Cycle along the Loire riverbanks on the famous “Loire à Vélo” route and discover the “Valley of the Kings”, a World Heritage Site by Unesco
A part of UNESCO’s World Heritage, the Loire Valley is a living cultural landscape. With a great river, a fertile land and temperate climate, it is a privileged place. Its geography, history and natural sites make the Loire Valley an obvious choice for a cycling holiday! Castles, vineyards, rivers, typical and preserved architecture offer a variety of interests of a rare density.
From the Cher to the Loire Atlantique, the Loire river runs through a long valley, offering great cultural diversity. From Nevers in the center of France to the estuary in Saint-Brévin-les-Pins, the inhabitants still have a strong connection with the longest river in France, each with local specificities. The river formed various landscapes, sometimes uphill, sometimes digging cavities, where long ago men found shelter before building homes. You might have the opportunity to sleep in a troglodyte bedroom after a day’s ride.
Created in 1995, the “Loire à vélo” is a 800 km cycling route composed of small roads and greenways. If most of the network is on small roads, facilities and dedicated bike paths grow a bit more each year and help keep you away from traffic. Common to the Eurovelo 6 which links the Atlantic to the Black Sea, the “Loire à vélo” is one of the most popular and accessible bike routes. The low height difference is a real asset and first time cycling travelers often choose it as their starting experience. The network of cycling routes, greenways and large number of villages with hotels and bed and breakfast make it a great destination for families.
The Loire Valley is much more than just a cycling route! All around the river, many roads and greenways take you to castles, vineyards and other attractions of the Loire’s rich heritage.
Our trips show you the best of what the valley has to offer, along the official route and alternative local loops. We select our favorite sections and personally choose small roads and great pathways to not miss out on Loire Valley’s riches. Accommodations have adapted to the popularity of the “Loire à vélo” by gradually developing services for cyclists. You can identify them by the Accueil Vélo accreditation, certifying their capacity to welcome cyclists and offer dedicated services.
The Loire valley has a gentle climate you can enjoy throughout the year. Neither too hot nor too cold, temperatures are ideal for cycling. As they are very favorable for gardens and vegetable growers, the region has been nicknamed the Garden of France.
The oceanic climate brings frequent cloudy periods yet the rainfall is below average. Its sunshine rate is average, with good temperatures from May to September. Summer has some stormy episodes; however you won’t experience torrential rain.
Life is good here. It is no coincidence the Kings of France made it their residency of choice by setting up their court in Chambord, and in the entire valley from Nantes to Sully-sur-Loire.
The Loire Valley has a rich heritage. It is so dense it is impossible to mention all of it. It takes several trips to discover! Along the majestic river from Sully to Saint-Brévin, here are some sites worth seeing in a cycling trip to the Loire:
Dear Fabien, All the tour was very good and amusing. Beautiful landscape, nice people, good hotels and food. I do not really have one particular moment to remenber (a part from my accident) ... and then I will remember always all tour with homesickness. I take this occasion to give you my congratulation for the very well organized tour we had. Was e real pleasure to bike in Bretagne. I would also like to thank you for the support and assistance you provided me for my incident Thank you for your professional and human attitude you have in doing your job and I hope to bike again with your organization. Please say hallo to your colleague, monsieur ….. (I don’t remember his name) that accompanied me with the car to St-Brieuc. Best regards (07/2012)
Hello, We had a fantastic stay. Overall, we are very satisfied and recommend Brittany (...) Eve, Marie, Per-Anders and Ulf What we enjoyed the most: The good weather Pleasant hotel The good food Good equipment, good bicycles (08/2018)
Dear Caroline, I just wanted to say a big Thank you to you and all involved in helping to make my husband and friends birthday trip so good. They came back full of delight and great stories and I know they all had a fantastic time. We would definitely recommend you and your company, Thank you again Kind regards xxx (07/2015)
Hello Natalie, We are now back in Sweden from our bicycle tour in Normandy. I would just like to give you some feed back from the tour: We were all very satisfied with the trip. When planning the trip, we found it very easy to work with you, quick answers and good flexibility for our ideas. Excellent choice of roads, which took us through the fantastic landscapes of Normandy, and also along the fashinating see shores ending with the first D-day shore. Most roads with very little traffic. We also appreciated the kindness of all french drivers who never complained although we sometimes were in the middle of the small narrow roads. The distances was OK for all of us. When there was a choice of long or short distances, we always selected the long ones. Easy to find the roads with the excellent GPS and the very good Road Book. We also appreciated the very good choice of B&B, places where we felt wellcome and with good standard. A trip we will recommend to our friends. We also had good luck with the weather, lots of sun, not to strong winds, just one or two showers in daytime. (Was the weather also organised by you??) With Best Regards (05/2017)
Hello new friends, I wish to say "thank you for a great time and good-bye for now". I missed saying so to most of you yesterday. all the best (05/2013)
Now that we are home and recovering from jet lag we would like to thank you and Davide for making it such an enjoyable trip despite the rain. The routes were very carefully crafted and gave us good views on safe roads and trails. The GPS was very easy to follow (...). The bikes were very good and performed without problem and the panniers and handlebar bags were the best we have encountered. We think that the combination route that we created with your help gave us good variety in the time we had allowed ourselves. (...) We will certainly recommend Abicyclette to anyone interested in seeing Bretagne on a bike. (...) Thank you again for a wonderful trip. Will and Marilyn (09/2017)
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