Three cyclists with helmets riding along the Seine River with Notre-Dame Cathedral in the background. The Gothic cathedral shows its iconic towers and spire.

Interior of MS Fleur ship restaurant with wooden tables set with red napkins, wine bottles, and place settings. Large windows provide views outside.

MS Fleur, a white and blue river cruise ship, moored in a Dutch harbor with historic buildings and a Gothic church in the background.

Compact MS Fleur ship cabin with two single beds, colorful towels, reading lamps, porthole window, and wooden storage cabinets above.

Itinerary

Embarkation and check-in at 1 p.m. at the mooring in the center of Paris. After a welcome by the captain, crew and tour leader the ship will leave the harbor in Paris and sail along the river Seine to Evry, where you will spend the night.

We advise you to come to Paris one or more days earlier, so that you will have plenty of time to discover the city.

After breakfast, the bicycle tour starts from the lock of Evry. You will stay along the banks of the Seine river for a while. The first stop is the typical French market of Corbeil-Essonnes. Destination of your first bicycle tour is Melun, a town which is known as “le domaine des reines blanches”, because in former years it used to be the domain of the widows of the French kings.

Today you will cycle through the wonderful forests of Fontainebleau. First destination is the artistic village of Barbizon, where since the first half of the 19th century many painters have found inspiration. At the time, a group of landscape painters formed the “Barbizon School”. You can visit the local museum. After this, you continue your tour to the palace of Fontainebleau, much in favor among the French kings, because of the extensive possibilities to hunt in the surrounding forests. The castle itself houses a museum of Napoleon, among other things. Fontainebleau is also a pleasant town to walk around or to shop. You will find the Fleur again in Moret-sur-Loing, a charming medieval fortified town, strategically situated on the banks of the Loing river, where painter Sisley found inspiration for his beautiful impressionist paintings.

You will stay in the valley of the Loing and visit Grez-sur-Loing, where many artist used to live in the early years of the 20th century. In the charming town hall of Bourron-Marlotte you can admire a few magnificent impressionist paintings. You will meet the Fleur again in Nemours. Nemours is supposed to derive its name from the woods (nemora) in the midst of which it formerly stood and relicts of Gallo-Roman remains indicate its early origin. The castle, erected around 1120, now is a prehistoric museum of the Ile-de-France region.

Breakfast during sailing. Today you will cycle through a wooded area with rugged rocks. Before lunch you will visit the sculpture garden “Jardin Bourdelle”. In this garden you can admire some 57 bronze monumental sculptures by the artist Antoine Bourdelle. Around lunchtime you will reach Egréville. This village has been an important commercial crossroads for hundreds of years. Its markets and fairs enjoyed great renown. Final destination of today is rural Néronville.

Today you will first cycle to Chateau-Landon, a beautifully situated town, with the Abbey of St. Séverin from the 13th century. Your bicycle tour goes to the medieval town of Ferrières with its old town center, which has been preserved beautifully. And in the middle of the narrow streets you find a splendid monastery. Today’s destination is Montargis, even with 15000 inhabitants the biggest town of the Loiret, after Orléans. Unfortunately this former royal residence was destroyed by a fire in the 16th century. But the canals are still there. They are decorated with many flowers and give the town a lot of charm. Today there is no dinner on board. You can select one of the local restaurants of Montargis.

From Montargis you will cycle to Château-Renard, where you can visit the ruins of a castle from the 10th century. You will also visit an Apiculture’s Living Museum. There you can see beekeepers and their bees at work, and you’ll be able to sample their delicious honey. Along the river Ouanne you will return to Montargis.

End of your tour: Disembarkation after breakfast until 9.30 a.m.

Tour character

Easy to moderate

The route runs mainly on minor roads - well suited for leisure cyclists.

Prices & Dates

Prices per person in EUR

Services & extras

Services

Included

Travel and accommodation on board in the booked cabin category
Meals; 7x breakfast, 6x packed lunch, 6x coffee and tea in the afternoon, 6x three-course dinner (1x dinner in Montargis excluded)
Use of bed linen and towels (daily towel change on request), daily cabin cleaning
Air-conditioned cabin
Fees for ferries
Welcome drink
Tour guide (German, English & Dutch-speaking) for guided cycle tours
Various entrance fees
Various short city tours with the cycle tour guide
Guarantee certificate for package holidays from SGR (compulsory contribution to the SGR guarantee fund for end consumers to cover against insolvency: €5.00 per person)

Not included

Arrival and departure
1x dinner
drinks
parking fees
Entrance fees and excursions
Transfers to/from the landing stage
Optional sightseeing
travel insurance
Expenses for personal use

Extras

Paris - Gare de Lyon railway station, approx. 1 km from the landing stage. A regular bus service, Le Bus Direct No. 4 (shuttle), runs every 30 minutes from Gare de Lyon in Paris to Charles de Gaulle Airport; journey time approx. 50 minutes.
Return transfer by train to the port of embarkation approx. €21/person
Car parks in Paris: Gare de Lyon (Quay de Bercy), approx. € 89 /week, bookable at www.parisfranceparking.de/parkplatz-gare-de-lyon-paris.html

Number of participants:

none, guaranteed departures

Note

Timetables and programmes are subject to change. If a route cannot be travelled due to low or high water, the skipper reserves the right to change the route for your safety (this is not a reason for cancellation free of charge).
Please note that the cabin storage space is very limited. Your holiday luggage must include good rainwear (jacket and trousers), a cycle helmet, sun hat and sun protection as well as sports shoes.
Special dietary requirements such as diet food or vegetarian food will be catered for after consultation and if possible. The surcharge for this is approx. € 25,- per person/week (to be paid directly). Please inform us when booking.
Car park for own bike/e-bike: Due to the lack of space on deck, it is not possible to bring your own bike/e-bike on this ship

Further information

Further important information on the "Pauschalreisegesetz" (Package Travel Act) and additional tips for your journey by bike and boat can be found here!