Directions:

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Reaching the bicycle path of the Seine:  

(1) From the place before Notre Dame Cathedral:  Ride your bike on the street along the left side of Notre Dame, and across the bridge ahead , to the Ile Saint Louis.  Turn right along the Quai d’Orleans, which curves left, to the second bridge crossing right to the left bank of the Seine.  Cross the bridge, turn right into the bike lane, heading back towards Notre Dame on the Quai de la Tournelle for 50 meters, then turn right again to into the driveway leading down to the lower level. At the bottom of the driveway make a u-turn, and follow the lower bank southeastward.

(2) An alternative from the Left Bank: Take the bicycle lane on Boulevard Saint-Germain (to the southeast) until it ends at the roadway along the Seine (or otherwise bike, to where Boulevard Saint-Germain intersects the Seine in the fifth arrondissement).  Dismount, cross Boulevard Saint-Germain and walk your bike 30 meters east along the riverside sidewalk of the Quai.  At the opening in the low wall, ride left, down to, the bike path on the river embankment, and continue southeastward).

Stay down (left) under the Austerlitz bridge (that is, don't take the more obvious bike route that goes up the ramp to this bridge). When the bike path emerges at the Charles de Gaulle bridge, beside the Austerlitz railway station, turn left and cross the bridge to the right bank, using the traffic-free bike path.  Turn right and follow the bike path (separated from the road) along the Seine, out of Paris.

(3)From the Bastille: From the Place of the Bastille, take the bicycle lane of the Rue de Lyon to the southwest for 250 meters, ignoring the two streets that join from the right.  At the back of a little triangle, turn left and immediately right into the bicycle lane of Avenue Daumesnil.  Since this lane is against the traffic flow, be very careful in crossing the intersections, obeying the bicycle traffic lights.  Turn right into the Rue du Charolais, and turn right at rue Proudhon – Joseph Kessel to attain the main eastbound bike path at the Pont de Tolbiac. Follow the bike path (separated from the road) along the Seine, out of Paris.

Continuation for all starts: Pass by the pedestrian bridge that crosses the Seine (leads to Route #4). At the confluence of the Seine and the Marne, opposite the unusual Chinagora Hotel and Restaurant, you pass a socer field on your right; just ahead, there is a small stadium  (the lane you are on will end in 50 meters).  Turn right after the field down a lane closed to traffic. The lane turns left behind the stadium. Follow this bicycle-walking path along the Marne River for about 5 kilometers to its end at a little square called the Place de l'Écluse in the town of Saint-Maur-des-Fosses. The isolated little neighborhood near the square is worthy of attention.

Angle diagionally left across the open area with soccer fields and tennis courts (the road on the right dead-ends). With the tennis courts on your right , follow a walking-biking path until it turns sharply left along a canal.  (Ahead of you you will see this Marne canal passing into a tunnel, from which it emerges, in 500 meters, at the Marne again, after the Marne's meander – 13 kilometers upstream!)  Continue up the ramp that exits the parking area (walk your bike, as it is one way against you).

Here you can easily join Itinerary #2 in either direction, towards towards the the countryside or back to central Paris: 

(1)  To follow Ininerary #2 towards the countryside (east) along the Marne, turn right at the main road, and immediately at the bridge over the canal turnleft and ride up the long hill in light traffic (atop the tunnel that contains the canal).  Use the sidewalk if you are bothered by the traffic.when the road descends, at the Y, bear left, then turn right onto the bridge, “Pont de Joinville”.  Cross and follow the directions in Itinerary #2.

(2) To follow Itinerary #2 back to central Paris (west) turn right.  Follow the Rue de Maréchal Leclerc through the traffic circle. Continue with the directions for returning to Paris in "Alternative 2" below.

  The Marne Meander:

From the exit of the ramp, turn right and cross the canal bridge. Immediately turn right onto the right sidewalk (not the street) of Avenue Pierre Mendes France, which quickly becomes a bike-pedestrian path.  This  path turns left under the road bridge, passes over a little wooden footbridge (take note for your return trip), and emerges onto the "quai", or waterside road, now in the community of Saint-Maur-Des-Fossés. Follow the Marne meander for approximately 13 kilometers (note your odometer).

The first section of the road is rough, but bearable, with frequent raised traffic-bumps (sleeping policemen, the older French call them). When this section ends, for most of the ride, you will have a choice between a deliberately-curved road with light-traffic; or a paved, wide, pretty, bike-pedestrian sidewalk. In either case, your view is of charming small houses, of the Marne, and of some parks across the river.  You pass a few small restaurants, but no other commerce.

Return to Paris:

After you have passed under two rail bridges in St.-Maur, the next automobile bridge (route D45) and a "maison de retraite" (retirement home), continue for about 500 meters.  The road turns left and climbs atop the tunnel of the canal that cuts off the Marne Meandre.

At the traffic light, walk your bike across to the sidewalk on the far side, and push it up the hill on the sidewalk (the traffic is one way downhill).  At the top of the hill at a traffic light, cross the street, and ride downhill in the right lane of the now two-way street. At the next light pass by Avenue Saint-Maurice-du-Valais, then immediately turn right into the Rue of Maréchal Leclerc. (You were here before.) Pass through the traffic circle.

Alternative 1: To return the way you came out along the Marne, Take the second permitted left turn, which is one block before the huge highway overpass (sign: "Saint-Agnès-Gardien"). This brings you to the little square, the Place de l'Écluse, from which, at the back right (northwest), the Marne bike path returns to Paris.

Alternative 2: To return via the Bois de Vincennes and the Promenade Planté (which is the reverse of the exit from Paris described in Route 2) takes much longer but passes by scenic woods and lakes, and along a Paris greenway:

After the traffic circle of the rue de Maréchal Leclerc, continue on under the huge highway bridge.  Immediately turn right, cross behind the barrier, and ride uphill on the Route des Barrières, closed to motor traffic.  This comes to a path which parallels the Route de Gravelle.  Cross at the light, and follow the path until the Route de la Tourelle, closed here to traffic by a barrier on your right.Turn left. Check your trip computer. The route curves right.  After 1.8 km, turn left onto the Route Des Tribunes (gravel), and after 600 m, at a complex intersection bear left onto the paved Route Des Batteries. (To avoid the gravel by a longer trip, you can continue on the Route de la Torelle until it intersects with the Route des Batteries, where you make a u-turn to the left.)

Near the end of the Route des Batteries, angle right on a dirt path that arrives at the main street at a traffic light. Cross in the crosswalks and continue to the lake. Circle the lake counter-clockwise on the lakeside path, or just stay on the adjacent road, the Route de la Ceinture du Lac Daumesnil.  At the traffic lights just before the elevated highway, turn right.  Cross and follow the bike path along Avenue de Guyane.  These soon lead left under the highway, then right up a hill, and then left into the bicycle path of the Promenade Plantée.  Follow the bike path onto the allée Vivaldi, and then left and right onto Avenue Daumesnil.  The bike lanes along Avenue Daumesnil lead to the Bastille, from which you can attain the Seine, or other parts of Paris.

If it's nighttime, the gates leading into the Promenade Plantée will probably be closed.  In that case, simply follow the bike lanes of Avenue Daumesnil to the Rue de Lyon and the Bastille.

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