake of changing one day's route to make it shorter by going with the komoot-suggested route. It put us on a very inappropriate road - that might be fine for roadies but for tourers with a teenager, it definitely wasn't. I won't cheat on cycle.travel again 
My original plan was to do very different routes to and from Paris. I originally wanted to do Le Havre - Paris - Caen but the ferry sold out whilst I dithered. I then considered a return route via Rouen but it was just too many miles for the time we had available. In the end, our return route was probably about 75% the same as our Out route. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this, seeing familiar places, knowing where we were going etc. It wouldn't be our first option, to retrace our steps, but it was actually really nice.
Thursday 4th
Out at 6am, drove to Newhaven. Parked the car at Sainsburys, just a mile from the port. (You can reserve places via Justpark). Got a bit wet waiting to be let on the ferry but we were finally off. A rough little crossing but the weather in Dieppe was significantly nicer than that in Newhaven and I was utterly thrilled to be back in France after 18 months. I flipping love France. Sang all my way into town, to the mortification of my son. Stayed at the Ibis Budget (fitted all three bikes in our little room) and then did some exploring. My first time in Dieppe, really liked it. Reunited with dear old friends Orangina and Petits Ecoliers. Picnic on the beach and then zzzzz.
Friday 5th - 68 miles to Gisors.
A grey start but we were upbeat. Rode the astonishingly good 50km bike path all the way to Forges-les-Eaux, what a dream. Stopped at Neufchatel-en-Bray for a crepe snack before panicking at how slowly we were progressing. Husband not feeling great so we were very slow. After Forges, we were off the official route and riding on lovely quiet French lanes. Big hill into Beauvoir-en-Lyons and then across the plateau, buffeted by side winds. Not cold though - my arms briefly came out for the first time in 2024. Plunged down the hill and into Gisors. Hotel Moderne at the station was much nicer than I'd expected, with secure bike storage and a delightful gentleman on reception. Husband not very well, so Pog and I went into town for pizza and brought him some back. A long, hard first day but pretty solid overall. Three punctures!!!! Two for the husband (the second was when the patch didn't adhere properly) and one for me. Pog smug.
Saturday 6th - 56 miles to Paris
Lovely start through pretty Norman villages. Lovely watching the stone get paler as we got further from the coast. Little bit of gravel near Thermericourt. Lunch on a wall outside a supermarket at Vigny, everyone in decent spirits. A sizeable hill out of Saillancourt and then boom, just ike that the countryside was over and we were in the suburbs. And so began 25 miles of superb bike infrastructure. We either had excellent bike paths or very quiet lanes all the way into Paris centre.Crossed the swirling, slightly scary Seine at Conflans and then had an interesting few miles on forest paths through the lovely forest of Saint-Germaine-en-Laye. Out into the VERY fancy area of Maisons Lafitte, through quiet residential areas and then into the urban jungle of Nanterre and La Defense. Again, superb bike lanes kept us calm and safe. Over the final bridge and there, ahead of us, the Arc de Triomphe!! Utterly thrilled to arrive! On through Paris to the Eiffel Tower for photos! And then aong the Seine to our Airbnb in Boulogne Billancourt. The riverside bike path was flooded in places due to all the rain but there were many safe options for us!
Sunday 7th and Monday 8th - Touristing
We did all the usual stuff as it was Pog's first time in Paris. He loved it. We walked miles. The weather was glorious. Paris was glorious. Paris is under a LOT of construction for the Olympic Games but it's going to be FANTASTIC!!! Really excited to watch it. Paris highlight....ice-cream at Berthillon. Probably the best sorbets I've ever had in my life. (The photo is the loo at Gare du Nord. Well worth a euro).
Tuesday 9th - 62 miles to Amecourt.
Getting out of Paris was as easy as getting in - this time, we rode through the lovely Bois de Boulogne and then took a loop round a bend in the Seine through Herblay, which was a gorgeous stretch following the river on quiet, smooth roads edged with really nice houses and plentiful picnic stops. Really nice. Back retracing much of Saturday's route through the suburbs around Cergy but we honestly didn't mind at all. Back into the countryside and stopped by Longuesse for a picnic. "I'm so happy," I told my family, as we ate our food in the sun. What a mistake that was. France brought horrible weather for the afternoon - heavy rainstorms and strong winds that lashed the rain into our faces. I'd planned today's route with Komoot (mistake) and the D road they put us on was totally unsuitable for family riding, so I had to plan an alternative route on the go as the rain soaked us. This was not a good afternoon and spirits were not high. My husband was understandably grumpy and I did wonder if my friend Michelle might be right, that sitting by a pool would be a lovely way to spend a week. FINALLY got to our little lodging in the tiny village of Amecourt. Hot showers worked semi-wonders.
Wednesday 10th - 56 miles to Dieppe
JUST what we needed. The perfect spring day's cycling. Glorious blue skies, bright sunshine. Hares in the fields. Endless finches in the hedgerows. Lambs, calves, donkeys. Admittedly we were chased by a very fast, surprisingly persistent French Bulldog (I thought they couldn't breathe, but this one chased us hard for a mile). Croissants at Beauvoir and then back to Forges-les-Eaux and onto the bikepath of dreams all the way back to Dieppe. We were VERY happy the whole day. Celebrated with dinner out. My crepe was a heart attack on a plate but I'll eat lentils all this week instead.
Thursday 11th - 2 miles
A 5am dash in the dark through the empty streets of Dieppe to the ferry port. About 20 cyclists, of which 4 were teenage boys, which made me really happy. Ferry back and then the drive home to the cats and the laundry.
All in all, an excellent adventure. Really not a hard ride and a lot of bang for buck - it SOUNDS super gnarly (to most people) to say you rode to Paris and back, but it's a very accessible route for everyone, even if you did it over more days. Would happily do it again!
I also did some research as the husband wasn't very well at the start and it IS do-able to cycle there and put the bikes on trains to get back.
* From Paris Saint Lazare to Gisors, you'd take the Transilien urban trains, which SAY they accept bikes for free except for at rush hour.
* From Gisors to Dieppe, you can put your bike on the direct TER train. Again, it SAYS you can but I'm sure it wouldn't be as easy as they imply.
* Otherwise, I believe you can put bikes on trains from Saint Lazare to Rouen and then change for Dieppe.
My original plan was to do very different routes to and from Paris. I originally wanted to do Le Havre - Paris - Caen but the ferry sold out whilst I dithered. I then considered a return route via Rouen but it was just too many miles for the time we had available. In the end, our return route was probably about 75% the same as our Out route. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this, seeing familiar places, knowing where we were going etc. It wouldn't be our first option, to retrace our steps, but it was actually really nice.
Thursday 4th
Out at 6am, drove to Newhaven. Parked the car at Sainsburys, just a mile from the port. (You can reserve places via Justpark). Got a bit wet waiting to be let on the ferry but we were finally off. A rough little crossing but the weather in Dieppe was significantly nicer than that in Newhaven and I was utterly thrilled to be back in France after 18 months. I flipping love France. Sang all my way into town, to the mortification of my son. Stayed at the Ibis Budget (fitted all three bikes in our little room) and then did some exploring. My first time in Dieppe, really liked it. Reunited with dear old friends Orangina and Petits Ecoliers. Picnic on the beach and then zzzzz.
Friday 5th - 68 miles to Gisors.
A grey start but we were upbeat. Rode the astonishingly good 50km bike path all the way to Forges-les-Eaux, what a dream. Stopped at Neufchatel-en-Bray for a crepe snack before panicking at how slowly we were progressing. Husband not feeling great so we were very slow. After Forges, we were off the official route and riding on lovely quiet French lanes. Big hill into Beauvoir-en-Lyons and then across the plateau, buffeted by side winds. Not cold though - my arms briefly came out for the first time in 2024. Plunged down the hill and into Gisors. Hotel Moderne at the station was much nicer than I'd expected, with secure bike storage and a delightful gentleman on reception. Husband not very well, so Pog and I went into town for pizza and brought him some back. A long, hard first day but pretty solid overall. Three punctures!!!! Two for the husband (the second was when the patch didn't adhere properly) and one for me. Pog smug.
Saturday 6th - 56 miles to Paris
Lovely start through pretty Norman villages. Lovely watching the stone get paler as we got further from the coast. Little bit of gravel near Thermericourt. Lunch on a wall outside a supermarket at Vigny, everyone in decent spirits. A sizeable hill out of Saillancourt and then boom, just ike that the countryside was over and we were in the suburbs. And so began 25 miles of superb bike infrastructure. We either had excellent bike paths or very quiet lanes all the way into Paris centre.Crossed the swirling, slightly scary Seine at Conflans and then had an interesting few miles on forest paths through the lovely forest of Saint-Germaine-en-Laye. Out into the VERY fancy area of Maisons Lafitte, through quiet residential areas and then into the urban jungle of Nanterre and La Defense. Again, superb bike lanes kept us calm and safe. Over the final bridge and there, ahead of us, the Arc de Triomphe!! Utterly thrilled to arrive! On through Paris to the Eiffel Tower for photos! And then aong the Seine to our Airbnb in Boulogne Billancourt. The riverside bike path was flooded in places due to all the rain but there were many safe options for us!
Sunday 7th and Monday 8th - Touristing
We did all the usual stuff as it was Pog's first time in Paris. He loved it. We walked miles. The weather was glorious. Paris was glorious. Paris is under a LOT of construction for the Olympic Games but it's going to be FANTASTIC!!! Really excited to watch it. Paris highlight....ice-cream at Berthillon. Probably the best sorbets I've ever had in my life. (The photo is the loo at Gare du Nord. Well worth a euro).
Tuesday 9th - 62 miles to Amecourt.
Getting out of Paris was as easy as getting in - this time, we rode through the lovely Bois de Boulogne and then took a loop round a bend in the Seine through Herblay, which was a gorgeous stretch following the river on quiet, smooth roads edged with really nice houses and plentiful picnic stops. Really nice. Back retracing much of Saturday's route through the suburbs around Cergy but we honestly didn't mind at all. Back into the countryside and stopped by Longuesse for a picnic. "I'm so happy," I told my family, as we ate our food in the sun. What a mistake that was. France brought horrible weather for the afternoon - heavy rainstorms and strong winds that lashed the rain into our faces. I'd planned today's route with Komoot (mistake) and the D road they put us on was totally unsuitable for family riding, so I had to plan an alternative route on the go as the rain soaked us. This was not a good afternoon and spirits were not high. My husband was understandably grumpy and I did wonder if my friend Michelle might be right, that sitting by a pool would be a lovely way to spend a week. FINALLY got to our little lodging in the tiny village of Amecourt. Hot showers worked semi-wonders.
Wednesday 10th - 56 miles to Dieppe
JUST what we needed. The perfect spring day's cycling. Glorious blue skies, bright sunshine. Hares in the fields. Endless finches in the hedgerows. Lambs, calves, donkeys. Admittedly we were chased by a very fast, surprisingly persistent French Bulldog (I thought they couldn't breathe, but this one chased us hard for a mile). Croissants at Beauvoir and then back to Forges-les-Eaux and onto the bikepath of dreams all the way back to Dieppe. We were VERY happy the whole day. Celebrated with dinner out. My crepe was a heart attack on a plate but I'll eat lentils all this week instead.
Thursday 11th - 2 miles
A 5am dash in the dark through the empty streets of Dieppe to the ferry port. About 20 cyclists, of which 4 were teenage boys, which made me really happy. Ferry back and then the drive home to the cats and the laundry.
All in all, an excellent adventure. Really not a hard ride and a lot of bang for buck - it SOUNDS super gnarly (to most people) to say you rode to Paris and back, but it's a very accessible route for everyone, even if you did it over more days. Would happily do it again!
I also did some research as the husband wasn't very well at the start and it IS do-able to cycle there and put the bikes on trains to get back.
* From Paris Saint Lazare to Gisors, you'd take the Transilien urban trains, which SAY they accept bikes for free except for at rush hour.
* From Gisors to Dieppe, you can put your bike on the direct TER train. Again, it SAYS you can but I'm sure it wouldn't be as easy as they imply.
* Otherwise, I believe you can put bikes on trains from Saint Lazare to Rouen and then change for Dieppe.
