stokebailey

Hi,

My husband's set on attending this June's Festival Django Reinhardt in Samois-sur-Seine, and I might tag along. According to ratp.fr it's ~ 1.5 hr by public transport from the Marais, and he's thinking he'd commute during those five days. Making his way unaided around even Paris city limits has thrown him in the past, so I am thinking we might be better off in Fontainebleau during the festival, or better still a small town nearby. Plus I love being out in the French countryside.

Does anyone have suggestions for a town or large village around there, with public transportation and at least one bakery and one café? I'd look for a gite or apartment. Preferably < 30 min or so. We could rent a car for those few days, too.

Christina

I don't know real small villages in that area, of course you could always stay in Melun. If you did that, you wouldn't need a car, you can take the train between Melun and Fontainebleau. It's no village, though.

I'd suggest Provins, as it has some medieval charm, is a UNESCO Heritage Site, and isn't too far away by road -- it would probably be about an hour's drive, though.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Your best option would be to stay in Fontainebleau as it will have the easiest access via public transport. Use the local bus website to figure out bus routes and schedules:

http://www.transdev-idf.com/

I believe during the Django festival there are shuttle buses from the train station in Fontainebleau to Samois. Fontainebleau has a beautiful old downtown and is a nice place to stay.

The is a Django festival website where you can get more info and here is the link to the 2014 festival. It has an English version but the French version is more complete:

http://www.festivaldjangoreinhardt.c...php?article929

Another transport option from Fontainebleau is cycling. There is a place in Fontainebleau to rent bikes and it's an easy ride to Samois, the second half of the ride being along the river and quite pleasant. Here's the bike store website:

http://www.alapetitereine.com/pages/

There are some lovely towns not far off from Samois and Moret-sur-Loing would likely be exactly what you were looking for (it's a Plus Beaux Village de France) but you'd have to look into transport connections (use the Transdev website I linked to). There is a train between Moret and Fontainebleau (less than a 10 minute journey) and once in Fontainebleau you could get the shuttle bus but the train station in Moret is about 1.5km outside the center of town, if you don't mind that walk. Moret is lovely and has 3 or 4 bakeries, several restaurants, grocery store and all the services you'd need. Here is their tourist office website to find accommodation, things to do etc.:

http://www.msl-tourisme.fr/

I've written photo reports about Moret and towns nearby if you want to see some photos and learn a bit about the area:

http://tinyurl.com/buhknqs

Whatever you do, there are indeed some lovely areas to visit in the vicinity of Moret, Fontainebleau, Samois etc. and I know quite a bit about that area if you want more info.

FrenchMystiqueTours

I'll add that if you rent a car that would open up lots of possibilities and there's load you could visit with a car in that area.

stokebailey

Christina, thank you! If we rent a car, we'll at least have to visit Provins.

FMT, excellently helpful. Your photo essay is enchanting and makes me want to head over immediately. The more I've looked at housing options, the better Fontainebleau looks, at that. I will start looking at Moret-sur-Loing.

Bike commute Fontainbleau to Samois sounds ideal, though there's the pesky guitar portage issue, if we can figure out how to manage a guitar there at all. (If it came to giving an airplane seat either to me or his guitar not sure if I'd make the cut, and renting one in Paris last time didn't work out.)

Thanks so much.

Christina

I've been to Moret-sur-Loing and that is a good idea, I didn't think of it for some reason. I was just there for a day trip, and I did walk from the train station to center of town, but I like walking. But on a daily basis, you probably wouldn't want to do that as it is a bit of a hike. There may be taxis, of course, I just don't usually take them if it's a fine day and the walk is only a few km.

stokebailey

Yes, we like to walk and don't mind a few km here and there. Rental bikes are an idea, too, as long as it's a reasonably quiet road.

Lodging is a limiting factor, besides access to public transportation. To complicate things we're looking for places with at least 3 beds, since his sisters might be coming along, and we'd love to entice either of our daughters for at least a few nights with us. The daughters are great sports, but one of the SILs is on the princessy side. Always hard to please everyone when I go beyond our roughing-it family unit.

Wow I might have found a possibility in Moret-sur-Loing. Cool. Thanks, Christina, for mentioning it again.

FrenchMystiqueTours

If you stay in Moret and won't have a car you could always rent bikes for a few days and use them to commute to the train station and lock them there until you return. There is also

FrenchMystiqueTours

Darn, got cut off. There is also a canal that runs through Moret and you can bike along that as well as several nearby quiet country roads.

kerouac

Moret is lovely. I made a photo report about it too last year: http://tinyurl.com/pjpdmuk

I agree that the train station is bit farther from Moret itself than one would expect. My colleague who lives in the center of Moret takes her car to the train station every morning.

stokebailey

Thank you, FMT! I love the idea of staying in Moret-sur-Loing.

I heard back from the gite owner in Moret, and I think it looks like our best bet: a nice big house with garden, in case everyone ends up coming.

It is 20 minute walk to the train station, per google, and when I "walked" it on googlemaps I saw the long rows of cars parked. I imagine, especially if my sisters-in-law come, that we'd rent a car for part of the time. (I see that bikes at FMT's recommended shop are 55 euros/week, and google says it's a 48 min ride to Samois. I assume they rent you a lock, too.)

For a day there I was trying to look for train schedules on SNCF, getting discouraged, but finally found correct website. Phew. Looks frequent and easy to Gare de Lyon, and Fontainebleau for that matter.

Wonderful photo report, Kerouac. Thanks so much. I'll add that to my arsenal of persuasions for our daughters. I have long cherished a wish to stay in a village just that size and with a train station, a quiet stroll to competing bakeries of a morning and back from café in evening, but my envisioned village was never that charming.

FrenchMystiqueTours

I only suggested the bike store in Fontainebleau if you are staying there but there are also places to rent bikes right in Moret so check these links:

http://www.lescyclosduloing.fr/

http://toploisirs.fr/top-loisirs-vtt-particuliers.asp

I've met the guy who runs this next company. He'll deliver bikes and he speaks English too.

http://www.animation-pour-entreprises.fr/Pages/vtt.aspx

From Moret it's an easy ride along the canal to the adjacent town of Saint-Mammès, known as a former barge capital. In the other direction you can use my photo report as a guide and see the nearby villages of Montigny-sur-Loing, Bourron-Marlotte and Grez-sur-Loing. The latter two are especially charming.

Just so you know, you can bring your bike on the train so even if you stayed in Moret and took the train to Fontainebleau you could bring your bikes with you and it's an easy and pleasant ride from the train station in Fontainebleau to Samois.

I assume you've figured out the best website to use for train schedules on this line is www.transilien.com.

stokebailey

Good to know about bikes on the train. I knew you'd taken yours on some other Ile-de-France trains, but wasn't sure about this one.

We're floating Missouri's Current River this weekend, so Top Loisirs' canoe and kayak rental for the Loing catches my eye, along with their conveniently located bike rental. Thank you, FMT. I'm sure I'll have more specific questions closer to the time, and look forward to those rides.