APPENDIX
Reading edition
ROUTE 1. OUR ROUTE.—FROM CALAIS TO MODANE.
Towns. Distance in Kilometres. Hotels. Remarks on Roads, &c.
Calais Du Sauvage.
Boulogne 33 Du Louvre. Good surface, very hilly, much pavé.
Pont-de-Brique 5 Paved all the way.
Condette Good.
Neuchâtel 8 “
Etaples 19 From Etaples to Abbeville we went by Montreuil, Nainpont, Nouvion, because of sentimental reasons. But the route as given is said to be much better, and though 13 kilos. longer, has 13 kilos. less pavé, and is much less hilly than the Route Nationale, the old post-road taken by Sterne.
Berck 14
Waben 6
Quend 7
Rue 7
Abbeville 13 De France. Good.
Pont Remy 8 “
Longpre 9 Sandy.
Picquigny 13 Sandy.
Amiens 13 L’Univers (Expensive).
Breteuil 32 Good; long up-grades.
St. Just About half-way Cheval Blanc. Good.
Clermont 34 Good; long descent.
Angy
Mouy 13 Du Commerce. Good; long descent.
Cires-les-Mellis Good.
Beaumont 14 Quatre Fils Aymon. “
Paris 47 The highroad to Paris is all paved. Train to Gare du Nord. Across Paris viâ Boulevard Voltaire and Place de la République to the Gare de Lyon. Ridable nearly all the way. From Paris to Melun train; pavé.
Melun
Viâ {Chailly {Barbizon {The Forest
From Paris.
Fontainebleau 59 Cadran Bleu. Perfect.
Nemours “
Montargis 50 Poste. Perfect; but at the foot of some hills are gutters of pavé.
Briare 41 Good.
Cosne 31 Grand Cerf. “
La Charité 28 Poste. Good.
Nevers 25 Europe. Good; take left-hand road into Nevers.
Moulins 53 De l’Allier. Good.
La Palisse 50 “
La Pacaudière Du Commerce. Good up to La Pacaudière, about 18 kilos. from La Palisse.
Roanne 31 Good; long down-grade.
Tarare 40 Europe. Good surface; mountainous.
Lyons 44 Négociants. Bad near Lyons; hilly.
Vienne 27 Du Nord. Bad: stony and hilly.
Chatonnay 29 Good.
Rives 30 Poste. Good; dead level; bad descent into Rives.
Vreppe 13 Great climb, then descent to St. Laurent.
St. Laurent 15
La Grand Chartreuse (10 k. from St. Laurent)
Les Echelles 6 Climb, and after tunnel, down. Awful climb going the other way.
Chambéry 24
Montrélian 15 Des Voyageurs.
Aiguebelle 23
St. Jean de Maurienne 33 Europe.
St. Michel 14 Union.
Modane 17
ROUTE 2. BEST ROUTE FROM CALAIS TO PARIS. Route 1.—To Boulogne.
Boulogne Du Louvre.
Samer15
Cormont10 Level to hilly.
Montreuil (sur Mer)10 De Londres. “
Nampont13
Nouvion13
Abbeville13 De France.
Ailly-le-haut
Clocher by Fixécourt13
Belloy to Picquigny19 Route 1 to Amiens.
ROUTE 2. BEST ROUTE FROM CALAIS TO PARIS. Route 1.--To Boulogne.
BoulogneDu Louvre.
Samer15
Cormont10 Level to hilly.
Montreuil (sur Mer)10De Londres. “
Nampont13
Nouvion13
Abbeville13De France.
Ailly-le-haut
Clocher by Fixécourt13 Level to hilly.
Belloy to Picquigny19 Route 1 to Amiens.
Route 1.--To Breteuil.
BreteuilDu Globe. Hilly to level.
Caply3
St. Eusoye4
Froissy3Pélerin Nugnot.
Noiremont3
Sucrerie St. Martin5 Hilly to level.
Oroer3
Tillé5
Beauvais4L’Ecu.
Voisinlieu4
St. Quentin d’ Auteuil10 Hilly.
Bois-de-Molle3
Corbeil Cerf5 Hilly.
Meru5Augonin.
Amblainville5 From here generally level to Paris.
Vallangouyard8
Herouville5
Méry-sur-Oise6
Epinay-les-St.-Denis19 Cross the Seine.
Asnières5 “
Paris4 Ask for the Rue de Villières, take the Boulevard Gouvignon-St.-Cyr, which leads to the Porte Neuilly.
ROUTE 3. ROUTE FROM BEAUVAIS TO PARIS.
Beauvais
St. Quentin14D’Angleterre.
La Fère25De l’Europe.
Coucy-le-Château25Pomme d’Or.
Noyon30Du Nord.
Compiègne20La Cloche.
Pierrefonds17
Crépy-en-Valois25Trois.
ValoisPigeons.
Senlis25De France.
Chantilly13Du Cygne.
Beaumont25Quatre fils d’Aymon.
Pontoise25Grand Cerf.
Poissy15De Rouen.
St. Germain8Prince des Galles. By way of the Forest to Neuilly and Porte Maillot.
Paris25
ROUTE 4. FROM DIEPPE TO PARIS.
DieppeSoleil d’Or.There is no good stopping place between Dieppe and Rouen, save at Tôtes.
Rouen57La Poste.
Boos11
Ecouis21De la Paix.
Les Thilliers15
Gisors16L’Ecu.
Beauvais32L’Ecu.
See Routes to Paris (pages 240 and 241).
ROUTE 5. FROM ROUEN TO PARIS.
RouenLa Poste. Good, but hilly.
Boos11
Petit Andelys21Chaîne d’Or (or 1 kilo, further Grand Cerf at Grand Andelys) Cross the Seine.
Vernon13Soleil d’Or.
Mantes24Grand Cerf.
Pontoise30
See Route 3 to Paris (page 241).
ROUTE 6. FROM HAVRE TO ROUEN.
Havre D’Angleterre.
Caudebec50Aigle D’Or.
Rouen36La Poste.
ROUTE 7. FROM HAVRE TO ANGERS OR ST. MALO.
Havre (ferry to)D’Angleterre.
HonfleurCheval Blanc.
Pont-de-L’Evêque16Bras d’Or.
Lizieux17D’Espagne. Very hilly.
Caen40Grand Hotel St. Pierre.
Bayeux28Du Luxembourg.
St. Lo40De Normandie.
Coutances29Trois Rois.
Granville29Des Bains.
Avranches26De Londres.
Pontorson22 To St. Malo, Dol 20, Vivier 6; St. Mal 22 (Hotel Franklin).
Mont St. Michel9Mme. Poulard.
Fougères34Des Voyageurs.
Vitry18Des Voyageurs.
Laval38De Paris.
Château Gontier24
Angers50Du Faisan.
ROUTE 8. NEAR PARIS AND TOURAINE. FROM PARIS TO ANGERS.
Paris Best to train to Melun, although one can ride to Versailles, thence to Sceaux and Fontainebleau, or direct by Villeneuve St. George. There is, however ever, much traffic and paving.
Melun
Fontainebleau21Cadran Bleu.
Pithiviers48La Poste.
Orléans32Du Loiret. Cross the Loire at Beaugency. (expensive).
Blois15D’Angleterre.
Amboise32Lion d’Or. Cross river at Ouzain for Château de Chaumont.
Chenonceau16Bon Laboureur.
Tours32Grand Monarque. Excursions may be made from Tours to Lôches, Bourges, Chinon, Chartres, &c. All the highroads about here are good.
Langeais24Lion d’Or.
Saumur39Budan.
Les Rosiers16De La Poste.
Angers31De Londres.
(This route, with the numerous excursions to be made on the banks of the Loire, is one of the most interesting in France, and can be made into a roundtrip by adding any of the routes to Paris, and return by St. Malo, Havre, or Dieppe).
ROUTE 9. FROM PARIS TO LYONS, BY WAY OF DIJON. (See also Route 1.)
Paris Train to Melun.
Melun
Montéreau30Grand Monarque.
Pont-sur-Yonne25De l’Ecu.
Sens12De l’Ecu.
Le Thiel11 Hilly.
Cérisier8
Arces10
St. Florentin16
Flogny13
Tonnerre15Lion d’Or.
Ancy-le-Franc18
Aizy-sur-Armançon16
Montbard11
Fain9
Villeneuve-les-Couvres13
Chanceaux14
St. Seine12
Val de Suzon10
Dijon17De la Cloche.
Beaune38
Châlons-sur-Saône30Du Commerce.
Tournus30Du Sauvage.
Macon30Du Sauvage.
Villefranche38De l’Europe.
Trévoux10De la Terrasse. Less hilly than Route 1.
Lyons29Des Négociants.
ROUTE 10. FROM LYONS TO MARSEILLES.
Lyons Take right bank of the Rhône to Vienne.
Vienne35Du Nord.
Tain55
Valance18Des Négociants.
Montélimart44De la Poste. Good, but hilly.
Orange53De la Poste.
Avignon27Du Louvre.
Tarascon23Du Louvre.
Arles16Forum. (Or, from Arles, train to St. Chamas, and ride thence, about 30 kilometres, to Martigues, and thence to Marseilles, about 50 kilometres).
Salon40Grand.
ROUTE 11. FROM CHAMBERY (see Route 1) TO GENEVA.
ChamberyDes Princes.
Aix-les-Bains14De la Couronne.
Annecy47
Geneva40De la Poste.
ROUTE 12. FROM DIJON TO GENEVA.
DijonDe la Cloche.
Genlis19Lion d’Or.
Auxonne15
Dôle16Du Lion.
Poligny37Tête d’Or.
Champignol23De la Poste.
St. Laurent21
Les Rousses (frontier)21De la Poste.
La Faucille19
Gex11De la Poste.
Geneva17Du Lac.
ROUTE 13. FROM PARIS TO BORDEAUX.
(The direct route is Paris, Chartres, Tours. But up to Tours it is scarcely worth riding, as it is mainly uninteresting, outside of the large towns, and very hilly.)
Paris
Tours230
St. Maure44De la Poste.
Châtellerault33L’Univers.
Poitiers33Trois Pilliers.
Couhé35Fradet.
Ruffec35Des Ambassadeurs.
Angoulème43Des France.
Barbézieux34Boule d’Or.
Régniac7
La Granle7
Mont Guyon18
Guîtres21
Libourne16L’Europe.
Beychac16
Bordeaux15Marin. (From Bordeaux numerous excursions may be made. One may make the journey there by this route, or come direct by sea from England, or return from Bordeaux up the coast by La Rochelle, Nantes to Angers.)
The above routes cover about the pleasantest and most interesting touring ground in France. But good roads exist all over the south. For instance, from Bordeaux, the road up the Garonne to Toulouse, 250 kilometres, is excellent, though quite flat; but in the summer time it is apt to be very hot, and the surface loose and sandy.
From this road excursions may be made all through the Pyrenees, which can be entered either at Luchon or at Pau. It is preferable, however, when touring through the Pyrenees, to train to St. Gaudens, from which place Bagnières de Luchon (Hotel de France) is 48 kilometres distant.
Towns.Distance in Kilometres. Hotels.
Luchon
Montrejeau 37 L’Eclair.
Bagnières de Bigorre 42
Lourdes 20
Nay 18
Pau 17 Du Commerce.
Excursions may be made all over this district, which is extremely interesting. Though very hilly, it possesses magnificent roads. From Pau to Dax the route is by
Towns.Distance in Kilometres. Hotels.
Orthez 40Des Pyrénées.
Pomarez 16
Dax 21 De la Paix.
From Castets, near Dax, one strikes the main highroad from Bordeaux to Bayonne, about 200 kilometres in distance; it traverses Les Landes, and is worth taking.
From St. Gaudens to Carcassonne (Hotel Bernard), 170 kilometres, the road begins by being hilly, but you gradually leave the region of the Pyrenees, and it becomes easier riding. But long hills are to be found all about here. Long distances have to be made between towns, and, unless one has plenty of time, this trip on to Narbonne, Cette, and Montpellier, is hardly to be recommended. It is also liable frequently to great heat and much sand.
From Toulouse to Albi (Hotel du Nord), 76 kilometres, the road is good; and from Albi excursions can be made all over the marvellous country of the Tarn Gorges, and through the Cevennes. But travelling in this section requires comparatively good knowledge of French, and also of geography; though the roads are good, the towns are few, and long distances must be made each day.
The highroad from Paris to Clermont-Ferrand, 400 kilometres, turning off Route 1 at Moulins, conducts one to the heart of Auvergne and the volcanic country. Continuing from Clermont-Ferrand to Issoire, and thence to Brioude, one may turn to the left for St. Flour, and thence to Rodez and Albi, or to the right for La Chaise-Dieu and Le Puy, proceeding from this place either down the Loire and again to Moulins, or crossing over to Lyons.
Poitiers is connected by main road with Limoges, and from that town St. Flour may be reached. Following on, by Mende and Florac, one will come to Allier, and next Nîmes, for Arles.
Nearly all these roads, however, are over high mountain passes, and though the scenery is well worth seeing, and though the enormous coasts, sometimes 10 miles long, make up for the enormous hills that have to be walked, one must expect very strong winds and bad weather, even in the middle of summer.
To the north and east of Paris some good riding is to be had, and the scenery is almost always delightful, but there is a vast amount of pavé. This may be usually avoided by taking to the byroads, information about which, now that cycling has become so popular, can often be had from cycle agents, or efficient repairers, who are to be found in every town.
A most interesting tour would be Amiens, Laon, Soissons, Rheims and the champagne country, Troyes, whence return could be made to Paris, or the journey continued by way of Châlons-sur-Marne, Dijon to Geneva.
The Vosges district, too, is worth visiting, and endless tours may be made from Nancy as a centre. Provence also, the Riviera, and the Cornice Road, afford some of the most delightful wheeling to be had in the country. But tourists, with time enough to make these long excursions, will prefer doubtless to map their routes out for themselves by the aid of the C.T.C. Road Books and Baroncelli’s Guides.
There is only one portion of the country which every one who cares for the pleasures of cycling should be advised to avoid, and that is the vast and dreary plain stretching from Paris to Le Mans, and from Rouen to Orléans. In planning a tour through France by routes other than those here given or suggested, Baedeker’s or Murray’s guide-books should be used for general information, supplemented, for road information, by the Géographie Joanne for each department through which one is passing. They can be purchased for 50 centimes, or 1 franc 25 centimes, in every bookshop in France. They are quite reliable enough, and much more convenient to carry than any other maps published in the country.
The Cyclists’ Touring Club is at present engaged in bringing out a revised edition of its French Road Book. So far, however, Baroncelli’s Guides are the best cycle routes published. His address is 18 Rue Roquepine, Paris. The Sketch Routes, published by the Véloce Sport (English address, Paul Hardy, 27 Alfred Place, Russell Square), are very useful if they happen to take you in the direction you wish to go. The Cyclists’ Touring Club Road Books, only sold to members, contain a vast amount of useful information unfortunately not well arranged. Membership in this club, which only costs half-a-crown a year, is desirable for tourists on the Continent.
The Customs regulations in France are not at all stringent, and tourists are now almost invariably allowed free entry with their machines at the chief ports, provided they can prove themselves to be tourists, and possess a sufficient knowledge of the French language to explain the fact intelligibly. Otherwise, a deposit of fifty or more francs is demanded; but if a receipt be obtained, the amount, with a very trifling deduction, will be returned if the tourist leaves the country within six months. If one, however, proposes to go for a few days into Germany, Belgium, or Spain, it is well to obtain a Passavant Descriptif, a description of the machine, which costs a penny, and will permit the bearer to return without any other formalities than showing this document on again passing the Customs officers. It can be obtained at the frontier stations by which one leaves the country, and is good at any other point of entry. A passport is of very little use, but some papers of identification, if possible French, may be indispensable for any one who sketches or photographs. Sketching and photographing are prohibited within a circle of 10 kilometres of any fortifications.
French hotels are usually reasonable and excellent. When they are extortionate, they are nearly always bad.
Parcels Post is about as unreliable as in any other part of the world. Clothes forwarded in this way are subject to the same uncertainty of delivery, as regards time, as in England.
Suggestions as to distances to be ridden, clothes to be worn, and so on, are quite unnecessary, since any one who has toured at all is usually a law unto himself in these matters, and will accept no advice.
But as the roads are the best in the world, the people the most polite, unless a head wind catches him, the tourist should have a delightful time if he keeps to the right of the road, and provides himself with a lamp and a bell.
Ballantyne Press Printed by Ballantyne Hanson & Co. Edinburgh and London
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