short tour in France

in the wire

Would appreciate suggestions for a 1 week tour in France late September / early October.

Keeping an open mind at the moment, but am thinking of either getting the ferry to somewhere in the north, or getting a budget airline to somewhere in the south. I know it can get damp in Brittany round then though.

Wouldn't mind a bit of coast, and the flatter the better overall. Ample camping options good as well.

Looking at forums only Bordeaux has caught my eye. Anyone toured round there?

vernonlevy

in the wire wrote:

Would appreciate suggestions for a 1 week tour in France late September / early October.

Keeping an open mind at the moment, but am thinking of either getting the ferry to somewhere in the north, or getting a budget airline to somewhere in the south. I know it can get damp in Brittany round then though.

Wouldn't mind a bit of coast, and the flatter the better overall. Ample camping options good as well.

Looking at forums only Bordeaux has caught my eye. Anyone toured round there?

Lust cycled from Calias to Montpellier.

Some areas worth considering are:

Rhone/Saone gap between the Alps and Massif Central - flat river valleys bordering on the Ardeche and through Provence. Carmargue is v. flat.

Have a gander at the Lonely Planet Cycling Guide for some good suggestions.

Cathryn

I'm off to La Rochelle and the Poitou Charantes region in a fortnight. Gorgeous piece of France, great food, flattish countryside and the Ile de Re to cap it all. Would hugely recommend it.

ut_och_cykla

Can recommend Nyons/Mt Ventouux area. Not flat but usually dry and warm and choosing routes with care will eliminate most bad 'up' bits. Not far away is where Rhone valley meets foothills - run along them for a few days eating good food and drinking excellent wine?
Either way have a supre trip - I'm green (almost) with envy!

alittlecrazy

The Tarn Gorges are stunning and the trip to Millau is well worth it to see the Viaduct. From there you can ride past the famous blue cheese town of Roquefort and touch the Ardeche as well. Or you could fly into Nice and ride up into the Ardeche, plus the town of Orange is supposed to be quite pretty, although we didn't get the chance to go there.

pneumatic

In a week you could get down to the Loire from Le Havre and do the Chateaux - very agreeable, loads of campsites and a wine cellar every kilometre. If you don't have time for a round trip, think about putting bike on train; they are much cheaper than here and most have cycle facilities. For example, last September I did a trip from Geneva to Grenoble over the Alps and got a train back with the bike for about 15 quid. The bike hung on a purpose built rack in the carriage where I was sitting.

DomT

I have just uploaded a 9 day tour of Brittany and Normandie on to Bikely - you may find it useful.

Tourist Tony

Bike bus down to Perpignan and ride coastwise to another European Bike Express stop. Can give you detailed route if you want.

jibi

A post like this will yield as many tours and ideas as there are replies

I go with get the Express to the south coast and cycle north.

If you like mountains stay to the east, if you like flat , the Rhone Soane Valley, if you like hills the Massif Centrale, or you could go west to the Pyrennees

the Canal du Midi for Carcassonne and Toulouse and then up to Atlantic,,,

or then inland for the Gorge du Tarn acros to Nimes

this/these is/are my personal favourite(s).

I hope you find a great tour and have a good one

george


Brittany is good too
and the Voges
shut up now george. OK
anywhere but the Med coast

Tourist Tony

I like riding the Med coast!!
You just need to know the sneaky bits....

lambkin

La Rochelle is a good option for a flat tour. Ryanair do the biz so getting there is fairly easy??? You can then ride the islands of Oleron or Re, both with good cycle only routes, or up into the canal country, "Venice Verte" in the Poiteu Charentes, all as day trips from La Rochelle which is a lovely seaside city in itself.

A longer tour would be to ride down to Royan and take the ferry over into the Landes where there is good cycling, returning via Bordeaux or just heading as far south as you can get, hugging the coast, 8) before turning round.

Tourist Tony

alittlecrazy wrote:

The Tarn Gorges are stunning and the trip to Millau is well worth it to see the Viaduct. From there you can ride past the famous blue cheese town of Roquefort and touch the Ardeche as well. Or you could fly into Nice and ride up into the Ardeche, plus the town of Orange is supposed to be quite pretty, although we didn't get the chance to go there.

Orange is gorgeous, with lots of Roman bits and views of Ventoux.

in the wire

wow - thanks for the replies, lot to think about there

jibi

Don't forget Alsace, Strasbourg is a beautiful city, lots of easy cycling along the Rhine down to Colmar, or follow the route du vin through charming villages and lots of "Degustation",and the Voges will test your climbing ability.

France has so many great touring areas,

have a good one

Tailwinds

george