Having packed up our damp gear in Gien we headed out for the short ride to Briare, where we would change from the EuroVelo 6 route to head north onto EuroVelo 3. We were on the final leg to Paris!

With our accommodation booked in Paris and only 240 kms to go over 7 days, it’ll be a breeze.

Riding on country roads and through Saint-Firmin-sur-Loire and passing by the flood doors on its Pont Canal.

These doors are closed when the Loire floods and threaten to enter the village of Saint-Firmin-sur-Loire, although they don’t appear to have been used in a while.

The Pont Canal de Briare was just up the road. Constructed in the 1890s, the 662m metal canal bridge crosses over the Loire 91m below, with the project’s masonry designed by Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame.

This dramatic bridge is a spectacular engineering feat with crowned by the ornate entrance columns on the Briare side of the bridge.

This change of direction signified the last leg of our journey to Paris. We indulged in a mini chocolate feast to celebrate “we are nearly there” at Chocolats et Chimères, alongside the canal.

Leaving Briare, we found the new EuroVelo 3 signs passing a delightful vintage store and then out alongside the Briare Canal.

And before we knew it we rolled in Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses. Rogny is famous for its seven locks (sept écluses), now retired from service.

Construction of the locks began in 1604, requiring 12,000 workers and 6,000 soliders to monitor the site as material theft was a big problem at that time, over a 38 year period.

And every year since 1967 on the last weekend in July they hold a fireworks display next to the locks. And that was tomorrow.

We were very lucky to get a place at the municipal campground as they were expecting huge numbers at the event, up to 20,000 people we were told. Not sure how they were going to manage that number given it is a very small town but big staging and setups were well under way.

And very gratefully to be able to put up our sodden tent and dry off our damp gear and then have a wander around town.

After our usual breakfast with gorgeous fresh fruits, blackberries and peaches today, the beautiful canal riding continued.

Making our way into the “canalled” town of Montgaris, with a resemblance to Venice – waterways and little bridges winding their way through the town centre.

Another short day and we arrived in Cepoy alongside the Canal du Loing.

Settled in at the campground we walked back into town and had a drink at the local bar.

Sitting outside, a young man across the way started setting up his hookah. It was quite a precise and involved process. Although no one around me seemed to take any notice, I was unsettled by it. I’m such a prude with things outside of my normal realm. Anything like that takes me straight to being unsure rather than curious.

The next morning rain was forecasted and with only 160 kms to go, we decided an increase to 40 kms a day would be totally doable and decided to stay another night. It was lovely to have a quiet day in Cepoy making good use of the small shelter area available.

And luckily for us, Cepoy had a patisserie, and with time on our hands we sampled big!

We meet an English couple the next morning, although they have been living in France for 20+ years, who were cycle touring on their Bromptons (small foldable bikes). It was lovely to speak English and share stories. Their stories of ticks and lyme disease weren’t confidence building, so we stopped at the pharmacy on the way out of town to get some tick removers – just in case!

I was struggling again. Even though we had a very relaxing day off bikes, I was still tired and generally just out of sorts.

The canal vistas were a lovely distraction.

As were the fallen trees over the tow path that required some effort to get the bikes over without having to unload them.

Soon we were at a campground in Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne. I’m liking these shorter days!

With our campsite set up, we cycled back into town to get some groceries, meeting 2 couples from Wellington at the supermarket. What are the chances?

Both couple have canal boats here and spend 3 months each year traveling the canals. It was lovely to hear about their travels through Europe’s canal network. They travel all over, then dock the boat and explore. Recently one of the couples had left their boat in town and caught the train to Paris to see the end of the Tour de France, easy as. They were thoroughly enthralled with their mode of transport.

By the time we were off again the next day my body was very achy. Everything hurt.

We set off to rejoin the cycle route by crossing a bridge not far from the campground, not expecting it to be a pedestrian only bridge.

Luckily not too many stairs and with a wheeling ramp on the side we managed to get up and over to the other side.

We left the canals and joined the River Seine as Paris got closer with the water traffic was increasing.

The villages along the Seine were very picturesque as were the homes. They looks like expensive areas. Possibly holiday homes or weekend retreats for Parisians??

The Seine also had locks in place. Large, large locks.

The lock at Bois-le-Roi had only come back into operation in 2023 after being completely renovated. About 11,000 freight boat passages per year, moving a total of about 6 million tonnes of goods.

Some of the barges are over 100 metres long and just under 10 metres wide with accomodation and a car on top at one end. Most of the barges we saw had covered hulls, which we think were carrying sand for construction.

These fluvial systems are becoming more and more popular as it reduces the traffic congestion resulting in a significant reduction in CO2 emissions.

I was done, je suis fait, as we found a campground on the outskirts of Melun in the early afternoon. With the tent setup and ibuprofen taken, I crawled inside and slept for a couple of hours. After losing at gin rummy it was a restless night, as I woke up drenched in sweat with a very sore tummy.

With more ibuprofen in the morning and managing a danish for breakfast, we set off continuing to follow the Seine north. One more night and 2 days riding to go. So nearly there!

The river traffic continued to be a source of fascination.

While having lunch in Corbeil-Essonnes we decided to push on to Paris today, as campgrounds and wild camping spots were getting harder to find on route.

It was stressful sorting out the extra nights accommodation we needed in Paris. Booking.com wouldn’t allow us to change our booking so close to Paris, and making a separate booking was going to cost us a fortune. We finally managed to secure the extra night directly with the hotel even though it was still expensive.

Again I was so grateful my legs knew what to do as my body was not in good shape. It was going to be a big day, nearly 80 kms.

And neither was my mind, as I managed to lose the plot a couple more times between our lunch stop and Paris. Tough day all round.

The EuroVelo 3 signage was lacking the closer we got to Paris, making for a few off route turns. We figured if we stayed close to the Seine we couldn’t go too far wrong.

And before we knew it we were passing Paris-Orly Airport and then into the outskirts of Paris. And with the sun starting to set for the day we arrived in Paris.

It is amazing that even in such a big city as Paris and with Greg’s fantastic navigation, it wasn’t difficult to ride our bikes through the streets of Paris and northwest into the 17th Arrondissement to our hotel.

Not quite meeting the full plan to ride from Barcelona to Paris, with a bus from Barcelona to Narbonne, and the train into Nantes, we still did ride 1,700 odd kms from the bottom of France to Paris.

And very happy to say, WE DID IT!!

Biked: 243 kms (Total 3,090 kms)