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Close to 2 600kms of safe, marked paths along country roads are already in use and nicely complement the 40 “voies vertes” green routes that are reserved exclusively for family bike rides. One can serenely pedal along and discover the countryside from a different angle. What a privilege!
From Givry to Cluny in Burgundy, around Lake Annecy in Savoie, from Bordeaux or Lacanau to Arcachon in Aquitaine, between Saumur and Tours in the Loire Valley, from Toulouse to Castelnaudary, the green routes have improved in the past 15 years : a ribbon of asphalt or gravel that follows an old railway route, shores of a lake, a forest path, a river or a canal.
Ideal for a day trip or longer, with no traffic and no hills - stress free and relaxing. Along the route you’ll find bike rental shops that offer trailers for the little ones, a typical bistro for a snack and superb sites.
The European Véloroute is an ambitions project, to connect the various bike networks long-distance rides across France and Europe. The idea is to take the small, less-frequented routes. This will allow the leisure-cycling tourists to experience the regional circuits like the Luberon mountains, or a long ride of 800 kms along the Loire on the Loire à Vélo route. Beyond the borders, European Véloroute transforms into Eurovélo: 12 European project tied together but the liaisons Loire-Danube and Léman (Lake Geneva)-Mediterranean won’t be ready for a few years.
Sites for cycling information in France
Association française des Voies vertes et Véloroutes
www.af3v.org – a search engine of 280 bike routes in France
Cyclo-clyclotes
www.cyclos-cyclotes.org
Eurovélo – From the Atlantic to the Black sea
www.eurovelo6.org
Best-known routes:
La Loire à Vélo – along the Loire River and Loire Valley chateaux
Givry to Cluny – the first “voie verte” opened in 1996
La Bourgogne à Vélo – along the Canal du Nivernais
La Champagne-Ardenne à vélo – 400 km of green routes through out the region
The Canal du Midi – along the UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Roger Lapébie route in Aquitaine along the Atlantic coast
The Voie Verte in the Hautes-Vosges in the Vosges mountains
The Voie verte in Lorraine – a network of three itineraries through four departéments of Lorraine
The Luberon a vélo - in the regional Luberon park among beautiful perched villages.
Streets of Paris – 12 miles, along the banks of the Canal de l’Ourcq between Bastille and Claye-Souilly.
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