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Sport and leisure activities

Aerial sports

L’Oise seen from the sky – Fly over the Oise in a tourist aircraft or hot-air balloon. Book at the Oise département tourist board Leisure service - t 03 44 45 94 78.

Salmagne Aerodrome – At Maubeuge-Élesmes - t 03 27 68 40 25 or 06 72 71 89 76. Fly over the Sambre and Avesnois.

Ludair – Abbeville aerodrome - t 03 22 24 36 59 or 06 03 28 66 96. Somme Bay in ULM.

Picardie Amiens Métropole Aeroclub – Amiens-Glisy Airport- t 03 22 38 10 70 - www.aeroclub-picardie-amiens.com. Fly over the battle fields (Circuit du Souvenir) in a motorized aircraft, free-flight or ULM.

Amiens Glisy Aeroclub– Amiens-Glisy Airport - t 03 22 38 01 01 - www.aeroclub-amiensglisy.com. Amiens and its surroundings by night, also the Somme Bay, Marquenterre and Picardy coast.

Hot-air Balloon Club – At Hazebrouck - t 03 28 41 65 59. Flanders.

Air Flash ULM – Amiens-Glisy Airport - t 03 22 38 93 53 - www.ulm-airflash.com. ULM flights over Amiens.

Picardy Balloons – t 03 44 71 70 95 - www.montgolfière.com (in English)

Bicycling

www.iaurif.org (in English) – Map of cycling paths in Ile de France, pointing out sites of interest.

Île-de-France Cyclotourism League – t 01 46 58 90 12 - www.lif-ffct.net

French Federation of Cycling – t 01 49 35 69 24 - www.ffc.fr

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Cyclotourism League – t 03 20 05 68 05 - www.ffct5962.com

Picardy Regional League – t 03 44 73 28 28.

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Cycling Board – t 03 20 22 94 89 - www.nordpasdecalaiscyclisme.com

Picardy Cycling Board – t 03 22 22 25 20 - www.picardie-ffc.com

Easy itineraries

Green belt trail from porte de Vanves to Massy – It is 12km long. You can start behind place de Catalogne, in the 14th arrondissement in Paris, or head out straight to Châtillon (exit at Châtillon-Montrouge metro station – line 13 terminal) or start and finish a 10km-loop at Robinson station.

Green belt trail continuing on minor roads to Chartres – Leave from Châtillon-Montrouge metro station (line 13 terminal). The route (100km in 8hr taking things easy) is long but not difficult.

Ourcq Canal – Follow the canal from Paris (along St-Martin canal) as far as Jablines, in Seine-et-Marne.

St-Denis Canal – This itinerary runs alongside St-Denis canal to the Stade de France.

Banks of the Seine – Closed to motor vehicles, between Ivry-sur-Seine and Choisy-le-Roi.

Inner loop of the Marne – Between Créteil and Joinville-le-Pont, followed by the banks of the Marne as far as Champs-sur-Marne (20km outward).

Loop around the Château de Versailles – It is made up of D 186, D 307, D 10 and D 7, around 13km. It also goes past the Ferme de Gally, a pick-your-own fruit and vegetable farm.

St-Quentin-en-Yvelines Leisure Base – Trail between Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Trappes and Élancourt.

Créteil Park – 5km-trail around the lake.

Breweries

Some breweries organise tours:

Brasserie Au Baron – At Gussiginies - t 03 27 66 88 61.

Ferme-brasserie Beck – At Bailleul - t 03 27 66 88 61 - www.fermebeck.com

Brasserie Castelain – At Bénifontaine - t 03 21 08 68 68 - www.chti.com (in English)

Brasserie d’Annœullin – At Annœullin - t 03 20 86 83 60 - biere.jg-laurent.com

Brasserie la Choulette – At Houdain - t 03 27 35 72 44 - www.lachoulette.com

Brasserie Thiriez – At Esquelbecq - t 03 28 62 88 44.

Brasserie De Clerck - At Péronne - t 03 22 84 30 94.

For more information about beer in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, consult www.lachope.com

Climbing

The most famous and best-equipped climbing sites are located in Fontainebleau Forest. The highest rocks are at Larchant and la Dame Jouanne (8 to 15m) ; the Trois-Pignons range is outstanding for its landscape and provides a very varied range of difficulty. Some circuits, white markers, are specially for children.

Île-de-France Mountaineering Club –t 01 42 18 20 00 - www.clubalpin-idf.com www.paris-ports.fr

Indoor facilities:

European Climbing Centre – At Thiais - t 01 46 75 04 21.

Mur Mur – At Pantin - t 01 48 46 11 00 ; Issy-les-Moulineaux - t 01 58 88 00 22 ; and Épinay-sur-Seine - t 01 48 21 80 39. www.murmur.fr

Golf

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Golf League – t 03 20 98 96 58 - www.liguegolf-npc.com

Picardy Golf League – t 03 44 21 26 28 - www.golfliguedepicardie.com

Guinguettes

Guinguettes, outdoor cafés popular at the turn of the 20C, are springing up again on the banks of the Marne and the Seine.

Association Culture Guinguette -t 01 45 16 37 51 - www.culture-guinguette.com

Hiking

GR 121 – Links Bon-Secours (north of Valenciennes) to the Côte d’Opale (near Boulogne).

GR 120 – Le Boulonnais.

GR 127 – Crosses the Artois hills, linking Arras with the Boulonnais.

GR 128 – Crosses through Flanders via the outskirts of Ardres, Saint-Omer and Cassel.

GR 122 – La Thiérache and its fortified churches.

GR 123, 124 and 225 – Abbeys, valleys and forests of Picardy.

GR 125 – Links the Vexin to the Somme through the Bray and Vimeu.

GR 12A – Crosses the forests of Compiègne, Laigue, then, via Blérancourt, reaches the forest of Saint-Gobain and the Laonnois region.

Picardy Regional Board – t 03 22 41 08 27 - www.randopicardie.com

French Federation of Hiking – t 01 44 89 93 93 - www.ffrp.asso.fr

Île-de-France Hikers (RIF) – t 01 45 42 24 72 - www.rifrando.asso.fr. Choice of hikes every day in the region (annual subscription).

Horse trekking

Treks

The Île-de-France is France’s leading region for equestrian sports.

www.pidf.com (in English) - Addresses of horse, pony and horse-drawn caravan clubs.

Île-de-France Equestrian Tourism – t 01 34 70 05 34.

Flandre Artois Association of Horse trekking – t 03 27 20 55 85. Events for riders, horse-drawn carriages and treks, calendar and itineraries on request.

Picardy Equestrian Tourism – t 03 44 40 19 54.

National Centre of Equestrian Tourism – t 02 54 94 46 21 - www.ffe.com

Races

The Île-de-France is home to a great many racetracks.

France Galop – t 01 49 10 20 30 - www.france-galop.com (in English)

River cruises

From live aboard boats and boating excursions to hotel barges, there is no shortage of solutions: upstream Seine (from Chatou to La Roche-Guyon), downstream Seine (from Ablon to Montereau-Fault-Yonne), Yonne (from Montereau), Loing canal (from Moret-sur-Loing), Ourcq canal, Oise and the Marne (from Meaux to Paris or from Meaux to La Ferté-sous-Jouarre). Live aboard craft are fitted out for 2 to 12 people. Boats are hired without captains and do not require a permit.

On the Seine and the Marne – Paris Canal - t 01 42 40 96 97 - www.pariscanal.com (in English)

On the Marne – Canauxrama - t 01 42 39 15 00 - www.canauxrama.com (in English)

On the Seine upstream – Conflans-Ste-Honorine Tourist Office - t 01 34 90 99 09 - www.conflans-tourisme.com

On the Ourcq canal – Le Port aux Perches - t 03 23 96 41 25 - www.portauxperches.com

On the Loing – Landing stage at Grez-sur-Loing - t 01 60 39 07 04.

www.paris-ports.fr – For a full range of water leisure activities, download the Levez l’Ancre brochure.

Association Sous les Parasols – t 03 27 41 74 84 or 06 20 84 75 53 or 06 19 35 33 29. Navigation on the canals of l’Escaut, l’Oise and the Sambre.

Arques Plaisance – At Arques - t 03 21 98 35 97.

Locaboat Plaisance – t 03 86 91 72 72 (booking office) - www.locaboat.com (in English)

Roller-blading

Roller skaters and bladers can safely use cycling trails and tarmac paths, in some forests.

www.rsi.asso.fr – Ideas for excursions, ranked by département.

Sailing

Most seaside resorts are home to an accredited French School of Sailing. Inland, some expanses of water are also suited to this sport, such as the Val-Joly base in the Avesnois, Sensée lakes, Escaut and Monampteuil lake, near Soissons.

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Regional League – t 03 20 06 65 15 - www.voile5962.com

Picardy Regional League – t 03 22 60 24 80 - www.liguevoilepicardie.fr

Spas

Enghien-les-Bains, the only spa resort in the Île-de-France, offers a variety of wellness and fitness packages in addition to medically prescribed treatments.

Les Thermes d’Enghien – t 01 39 34 10 57 - www.lucienbarriere.com (in English)

Thalassotherapy

Berck, whose air is the most iodised of the North, has many structures. Le Touquet is equipped with a thalassotherapy centre offering a wide range of treatments.

Sea and Health Federation – t 01 44 70 07 57 - www.thalassofederation.com (in English)

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