The stretch of the Marne running through Meaux has been shaped by mills, weirs, and navigation works for a thousand years, and the riverbank retains more of that industrial-medieval character than almost any comparable stretch near Paris. Walking south from the cathedral along the Rue du Grand Tour, you pass remnants of the twelfth-century town wall, the channels cut to feed the old corn mills, and a series of small bridges linking islands in the river. The Moulin de Chantereine, still partly standing on its island, gives the best sense of how the mills once dominated the economy of the town. The walk takes about forty minutes at a gentle pace and can be extended to the Cornillon footbridge for views back toward the cathedral's apse rising above the roofline. In summer the riverbank is a local favourite for picnics.