Thanks to the variety of its landscapes and its numerous bicycle paths, green and mountain paths, France is the ideal destination for cycling. Unlike other sports activities, cycling takes place in a spirit of conviviality and sharing, without a spirit of competition. Everyone can then discover the beauty of heritage by bicycle!
In this context, the French Cycling Federation (FFCT), in charge of the development of bicycle tourism, has developed Veloenfrance. fr, a unique site offering free access to over 3000 road and mountain bike circuits in France. Everyone, depending on his age or desires, will find his happiness there. The search filter allows you to search a circuit according to defined criteria (difficulty level, distance, disgradable etc.) but also to access a variety of tourist sites and "Good addresses" on the course. Thanks to the new veloenfrance application, you can also download your paths to walk without network coverage.
Petit Futé has selected its 10 escapades of heart… Beautiful walks in perspective for the coming days!
N ° 10 - VIARHÔNA
The viarhôna is the union between the Swiss Alps and the Mediterranean Sea. The route allows you to discover alpine panoramas on the beaches of Camargue, crossing the emblematic landscapes of the Côtes-du-Rhône vineyards and southern Provence: perched villages, lavender fields or olive trees, gastronomic discoveries. You will explore this path of civilizations which, over the course of its journey, egrines over 2 000 years of history and wealth, alternating green tracks and shared paths, between the Mediterranean and Europe. The entire route, 815 km between Saint-Gingolph on the South Shore of the Léman and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône or Sète, has 21 steps that still need to be finalized. Pending the complete realization of the viarhôna which will take several years, an interim itinerary is now offered to the most experienced cyclists. At the moment, the itinerary stops at Pont-Saint-Esprit. Plan to have a GPS and IGN card to anticipate your path. However, viarhôna also offers many steps accessible to all, including families. With more than 140 km of green tracks made in Rhône-Alpes, some sections are more suitable for children to drive safely. with their parents.
# 9 - BROCELIANDE, LAND OF LEGENDS
Brittany is a region that dreams about cyclists. Its spectacular coastline, harbors and lively cities, rolling countryside and authentic canals are all ready to welcome you. With this walk in the heart of Brittany, you will start your first pedal strokes from the town of Ploërmel, former place of residence of the Ducs of Brittany. The journey will take you to the legendary Broceliande forest. This mythical forest is the birthplace of the Arthurian imagination, the kingdom of the Knights of the Round Table, which once made their headquarters. Its wooded landscapes, often hilly, tell the reality and imagination intertwined. In the steps of Lancelot, Arthur and Viviane, love and adventure cling to the branches of the largest forest massif in Brittany, 7,000 hectares. Once in Mauron, a small medieval city, you will enjoy its rich heritage: his church Saint Peter, her chapel of Beuves, her chapel of Thanksgiving. From the Bois de la Roche, you will borrow the secure green lane to Loyat to return to Ploërmel by Caulnes and Quelneuc, along the lake at the Duke.
# 8 - OVER THE CANAL DU MIDI
The Canal du Midi is one of the many treasures of Languedoc. This site, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a must in terms of river tourism and the very image of a peaceful walk.
Homps, old wine port, very busy, with many shops will be your starting point and arrival for this bike ride.
Argens-Minervois, Roubia, Paraza, Ventenac-en-Minervois, as many winemaking villages as the Canal du Midi and invite us to discover another world by bicycle.
The Somail, a former "bed" created by Pierre-Paul Riquet, is one of the most striking sites on this cycling route. Preserved since its construction in the seventeenth century, there is a chapel, a remarkable cooler and the old buildings of the hostel. Today, the hamlet houses a library specialized in ancient books and a museum dedicated to hats.
Do not miss this panorama, worthy of a postcard with its port, chapel and unbelievable bookstore, its accommodations on the edge of the canal and this atmosphere conducive to an extended stop. After several hours of saddle, the comfort awaits you near Homps, more precisely at the lake of Jouarres, which will be the occasion of a swim.
N ° 7 - GREAT LAKES CROSSING
Whatever your level, the Jura will surprise you every step of the pedal by the variety of its landscapes and the beauty of its bike paths. This 134 km loop will not be left with the same loop. It is also possible to explore eight lakes, archeological sites, Moirans-en-Montagne, city of Jouet and Children, the landscapes of the Country of Lakes and Little Mountain, typical villages… And water everywhere! Your starting point is in Clairvaux-les-Lacs, a cute tourist resort on the edge of its two lakes, but also a prehistoric Palafittic site classified as UNESCO heritage. Be fit for this route. It has demanding climbs such as the Montcusel coast with 15% passes. The route will cross the Bourgades of Blye and Châtillon to lead you to Lake Chalain, the turquoise waters. A few kilometers of climb and you access the plateaus of the legendary lakes of Vernois, Ilay, Narlay, Petit and Grand Maclu. Before returning to Clairvaux by Bonlieu, the road runs along the fabulous Cascade waterfalls. Without doubt, you will take your eyes!
# 6 - LAC DE SAINT-PARDOUX
In the heart of Limousin, about thirty kilometers north of Limoges, the Gartempe - Saint-Pardoux offers a circular loop in mountain biking around Lake Saint Pardoux. Surrounded by its 330 hectares of water, this environment offers a well preserved nature and a calm and relaxing calm! Here, better than elsewhere… The Lac de Saint-Pardoux does not tell each other, he lives. Enter, discover, live, explore your nature! You are invited to dive into this green and shady place where you will be alternating with underwater trails and well-reported paths. Its small length can make it a family walk. However, caution will have to be kept in wet periods, since some technical passages, including roots, can be very slippery. It's a real pleasure to drive along the water, in winter and summer. The thickest ones can ride and continue a little on the many trails on site. The presence of the lake is relaxing and on arrival the beach allows a small dip for those who will be tempted in the beautiful season. Enjoy swimming in a place where wildlife and flora are at your side.
Don't forget your swimsuit!
# 5 - BETWEEN VINES AND DORDOGNE
The Dordogne River crosses the southwest of France for a journey of nearly 500 kilometers from its source in the Massif Central Mountains at its final confluence with the Garonne before entering the Atlantic Ocean, near Bordeaux.
This bike ride will take you to the banks of the Dordogne between Saint Sulpice of Faleyrens and Branne. You will ride quietly on the halving paths between the peaceful waters of the river and the wine vines of Saint-Émilion.
Saint-Émilion is known for its wines, but few know that the city has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the richness of its medieval heritage.
Did you know that? Tourism in Saint-Émilion rhymes with cultural discovery. You discover the rich history of Saint-Émilion and what made its reputation: its wine, of course, but also its hidden architecture like the monolith church of Saint-Émilion, the largest in Europe.
Before leaving Saint-Émilion, don't forget to taste the direct Saint-Émilion producer, a real treat!
This circuit of twenty kilometers makes you discover beautiful landscapes and castles such as the Entinon Castle, Lescours Castle, Château La Fleur d 'Horus, or the Château Belle-Laurent-Coureau.
# 4 - AROUND BELLENAVES, THE FOREST OF COLLETTES AND SIOULE
Located in the center of France, in the heart of Auvergne in the Allier department, the Bourgade welcomes you to discover its territory by bicycle.
The departure of the mountain bike circuit is 2 km from Bellenaves, at the entrance to the Collettes Forest near the leisure center: The Green Plateau. Plan what you're going to do because the journey is not easy. Between the gorges of Sioule and the rolling forest of the Collettes. Remarkable by its breadth and the quality of its woods, the forest of the Collettes rises from 350 m to 750 m altitude from the river la Bouble to the place "La Bosse" which constitutes its summit. You will go along the river de La Sioule which dominates in places of imposing boulders and these fantastic silhouettes ravaged by the waters… But you will also cross wide valleys open to calmer shores… It is on this part that, during the beautiful season, thrills and adventurers of the water come to discover the Sioule in canoe.
The heritage is, of course, the date with the old villages of Verneuil-en-Bourbonnais, Charroux, or even with the beautiful churches of Fleuriel, Taxat, Ébreuil, not forgetting the circumstance of circumstance at the abbey of Chantelle's Benedictine to taste rest but also to the majesty and peace of the… place.
N ° 3 - CENTRAL MASSIF CYCLO RAID
The Massif Central raid is a mountain roaming, traced for the hiker of an outdoor spirit, in the provinces of Auvergne and Languedoc.
First of all, you will start on the Monts of La Madeleine, then follow those of the Livradois and Forez… Then you bypass the Dore Mountains before heading south to conquer the horizons of the Cantalian volcano. The Planets around Saint Flour lead to the deep gorges of the Truyère. Flying between Aubrac and Margeride, the route enters Gévaudan.
Before crossing the causses, you will enjoy a little freshness on Mount Lozère and the bottom of the Tarn gorges. At the end of the journey you will lose yourself in the secret mountain of Escandorgue to finish at the summits of the Espinouse. You will then plunge into Mazamet with memories living unforgettable landscapes: regional parks of Livradois-Forez des Volcans d 'Auvergne, Haut-Languedoc and Cévennes National Park. The raid is between 800 and 1,500 m high; even summer, the wind can be cold, lively and very cool rain. As the climate is generally mountainous, think of taking warm clothes. Some passes are only open in mid-May; The ideal season for the course is June to October. It can be done both ways.
N ° 2 - WHITE BASTIDES
The villages of the Durance Valley have preserved their identities and wealth. The quality of life and the environment make it a privileged place in Haute-Provence: an ideal playground for outdoor activities, relaxation, discovery of picturesque villages… This well-balanced mountain bike circuit, mainly on trails, takes you to the heights to admire the beautiful panoramas on the valley of Durance. The departure is located in the village of L 'Escale, «Escalo» in Provençal. It was a place to anchor the boats that used to go through the Durance and who were stopping to spend the night there.
At the start of the stopover, you will climb the reforested area to a collar that will allow you to return, by a trail with stones that are characteristic of the corner (round and rolling), the place "La Bastide Blanche" and its large field of notaries. Finally, you will follow a beautiful descent through a fairly broad, sometimes rolling, trail, sometimes brittle by its beautiful round stones. The presence of these round stones sometimes makes the leg rough for the legs, but the view and the long descent are deserved! You can't get lost, this circuit is completely traced and detected by small FFCT posters.
# 1 - HIKING IN FOUL COUNTRIES
The first tourist resort of Finistère, Fouesnant welcomes you for the start of this hike accessible to all.
Discover the coastal trail from Cap-Coz to Beg-Meil. Close the family beach of Cap-Coz to admire (following the tide) birds looking for food. Here the herons, greeks and gulls find themselves in a large open-air restaurant where tranquility is equal only to beauty. You will then join Beg-Meil's seaside resort with rhododendrons-lined roads, flowering in the spring, and you will be able to stop the bilge and semaphore for the panorama. The crossing of the coastal marshes by the chapel of Kerbader will lead you to the point of Mousterlin after having flanked the large beach, facing the Glénan Islands, high place of sail. Numerous hollow paths, lined with orchards where the apples of the famous cider of Fouesnant are produced, will allow you to reach Bénodet. Did you know that? The Apple Festival is celebrated twice in the year: the third weekend of July and during the holidays in October. Don't leave Fouesnant without visiting its xie century jewel, the church of the village center: Saint-Pierre.
