We have already talked about the best cycling routes in Europe, and now we will focus on France and its beautiful landscapes. Traveling by bicycle is the best opportunity to get to know and love provincial France, with ancient villages and castles, good-natured people and wonderful cuisine. France is a small country but incredibly diverse, with each region rightfully boasting a unique climate and cuisine. We have collected for you cycling routes that run through the most beautiful places in France: the Atlantic coast, the cliffs and emerald meadows of Normandy, the vineyards of Burgundy.
1. Chalon-sur-Saône/Mâcon (Chalon-sur-Saône/Mâcon) in eastern France
Route: Chalon-sur-Saône – Buxy – Cormaten – Cluny – Macon.
Length: 75 km.
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This route is one of the first Greenways (a cycle path on which only cyclists or pedestrians are allowed, with no roads nearby) in France. The path goes through the heart of the Burgundy wine region – along the banks of canals, through forests and vineyards, past medieval abbeys and castles. On the way to Buxy you will see an ancient fort and drive along the tracks of a closed railway past a dozen wineries. The path to Cormaten lies through the vineyards, and in the village itself there is an elegant Renaissance castle. Along the banks of the Grona River you will reach the magnificent Abbey of Cluny, built in the 10th century, and from there you will travel to the lovely medieval town of Macon.
2. Arcachon/Léon on the Atlantic coast
Route: Arcachon – Biscarrosse-Plage – Parenty-en-Born – Mimizan-Plage – Conti-Plage – Leon.
Length: 130 km.
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This route is also called the Path of Lakes, Beaches and Forests. It begins next to the famous Pyla Dune – the largest in Europe, surrounded by the ocean and centuries-old pine trees. Along the ocean coast you will reach Biscarrosse, with its ancient castles and churches, and turn into the lands of the Great Lakes. On the way to Parenty-en-Born you will see dozens of rivers and lakes surrounded by flower meadows and groves. After a rest in Gaste, you will head through the pine forests to the town of Mimizan, with its carved churches from the 12th to 14th centuries, narrow streets and cozy restaurants. Next you will find a road along the Atlantic coast to Leon (not to be confused with Lyon),
through the Courant d’Huchez nature reserve with rare birds, lakes and wild beaches.
3. Condé-sur-Huisne/Alençon in central France
Route: Condé-sur-Huin – Remalard – Mortagne-aux-Perches – Le Mel-sur-Sarthe – Alençon. Length: 78 km.
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This Green Cycle Route passes through the Perche Regional Nature Reserve. The path to Remalar lies through fields with windmills and groves. The section of the route from Ramalard to Mortagne aux Perches is very picturesque, passing through the Cournoyer estate, flowering meadows and rivers. Mortagne-aux-Perches has many architectural monuments: a church in the Flamboyant Gothic style, mansions of the aristocracy and a Renaissance monastery. Near Le Mel-sur-Sarthe there is a huge lake with a beach, water skiing and boat rentals, from where we continue through the meadows to Alençon, where the Normandy region begins. Alençon has many ancient half-timbered houses, a 16th-century basilica with a carved façade, and a ducal castle.
4. Domfront/Ducey in northwestern France
Route: Domfront – Barenton – Mortain – Saint-Hilaire-du-Arcoueux – Duquet.
Length: 90 km.
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This route passes through the most beautiful places in Normandy – through emerald valleys, past steep cliffs and medieval cathedrals. The road from Domfront to Barenton is the Green Path, passing along the banks of the Selyun River and pear groves. Next you will go to Mortain through water meadows, where thousands of Norman cows graze, whose milk is considered one of the best in Europe. In every village restaurant you can try the freshest cheeses and veal dishes with a glass of cider. From Mortain, through Saint-Hilaire-du-Arcoueux, you will drive along the river bank, through waterfalls and gorges to the village of Duquet, a couple of kilometers from which is the beautiful abbey of Mont Saint-Michel.
5. Greenway of the Canal of the Two Seas (Vélo Voie Verte du Canal des Deux Mers) in the south of France
Route: Grisol – Monteche – Moissac – Valence d’Agent – Lamagister.
Length: 68 km.
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The Canal of the Two Seas is a huge cycling route connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and the Green Route is its most beautiful part, running along the banks of the canal in the Tarn-et-Garonne department. Almost along the entire length of the route, the bike path is lined with tall plane trees, in the shade of which it is so pleasant to travel in the summer. The route begins in Grisol and goes through vineyards and lakes to Montes, a beautiful city with many canals, in the vicinity of which five Renaissance castles have been preserved. Then the road goes to Moissac – a beautiful city with Romanesque churches, surrounded by gardens and vineyards, from where our path lies to Lamagister.
