Saturday 1st June: Weather: 15°C to 228°C: Sunny and blue skies but hot by mid afternoon
Paris: Walk to La Roche Guyon from Bonnieres
Accommodation: Air BnB 20 Place de Nation
Crossing the Seine at Bonnieres
Coffee on banks of Seine Bonnieres
Across farmland to La Roche-Guyon
Shift vines to see sign
The most beautiful village
La Roche Guyon
Tower on top of limestone cliff
Chateau La Roche Guyon
Return to Bonnieres via farm tracks
20k walk around Chevreuse
Highlight today was supposed to visiting La Roche Guyon, one of the most beautiful villages in France. But it turned into a bit of a fizzer. We had planned to get 2 trains that took one and a half hours to Bonnieres, then walk 7.5k return to the village of La Roche Guyon. However the Transilien train line J was shut down over the weekend forcing us to take 3 trains, 2 buses and almost four hours to get to Bonnieres before we even started walking! Then when we did get to the village of La Roche Guyon with hundreds of cars and zillions of tourists, the village was nice and interesting, but definitely not the most beautiful village in France! Someone had done a great marketing job on this place. A bit of a fizzer all round but it was a sunny though hot day and it was nice to get out in the country after sitting for 11 hours at the tennis yesterday.
We slept in til 7am this morning after such a late night. We'd planned to go to La Roche Guyon, supposed to be the most beautiful village in France. It took a bit of googling to sort out the trains to get there then after breakfast and a few phone calls home to the 3 kids and grandchildren we set off at 9am. The plan was first the RER A to Carrieres, then change to the Transilien line J to Bonnieres via Mantes-a-Jolie. But when we arrived at Carrieres, there was chaos and signs everywhere showing that line J was closed - Ferme!! And the queue to find out more info as to why it was ferme was 30 people long with one person serving. After a bit of scouting around the poster signs, we quickly realised we needed to get back on a train to Poissy, then take two buses to Mantes before changing to the TER train to Bonnieres.
Lucky another couple were doing something similar and we followed them around to make sure we got the right buses, which were not air conditioned and it was already a warm/getting hotter day. Almost four hours later we arrived in Gare de Bonnieres at 1pm and set off up the narrow country road to La Roche Guyon, firstly stopping for a coffee on a seat in the shade overlooking the Seine. Then continuing to on the road along the Seine River, sometimes following farm tracks wedged between the road and the river.
After 2 hrs of walking, we arrive at La Roche Guyon and excitedly take photos of the signs to this most beautiful village. It had to be something special as there were so so many cars parked in the parking area and zillions of people crawling over the village so I specially pulled aside the over growing vines covering the sign “Most Beautiful Village”. But when we arrived I can’t say we were disappointed but someone had a done a great marketing job on this village. Having visited hundreds of pretty villages in Europe over the past 40 years, we thought we’d seen much better - Piana in Corsica, Rocamadour in France, Colmar in France, Telc in Czech Republic, Murren in Switzerland and Polperro Cornwall, UK to name a few. Even Chevreuse where we had been south of Paris was a very pretty little village with its Mini ponts old historic buildings.
Whilst not in the “pretty” category, this village was very interesting because the Chateau dating back to the 12th Century had been carved deeply back into the limestone cliffs and was used by General Rommel during WW2. The castle was described in 1144 as
"On a promontory formed in a difficult place access the banks of the great river Seine, is built a non-noble castle, a scary aspect and that is called La Roche-Guyon: invisible on its surface, it is dug into a high rock. The skillful hand of the man who builds it has cut off the inclination of the mountain, and with the help of a narrow or feeble opening, the rock itself, and formed underground a dwelling of a very vast extent."
But more importantly than the history of the Chateau, we were dying of thirst and headed straight to the mini market to buy two bottles of icy cold sparkling water. We’d checked out the train times to return to Paris and decided there was no way we were catching those buses again. It was possible to get a TER train from Bonnieres at 5.50pm, connecting to an Inter City train from Mantes-La-Jolie to St Lazere, then change to Line 9 back to Nation. That was the plan.
It took another one and a half hours to walk back to Bonnieres, sometimes down the road but where it was possible, through the farm tracks behind the houses. Arriving at 4.30pm we had just enough time to replenish our beer supplies at the local Franprix before boarding the train at 4.50 for Mantes. Five minutes later we’re on the platform with hundreds of other people and we all pile on to teh Inter City Express. Our Navigo passes weren’t valid for Inter City Trains, but we figured they’d owed us after our 4 hour trip this morning. We think everyone else on this train was avoiding Line J which was still closed for another 2 days. Non Stop to St Lazare and a quick change to Line 9 and back to Nation at 8pm.
We’re tired and thirsty and settle for a few beers and pork fillet mignon with salad before bed at 11pm.