[Closed] Cycle touring in France - what route would you take?

We've done a couple of two week tours in France. The first, is potentially the contender for the best holiday we've ever been on. We cycled from Nantes to Dijon up the EV6.

The route was predominantly on good cycle paths and flat - well all moderately up hill but near as damnit flat. We were cycling with full panniers & camping but agreed the most cooking we would do enroute was a bbq in the evening and coffee in the morning.

We ate like royalty, drank amazing wine and the surroundings were sublime. Took in a few chateau and had long lunches sat under trees with some wine. I downloaded all the french municipal campsites from Archies camping onto my garmin. We would do a coffee stop between 3-4pm and decide how much further we wanted to go that day and choose the nearest campsite (there seemed to be one every 5km or so. Municipal campsites were always quiet, sometimes with a bar & usually pleasant and always cost <20e for two per night.

Absolutely brilliant - I'm thinking of doing similar for our honeymoon next year it was so chilled out and sublime.

done 4 very nice tours in france.

last year we did the velodyssey route from the Spanish border near bayonne, back up to st malo. flat but it was 40 degree most days, so I was glad it was flat.

previous trips have been the whole coast line of Brittany over 2 tours. clockwise to roscoff and anti clockwise to morlaix.  Brittany is superbe for cycle touring.

also done Calais to st malo visiting the war graves and such.  again fantastic.

fancy a week or 2 pottering around the central massif next time I go to france

Ton - how did you find the velodyssey route? I've read it can be a bit monotonous & boring - but flying out to Compostella and cycling up to St Malo has quite the appeal (or visa versa)

Did a tour years ago

http://pompinos.blogspot.com/

Best bits for cycle touring were the section from Carcassone to Millau, particularly the Mountagne Noire area  https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/mar/02/france-montagen-noire-1950s-time-warp

Also "Parc Naturel Régional de Millevaches en Limousin" and Lake Vassivière

scruff, to be honest it was flat, but it goes into some very nice towns on the way.

we spent 2 days in La Rochelle swimming and sunbathing, we spent 2 days in Nantes on the piss.

also had a day body boarding somewhere on the coast south of bordueax.

oh, and went to a oyster shack and pigged out on oysters in marennes.

I tour for fun. ;o)

Watching this thread for ideas - i'm thinking of a circular route 5 days-ish from one of the ports (or between two ports) - as much off-road as possible (i.e. car free, don't mind what type of surface)

Sounds good Ton - as a kid out of school I did two summers as a Saisonaire, first one in the Vendee and the second in Marennes so I know that part of the world fairly well.

We definitely prefer flatter tours - if nothing else winching a heavy steel tourer with 4 panniers up hill in 35'C is fairly unpleasant. Even with a 26x36 bottom gear.

Rickonwheels - south of Caen there was a route - velovert? Avenue vert - something vert anyway which was off road cycle paths in the direction of Nantes. We took the train for time but it was a contender.

Check out the following sites;

eurovelo

https://en.francevelotourisme.com/

Archies Camping

Cycle.travel

I've done the Alpes Maritimes a few times, basically cos of easyjet to Nice where I was attending a conference. Ventoux, Verdon Gorge also on the same trips. With time and energy you could go north into the alps proper, we never got past Barcelonette. All stunning cycling. Would love to go back there some time.

rickonwheels, the area known as Swiss Normandy is cracking for offroad exporing.

ferry to st malo, a week touring around swiss Normandy, and ferry back from caen.

rickonwheels, the area known as Swiss Normandy is cracking for offroad exporing.

ferry to st malo, a week touring around swiss Normandy, and ferry back from caen.

Cheers @ton - will get googling that now!

I'd thought of the following route to try sometime:

Cycle to Newhaven and cross to Dieppe.

Dieppe to Paris on the Avenue Verte (old railway lines apparently).

From Paris there is a new cycle route to Mont St-Michel (the Veloscenic).

Then home via St Malo.

I've ridden around Saint Lo, Areches, Mont Saint Michel etc and it's not flat. Lots of historical interest. Some amaaaazing tarmac. I get the impression Normandy is more lumpy than Brittany.

The Parc Cap et Marais d'opale jut south of Calais is lovely. Like Kent or Surrey but way more spacious and much quieter. Within 10km of Calais it starts to get really nice. I've ridden across the parc a few times now as part of a Calais to wherever tour and it's one of the best bits of a ride in France until you get to the Alps or Massif Central.

I've done a bit of Cycling in France over the last couple of years.

I did London to Paris following Donald Hirsch's route -  http://www.donaldhirsch.com/dieppeparis.html really nice route - the first 35 miles follows the Avenue Vert which is indeed a tarmac path following disused railway. It would work really well in reverse if you wanted to get from Paris to Dieppe - i'll be riding it from Paris to Dieppe next May.

I've ridden around Mont St Michel a bit - lovely area with lots of good stuff to see/do.

I travel to Nantes a lot for work - fantastic city and the riding along the Loire looks awesome.

If it were me i'd get a ferry to St Malo, work my way down to Nantes then inland along the Loire until you run out of time, then train home.

I followed my nose from the Alps to Cherbourg, returning from a European tour a few years ago, and really enjoyed the cycling. Keeping away from the main roads, I found all the rural French cycling pretty good, and as above, the municipal campsites are plentiful, clean and cheap.

We rode from St Malo south (Dinan is nice) then picked up the train to take us to Morlaix. I think we had to catch the train in to Rennes and back out but that would depend on where you picked it up, we were making it up on the go.

Bimbled up Roscoff way briefly then spent the rest of the week wandering back to St Malo. Very leisurely pace and thoroughly enjoyed it. Absolutely gorgeous bit of coastline.

This summer we did the other half of the tour de manche- got the train to plymouth and followed the coast back to portsmouth. I think combining the two would probably make for a nice 10 dayer. We took longish week each time but did a lot of swimming, napping on beaches, stopping for ice creams etc.

Thank you so much everyone. Lots of places to google there. Really encouraged by all the positivity. 

Caen Barcelona over 8 days nothing to compare it with but it was phooking epic, northern France is hilly which I didn't expect. Pyrenees was the highlight though. just to add I got a train Frome Limoges to Toulouse due to time constraints.

I did a very nice four day tour from Cherbourg to Dieppe, following the coast. French back roads are mostly very quiet, with courteous motorists.

Plus, always allow plenty of time for a good lunch...

Loire. Beautiful route along the river, with Chateaus and great wines. Very flat!

Sorry to hijack but has anyone toured through northern France?

I've had a ride in mind for a while starting in Netherlands/The Hague and heading down through Belgium and to Arras/The Somme to see where my Great Grandfather and Great Uncle both fought during WW1.

I should have done it this year but as usual life got in the way.

When bike touring, what's the situation with taking bikes on trains in Europe? Can you just arrive at any station and take your bike on? Or is it like the UK where you have to book it in five months in advance and you can't take it on between 7 - 9 in the morning and it has to be folding bike and ... etc?

I'm planning riding/train from Cherbourg to Saas Fe next summer but would quite like to hop on/hop off trains along the way if it's straight forward.

When bike touring, what’s the situation with taking bikes on trains in Europe?

France specific but you might find these links below useful. It appears that there are trains with unbookable free places for bikes and others with bookable (10 Euro per ticket) places for bikes. It seems that there is a bit of a faff with booking in that the systems can't cope with multiple trains with different bike facilities so you have to break your journey up into constituent parts and book separately. .

https://www.sncf.com/sncv1/en/services/travelling-with-your-bike

https://www.freewheelingfrance.com/planning-a-trip/bikes-and-french-trains.html

We have done a few,but a mix of mountain bike routes and road.

Pryennes, Basque country then Perpignan to Carcassonne to Foix,  another was middle section of pryennes bit chose from Toulouse to luncheon to Lourdes splitting up tour routes.

Vosges, recommended.

Brittany fond memories as it was done when family were small great place.

Jura, very good.

Pyrenees (crossing France / Spain / France / Spain), Savoie, and the "Jura" area close to the Swiss border.

This "Jura" thing is called "GTJ". There is one for road bike and one for mountain bike (GTJ VTT).

The Pyrenee thing and Savoie thing were real adventure tours. Wild, wild in "Aragon" (spanish side).

The GTJ was easy - but so beautiful! The Jura area is a dream.

Lots of good ideas above for N. France. The Nantes-Brest canal is well equipped, and there are some good velo verts going off it which are suprisingly deserted once you get off the main canal route. Done the Velo Oddyseey from Bassin d'Archachon to Biaritsz and have ridden onto S. Sébastien. It's pretty much all on separate tarmac cycle paths away from the roads until Bayonne about 30km before Biarritz.

For trains this is the 'general' situation:

TER's Train Express Regionals: usually have bike spaces and plenty of room (can book bike on, some you might ahve to pay for, but it's not a lot)

TGV's: In theory some have bookable bike spaces, but we have never took one that has them! Well used system is that you can't take a bike on, but you can take luggage on up to a certain size without paying/booking.A normal bike with wheels  taken off and (sometimes seatpost and saddle removed if a larger bike) then all wrapped up with large bin bags and lots of parcel tape/ cling film etc. fits the 'luggage' criteria. Once you get used to it, it is no hassle. Take bike apart on platform to minimise distance you have to carry it. Admitteldy bit of a pain if you have to traverse paris and the metro etc. but it is doable. Think about making some straps with parcel tape etc.

Have fun! If you get to Grenoble pop in for a cuppa!

These guys might give you some inspiration https://www.greenjerseycycling.co.uk/

They have a few routes starting or finishing in Brittany/Normandy.

Does it have to be entirely in France?

Back in May this year i rode to the Waterloo battlefield in Belgium and back over a few days. Okay so it's not particularly hilly but it was somewhere I always wanted to visit and so there was a point to the ride.

Or you could ride to Flanders and do a tour of the local Muur's, stop in Bruges, drink Belgian beer and eat frites with mayonnaise before heading back.

Or for le grand boucle you ride from Le Havre, north through Normandy, across into Belgium and then follow the North Sea route island hopping, using ferries, causeways and dykes to the Hook of Holland. take an overnight ferry back to Harwich and then head back through Essex, skirt east around London and back home to Portsmouth.

I did it from Epsom, Surrey -> Dover -> Dunkirk -> Hook of Holland -> Harwich -> Surrey and have a route you can base it on if you like . Here's a few edited highlights if you are interested.

I’ve had a ride in mind for a while starting in Netherlands/The Hague and heading down through Belgium and to Arras/The Somme to see where my Great Grandfather and Great Uncle both fought during WW1.

The Netherlands is an absolute pleasure to cycle. Out of everywhere I've been, it's the only place where I've been completely comfortable not following a strict route. You know you can take a shortcut or detour pretty much anywhere you want and not land yourself on a busy road - there's always a safe cycling alternative. It's worth going just to experience that alone.

Belgium is mixed. The standards of driving aren't always as great as you might expect, and there are some grim industrial towns. But there are some great places too, and lovely country roads. Follow the cycle networks and it's pretty easy, even getting through the big cities like Bruges is a doddle.

Not been to the Somme, but the places I've been in Northern France are much like Belgium. Stick to the cycle networks and quiet country lanes - soak up the rural vibe.

butcher: if you found the Netherlands great for cycling (and they are), try Denmark!

love this.   only stuff I get excited about  nowadays are cycle touring threads.

#stwtouringtrackworld

Watching this thread carefully - this summer *will* be the cycle touring holiday for the whole family!

I've cycled in most directions from most of the Channel Ferry ports. I really enjoyed St Malo out to Brittany. Rugged, quiet coastline, plenty of cheap campsites or easy bivvying opportunities. It gets hillier, and prettier, as you go East, and the coast and some of the towns on the other side are stunning. It's a bit like riding in Cornwall (unsurprisingly) in that there are no mountains, but the undulations and punchy climbs take their toll, especailly when carrying all your stuff. There is a reason so many good cyclists come from Brittany (mostly Hinault, who they love).

The Loire is flatter and there really are campsites everywhere. You can't move for amazing chateaus, although touring you won't end up exploring many so its a bit of a waste. It does get busy in the summer and there is more traffic, and a few not so nice bits, mostly involving nuclear power stations. If you want good cycling I'd definitely aim for Brittany.

The St Malo ferry is much nicer than the Dieppe ferry (a recipe for sleep deprivation if ever there was one), and dumps you closer to better cycling, although its also more expensive.The jury is out on whether your bike is more likely to get nicked in Newhaven or Portsmouth.

Don't get hung up on the Eurovelo routes, they're often glorified canal towpaths. Stick to the smaller roads which are all pretty deserted in Brittany, aim for vaguely sticking to the coast or heading for interesting looking towns and you'll have a great time.

love this.   only stuff I get excited about  nowadays are cycle touring threads.

Glad I'm not alone.

Thanks for more info.

 It gets hillier, and prettier, as you go East

Did you mean east?

Someone said it further up the thread, but I think I need a destination/purpose.

Train to massif central

From Aurillac you are in shooting distance of ski resorts, extinct volcanoes and tdf finishes

Brittany and Normandy are great. Plot a route using the IGN maps on white and yellow roads taking in the coast and historic towns. Get a Michelin green guide to locate the interesting sites (old ones can be had on Amazon for almost nothing). The veloroutes can be hard to find sometimes and often follow old railway lines. The downside is that they are often hidden in trees or cuttings and go through the middle of nowhere (which is probably why the railway went broke). The point of France is the places, people and especially the food. Look for the menu ouvrier at lunchtime.

A while back now but had a top time riding from Bilbao to Bourg St. Maurice, after a ferry from Portsmouth. No shortage of hills, rode under the Millau bridge, all good fun. Train back from the Alps. Also done a couple of shorter routes from Clermont Ferrand, once to the Alps, once a sort of lap of the Massif Central. There and back by train. Never had a problem with bikes, just said 'avec velo' when buying tickets at the station and it seemed to work out. Happy days...

Creg - I’ve ridden from The Hague into Belgium before. I can’t remember where we finished - possibly Ypres - but it was one of the best weekends. The coastal routes and then into Flanders were absolutely stunning (bit of a headwind sometimes though 😄) and the history was immense. I can dig out the Strava records if you like.

Wallop - that would be great, thanks!

I had a rough plan in mind to get the ferry to Ijmuiden (as it goes not far from where I live and is less hassle than flying/boxing the bike) and then do the following:

Ijmuiden > The Hague > Bruges > Lille > Arras/Somme

Once I had finished in Arras then...well take a long trip back to Ijmuiden I guess. Staying in hostels most of the time although if I could camp then great. Would be a lightweight tour using just a couple of panniers (original plan was to do it all on a Brompton with a T bag!).