Prochain point :
Château de la Sergenterie
Prochain point : lat="48.989200999999" lon="1.84808"
On the Banks of the Seine
Dance halls with evocative names: Gardons, Pêcheur Matinal and Goujon Folichon...
Along the offside towpath…
The Chemin de Contre-Halage (‘Offside Towpath’) is so narrow that it cannot be used for towing, and is situated on the opposite bank to the main towpath. With its fishermen and washerwomen - not to mention its guinguettes (taverns) - the latter teemed with activity in the nineteenth century. The towpath runs alongside a small arm of the Seine opposite the island of Juziers, where there was once a farm and agricultural land reached by ferry.
The locals used to fish either from the banks of the river or using flat-bottomed boats known as ‘bachots’ (punts). Some fishermen even took up position for hours at a time on a kind of square bucket held by two wooden poles. Fishing as a basic necessity (to put food on the table) gradually gave way to fishing as a hobby, with so-called ‘Sunday anglers’ often coming from in and around Paris to chance their arm. Today the river is a place for recreational and sporting activities such as walking, running, canoeing and kayaking.
... to the guinguettes of juziers
Did you know that the word ‘guinguette’ is named after a light, sour wine from the late nineteenth century called ‘Guinguet’? It was made in secret by winegrowers to avoid paying taxes, and was drunk in the taverns that flourished along the Seine at the time, with Juziers’ reputation later spreading beyond its shores.
