Leaving Notre Dame in the heart of Paris on Saturday afternoon (August 22) I headed south-east on a wonderful twisting, circuitous, and interesting route following the Seine River to its source. Notre Dame is on an island (Ile de la Cite) in the middle of the Seine in the very heart of this great city. A small Gallic town called Luteria was located on this island until being overrun by Julius Ceasar’s troops in 52 BC. Since then Paris has grown out from the island but the river is still very much the heart of the city. Interestingly, the name "Seine" comes from the Romans (who spoke Latin) when they Latinized “Sequana”, from the original Gaulish (who spoke Celtic) “Sicauna”, which means sacred river. The Seine is the second longest river in France (in case you are wondering …… the Loire is the longest). At Paris, the river is only 24 meters (80 feet) above sea level, but 446 km (277 miles) from its mouth in the Bay of Seine on the English Channel. The total length of the river is 776 km (486 miles).
A few years ago I visited Paris and explored most of the museums, churches, monuments, markets, etc, so I decided to get underway with my driving adventure. I started off heading the wrong way (on purpose) by going down stream as I wanted to drive past the other amazing sites of Paris that line the river (roughly in the order as I passed); the Pont Neuf bridge built in 1607, the Louvre, the Musee D’Orsay, and my favorite, the Eiffel Tower. I’ll never forget the sight as I drove along the river bank and looked in the rear-vision mirror and there was the Eiffel Tower. I then cut across the city on the Peripherique (just like a ring Interstate around US cities) experiencing some freighting driving etiquette, or lack thereof, to meet the river again near the town of Evry. Past the headquarters of the Renault Formula 1 team (more on this in a future blog) then to Melum followed by a short detour to Fontainebleau.
This small town is home to INSEAD "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" – one of the world’s leading business schools. Yet, it is more well know for an amazingly vast chateau that traces its origins back to the 12th Century. But in the 1500s it was transformed into a royal palace that I think is the equal of the more famous Versailles. Every French ruler, from King Louis XVI to Emperor Napoleon felt the need to embellish the works of their predecessor and spent enormous sums of money on it. I did the tour with one of those audio guides pressed to my ear learning a great deal about its history. Then a wander through the beautiful gardens on a warm sunny afternoon. Check out this link for more information on the Palace of Fontainebleau
I rejoined the river after passing through the gorgeous town of Moret-sur-Loing which features in the paintings of many of the French Impressionists (Monet, Renoir, Sisley, etc). With the daylight fading I drove through the farm fields that parallel the river in its broad valley up to Bray-sur-Seine. I crossed the river and followed an unsigned dirt road heading off into a forest. It lead to a wonderful campsite that was exactly 10cm (6 inches) from the river bank. It was just dark as I finished pitching my new tent for the first time (I’d always recommend practicing setting up a new tent before you are being eaten by bugs at dusk in a strange country after this experience). In the morning I was thinking what amazingly good fortune to find a free and wonderful riverside camp spot. Then not more 500 meters away I saw the massive cooling towers of a nuclear power plant (I guess the forest was some sort of protective buffer area!). I bought a portable camp stove in Paris and brewed up a wonderful cup of coffee (hoping the river water wasn’t radioactive – talk about getting a buzz from caffeine). Then it was off following the river ever upstream.
My first campsite: Beside the Seine beside the nuclear power station.
In a few kilometers (yeah it is great to be back using the metric system again) the river makes a big turn towards the south at Marcille-sur-Seine and I passed through a string of little villages before arriving into the city of Troyes. This historic city was a real unexpected joy to explore. Highlights included an amazing museum dedicated to the preservation of the tools of manual work (check out their excellent website here: Troyes Tool and Trade Museum) and the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Troyes which was home to the Order of the Knights Templar. Troyes is also home to the production for many French clothing manufactures, including Lacoste, and I visited a huge outlet mall on the edge of town. My French is pretty bad but I was able to translate roadside billboards announcing: “Troyes - Europe's capital city of factory outlet shops.” Then it was on for a few more miles before finding yet another idyllic camping spot right beside the river. A huge thunderstorm shortly after midnight both woke me and had me worried that the river would rise and flood me. Morning showed me I need not have worried.
On to Bar-sur-Seine where I bought the supplies for breakfast. The river gets noticeable shallower and this is in fact the highest point for commercial shipping. I carried on to a fascinating unplanned stop at Chatillion-sur-Seine. My guidebooks suggested I visit the museum holding the treasures of Vix. I was glad I stopped as the massive bronze krater (or vase) standing 1.63 m (5'4") tall and weighing over 200 kg (450 lbs) was definitely worth seeing.
Then away from the river for a little to visit a trio of historic sites: the battle site and Roman ruins at Alesia where Caesar beat the Gauls , an almost 1000 year abbey listed as a UNESCO Heritage site, and finally a beautiful Chateau.
Chateau de Bussy-Rabutin.
Just as the car clicked over 500 km (all but 0.1 done by me since leaving from Charles-de-Gaulle Airport in Paris!) I arrived at the source of the Seine River. This famous river starts as a cluster of springs lying 471 meters (1,545 feet) above the Atlantic Ocean into which it flows. The springs are located in a wooded area in a small valley. The place was a site for pilgrimage for the Gauls from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD. In the 17th century, rich citizens from Paris became interested in protecting the area for its alleged healing powers. They put pressure of the Paris town council to buy a small parcel of land surrounding the springs and paid for a grotto to be built there in honor of the Nymph of the Seine.
Grotto with infant Seine River flowing from it.
The Nymph of the Seine in her grotto.
Amazing to think of this little trickle of water bubbling up from the base of the statue eventually flowing past all these historic places, through Paris, and on out to the ocean.
Straddling the Seine at its source.
So, my first chapter is complete and what an excellent adventure to begin. Based on how much fun this part of the journey was, I may start tracing famous rivers from mouth to source. Of course, it will have to wait until I’ve climbed a few more mountains. On to the Alps!
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