Where to tour in France?

[redtrek1100]

I am planning a cycling tour in France this year...September time. Looking at 7-8 days cycling 40-60 miles/day. What would be some recommendations for routes? Thank you!

[jacksonz]

It's all good. The Loire River would be the best place to start.

[andymiller]

Think about where you can get to easily. If you can get to the South coast then a ferry to Brittany or Normandy would be a good bet.

[pwa]

Last summer I did a circuit starting and finishing in Orange and taking in some beautiful cycling terrain around Provence. There were flat bits, but mainly it was either up or down, with quite a few medium sized cols. We used mainly minor roads. For cycling, Provence is wonderful. Just do some research to find those minor roads.

[andymiller]

PS It's worth giving information about where you can get to and what sort of cycling you are interested in (eg leisurely or Alpine climbs?). Otherwise it becomes a bit of a game of pin the tail on the donkey for the rest of us.

[Therealsouthstander]

Provence is wonderful for Cycling..

We started in Aix-en-Provence and went to Avignon, Gordes, Rousion, The Gorges du Verdon,Biot,Antibes, Nice and Monaco..

Too many other small towns and villages to mention but every single one of them was amazing..

Wonderful trip on quiet roads, we took 8 Days..

[truckturner]

I found this helpful https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o= ... 13285&v=4f Cut and paste link in Google cheers

[PeterJ]

I did a 7 day loop round Brittany last August. I enjoyed it, but I would say the coastal bits were much nicer than the inland parts. It also rained quite a lot (which apparently is common, but I didn't find that out until the day before I set off). If I were going to France again I'd probably head south to somewhere with a higher probability of dry weather.

[Fareham]

Two thoughts
1) There is a train several times a day from Caen down to Tours on the Loire if you want to ride the Loire route. I'm hoping to use it later this year. Its a very easy 10 mile ride from the Oustreham ferry port along the tow path to Caen Gare.
2) The overnight boat to St Malo from Portsmouth gives you decent nights sleep and drops you off in France about 8 am. I've found this very convenient in the past.

[Gearoidmuar]

I've done a lot of France.
1. Paris-Nice in 1991. The Loire valley is totally boring. It sounds nice, but that's it.
2. The Coast of Brittany is fairly hilly but it's very good. I've done it all from Benodet to Mont St.Michel, much of that several times as I can get the Cork-Roscoff ferry.
3. The Dordogne is great, but do it off season. The Lot is good too.
4. We did a great tour some years ago. La Rochelle, incl Ile de Ré, and down to Carcasonne through Rocamadour etc. Very good.
5. A few times in Provence. It's great.
6. If you consider Corsica to be France, it's great. Off-season.
7. The Vosges lovely.
8. The Alps and Pyrenees are hard but are wonderful if that's what you want.

[bigjim]

Over the last five years I have done four French tours. Always in September. Every time I have always spent days cycling in heavy rain. Paris to Beziers, La Rochelle to Biarritz, Tours to Beziers, Basle to Beziers. More Beziers because I can get a good flight connection to Manchester. No other reason.
Love France for cycling but next time I don't think I will do September. My advice. Take good waterproofs. Oh, and mudguards.

[rualexander]

Over the last five years I have done four French tours. Always in September. Every time I have always spent days cycling in heavy rain. Paris to Beziers, La Rochelle to Biarritz, Tours to Beziers, Basle to Beziers. More Beziers because I can get a good flight connection to Manchester. No other reason.
Love France for cycling but next time I don't think I will do September. My advice. Take good waterproofs. Oh, and mudguards.

You must be unlucky, we've been to france in september three out of last four years and had virtually no rain, mostly glorious sunshine. Three weeks each time. One to the north of Carcassonne, one to the south of Carcassonne, and one south of Lyon to the Vercors, Diois, and Mt Ventoux. Probably going again in september this year.

[bigjim]

Over the last five years I have done four French tours. Always in September. Every time I have always spent days cycling in heavy rain. Paris to Beziers, La Rochelle to Biarritz, Tours to Beziers, Basle to Beziers. More Beziers because I can get a good flight connection to Manchester. No other reason.
Love France for cycling but next time I don't think I will do September. My advice. Take good waterproofs. Oh, and mudguards.

You must be unlucky, we've been to france in september three out of last four years and had virtually no rain, mostly glorious sunshine. Three weeks each time. One to the north of Carcassonne, one to the south of Carcassonne, and one south of Lyon to the Vercors, Diois, and Mt Ventoux. Probably going again in september this year.

Give me the dates I'll follow.

[MrsHJ]

+1 for Provence on September. Only downside is it can seem a bit dried out but the food is still great. Airport access to Nice and do a circuit back to there. I'd need to get maps out to suggest a practical route but the Var, Gorges of Verdun, Banon, Mount Ventoux might be places to think of, so many great little towns though that you can focus on whatever works for you.

There will be climbing but I find overall the gradients and balance of climbing and flattish is very accesptable compared to some other areas of France.

Love Brittany but it depends on whether you are seeking a bit of sunshine and when in September you go, further South all of SOuth West is good but further towards the Pyrennes is my preference and I agree with others re touring that corner of France just above the Eastern Pyrneees- we've done loads in this area and there's plenty to see although parts are very underpopulated (ie think about service options). The middle of France is also a bit risky in September- the Massif Central is moving towards a cooler period and may not be so great for camping later in September. Having cycled all the way across France a few times there are some very claggy bits in the Centre etc that don't really appeal for getting miles in. I haven't really tested Eastern France for cycling although we've travelled through the whole of the country a lot on non cycle trips.

It would help to know your accomodation plans- hotels/camping, appetite for climbing/flat, preference for hot sunshine v cooler, whether you are prpared to fly with you bikes, when in September you are thinking of travelling.

[bretonbikes]

I'm biased but Brittany's weather has been fabulous for the last three Septembers (better than August) and it's very easy to hop onto a ferry and come over to Roscoff and just strike out immediately into some lovely countryside. If you need any help please get in touch as I've lots of routes you can have gratis, but depending on whether you're camping or hotelling it these two make a good starting point?

http://www.bretonbikes.com/homepage/cyc ... ng-holiday

the only snag with this is that out-of-the-blue the hotel at Bon Repos has closed and so you can substitute this place which is exceptional and very cheap - http://kozhker-boulou.fr/

and

http://www.bretonbikes.com/homepage/cyc ... at-roscoff

Hope that helps...