The 8 biggest bike paths in France to discover this summer

For an outdoor, sporting and cultural holiday, the biggest bike paths in France are perfect for discovering our regions in an alternative and green way.

In a country where the bike has always been successful, the bike paths are numerous, and sometimes burgundy in such a way to create great routes to travel exclusively in two wheels. From the nice one-day bike ride, on the one-week trip to pedal, these long bike paths, cut in many sections, easily adapt to your holiday desires. Oil the chains and tighten the brakes, it's gone!

1. The Loire to Bicycle

Among the largest cyclable trails in France, the Loire à Vélo is undoubtedly the most successful project, with a route designed 100%, easy to access even with the youngest.

To follow the course of the Loire, a large river still very wild, the trail begins in the Massif Central, in Cuffy near Nevers, to reach a region classified by Unesco, the Loire Valley, before reaching Saint-Nazaire and the Atlantic coast.

There are many choices: Orleans Blois, Tours , Amboise, Saumur, Angers , Nantes ... without forgetting the famous vineyards of the Loire, and especially the famous Châteaux de la Loire .

Take a week’s bike to travel the entire Loire to Bicycle, but it’s easy to progress through sections for shorter rides thanks to the network of regional trains linking many stages.

2. The Veldyssey

The Vélodyssey is another great bike path in France to discover the serene spirit, because the whole route is arranged on uncommon routes or shared paths. About 1,200 km from the Brittany at Basque Country , there's something to be impressed!

Particularly recommended to bike ride enthusiasts by the sea, the Vélodyssée, after crossing Brittany through the land, focuses on the Atlantic Ocean from Nantes, until Bayonne, Biarritz , Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and finally Pyrenees and Spain .

On the way, several other coastal stages are also to be remembered, such as Pornic and the Jade Coast, the beautiful sandy beaches of Vendée around the Sables-d’Olonne, the islands of the Pertuis d’Antioche around La Rochelle , then the large forests of the Landes marine pines, with beaches, dunes and waves with loss of view, descending towards the Bassin d’Arcachon and seaside resorts dedicated to surfing the Aquitaine coast.

3. La Véloscénie

Compared to other major bike paths in France, the Véloscénie is more modest in terms of distances: 450 km connect indeed Paris at Mont-Saint-Michel , but the course is marked with great steps!

After Paris and the banks of the Seine, the Véloscénie becomes frankly green and bucolic, crossing the Chevreuse valley, the royal valley of Eure, the hilly landscapes of Perche and Maine, then reaching the Norman bocage, so characteristic of the region. Versailles, Chartres, Alençon or Domfront are all heritage stages prefiguring the arrival to the mythical Mont-Saint-Michel, for the last pedal stroke.

La Véloscénie promises one of the most beautiful cycling routes in France, marked from end to end, shared between small, low-traffic roads and bicycle-reserved tracks.

4. La Vélomaritime

With its 1,400 km in the meter, the Vélomaritime is one of the two largest bike routes in France. It is also one of the most beautiful and interesting to explore.

From the start in Roscoff, we start hard with the crossing of the Côte de Granit Rose , steps to Saint-Malo and Mont-Saint-Michel, the historic parade of the Landing beaches in Normandy, the seaside resorts of the Côte Fleurie ( Deauville , Honfleur ...), then the spectacular cliffs of the Côte d’Albâtre around Etretat... Then, the majestic Baie de Somme serves as an introduction to the beaches of the North and the coast of Orpale, with for terminus Dunkerque.

The bicyclemaritime is marked on the entire course, using low-traffic trails and roads, including a few sections still to be developed, which increases the difficulty.

5. The Tour of Burgundy by bike

Unlike the other great bike paths of France with linear tracks, the Tour de Bourgogne is made circular through this beautiful region. One of the great advantages of this route is the pre-eminence of 100% cycling routes, for safe rides even with children.

The Tour de Bourgogne is cleverly using numerous canals, such as the Canal de Bourgogne or the Canal du Nivernais, old railway tracks, classic tracks and green tracks to compose a varied course, where the natural and cultural heritage of the region is omnipresent.

Dijon , Beaune, Paray-le-Monial, Auxerre or Thunder are the most famous stages. A must-see section, the Voie des Vignes, runs through the most famous vineyards of Burgundy: Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-St-Georges, Pommard or Meursault...

6. La Vélo Francette

Even if it starts and ends at the sea, the Vélo Francette is a great bike path in France for lovers of the countryside.

At the start of Ouistreham, we first attacked the bocage of the superb Swiss Normande, before crossing the peaceful countryside of Mayenne and Anjou in the Pays de la Loire, to chain on the landscapes of the Poitou marsh, before feeling the ocean approaching the small roads of Charente-Maritime.

A well-marked route, which also works in the other direction, from La Rochelle.

7. La ViaRhôna

Perhaps the most beautiful among the largest bike paths in France, at least when it is fully equipped... The ViaRhôna is beautiful on many sections, but others are still only provisional, which does not facilitate the delivery of end-to-end for inexperienced cyclists.

We then focus on a certain section of the ViaRhôna that is safe: around the shores of Lake Geneva, through the vineyards of the Côtes de Rhône in the direction of Lyon , then along the river in its more Provencal part, in the Drôme around Montélimar, or between Avignon and Arles then in Camargue, in the Bouches-du-Rhône...

8. The Scandal

In total distance, the Scandal is the largest bike path in France, with 1,700 km. It is part of a larger track, the EuroVélo 3, linking Trondheim to Norway to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle Spain! With such a large scale, many sections of the Scandiberian are available throughout France: 20 departments are concerned in all.

The route, very varied of course, crosses the country diagonally. For example, large cities like Paris, Tours or Bordeaux , beautiful regional ensembles such as the valleys of Sambre and Oise, the Loire Valley and its castles, the hilly countryside of Poitou, the landes and forests of Gascogne, before reaching the foothills of the Pyrenees in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, on the road to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle.

A real odyssey through France!