Stage 17: The Champs Élysées
From an ugly duckling to a prestigious avenue After cycling around many beautiful parts of France, Geneviève arrives at her destination. But what is the story of this avenue? Four hundred years ago, it was uninhabited land. A combination of wasteland, swamps, and some crops. Marie de Médici, who acted as regent to her son, […]
Stage 16: I am in Mantes, my beauty
Mantes La Jolie is merely 55 km from Paris. But this is a region packed with things to do. It is situated on a large bend of the Seine between Rouen and Paris. It was inhabited in the Gallo Roman period and became a town in the Middle Ages. There are a quite few castles […]
Stage 15: Lured by Lure, 1000 lakes, flowers and pretty girls.
Lure is a small town nestled between mountains and where lakes dot the rolling landscape. It dates back to 610 when Saint Desle founded an oratory in a chapel dedicated to Saint Martin. Lure grew into a powerful Benedictine Abbey. Over the centuries, the agricultural industry was replaced by the textile industry. The town was […]
Stage 14: Bourg-En-Bresse
Chickens, cheese, frog’s legs. We leave the Parc National de la Vanoise and stop in Annecy with its beautiful lake. It is also known as the Pearl of the Savoie or Venice of Savoie. The beautiful town is surpassed by the lake, with a reputation of having the purest water in Europe. This medieval town, […]
Stage 13: Grenoble
Welcome to Grenoble, a university city, a science hub and an official city of art & culture. It is a modern city with a good quality of life. Its main attraction is the attractive old town, full of lively squares, shopping alleys lined with old houses. There are a few museums with rich collections. There […]