Massy / Limours Veloscenic : Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel cycle route

💡  On this stage, you need to choose between two alternative routes between Massy and Rambouillet. Wondering which one to opt for? See the paragraph on the matter under our Frequently Asked Questions. 

🚲 Stage description and details:

This stage begins at a round-about, the Rond-point du 19 mars 1962, at the southern end of the Promenade des Vallons de la Bièvre (also known as the "Coulée Verte du Sud Parisien"). Were you to take a right turn here, you’d follow the alternative route via Versailles. In order to head for Limours, follow the signposting taking you straight ahead. 
On the first kilometres of this stage, you cross through the towns of Palaiseau, Orsay and Gometz-la-Ville, riding along cycle lanes or paths, or then roads with only moderate traffic.
From Bures-sur-Yvette, turn right to tackle a short rise, then left, following a former stretch of railway line. Please note, this stretch isn’t laid out with a stable surface and can prove slippery and muddy after heavy rain. This stage also makes use of several historic engineering features, including a tunnel, but above all, the Fauvettes Viaduct, which marks a veritable change of setting, to more rural, forested parts. 
After leaving the cycle path at Gometz-le-Châtel, you ride along some stretches on roads, but with low speed limits. Then you join the greenway along the old Aérotrain track, which you follow to the end of the stage at Limours.

⭐ Don’t miss:

• Viaduct des Fauvettes, an historic piece of engineering on the Paris – Chartres railway line, stretching 220m across the Yvette Valley, which it dominates from its 34m height, and nowadays also a spot for training pot-holers and rock-climbers.
• The village of Janvry stands out for its seasonal events and its animal park containing some 100 animals, plus a play area and a picnic area.
• In its green, wooded setting, the Château de Saint-Jean de Beauregard has kept all its 17th-century elegance and charm. Explore the startling flowering vegetable garden in formal French style, which contains a unique range of varied, rare plant collections. 
• The Aérotrain, created by engineer Jean Bertin in 1964, was a precursor of the French high-speed TGV train, a hovertrain capable of reaching 300km/h, moving on a cushion of air above a concrete rail line in inverted T shape. The French State abandoned the experiment in 1974, but just a few portions of the line have survived, including the one from Limours to Gometz-la-Ville.

🍴 Food and drink en route:

• Palaiseau: markets on Thursday and Sunday mornings on Place de la Victoire
  Orsay: with many food and drink shops and markets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings on Place du Dr-Ernest-Albert
  Limours: with many food and drink shops and markets on Thursday and Sunday mornings on Rue Maurice-Béné

💡 Bring up Accueil Velo accredited restaurants by clicking on the 🍴 icon on the map. De-select "only show accueil velo accredited services" to view further possibilities.

🚆 Train stations nearby:

• Crossrail RER B station of Massy-Verrières-le-Buisson
• Crossrail RER B station of Massy-Palaiseau / plus TGV high-speed train services
• Crossrail RER B station of Palaiseau
• Crossrail RER B station of Palaiseau-Villebon
• Crossrail RER B station of Orsay-Ville
• Crossrail RER B station of Bures-sur-Yvette

💡 Also see our section on reaching the veloscenic cycle route, including conditions for taking a bicycle on board trains.