Long-distance cycling routes in France: all the routes in one go

France has one of the best networks of long-distance cycling routes in the world: signposted, often car-free, and with bike-friendly accommodations everywhere. On the Dutch-language site of France Vélo Tourisme, you can find the stages, maps, and GPX files for each route. Below, we have arranged the routes for you.

The great classics

• La Loire à Vélo (630 km, Nevers – Saint-Brevin-les-Pins): along the Loire castles to the Atlantic Ocean. The most famous cycling route in France.
• La Vélodyssée (1300 km, Roscoff – Hendaye): along the entire Atlantic coast.
• ViaRhôna (815 km, Lake Geneva – Mediterranean Sea): the Rhône river, from the Alps to the sea.
• Canal des 2 Mers (750 km, Royan – Sète): from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea along the Canal du Midi.
• La Vélomaritime / EuroVelo 4 (1500 km, Roscoff – Dunkerque): along the coast of Brittany, Normandy and the Opal Coast.
• La Scandibérique / EuroVelo 3 (1700 km, Jeumont – Estérençuby): crossing France from the Belgian border to the Pyrenees.
• Between the Rhine and the Loire by bike / EuroVelo 6 (570 km, Basel – Nevers): from the Rhine to the Loire.
• La Méditerranée by bike (850 km, Le Perthus – Menton): along the entire French Mediterranean coast.
• Avenue Verte London–Paris (470 km, Paris – London).
• La Vélo Francette (600 km, Ouistreham – La Rochelle): from Normandy to the Atlantic coast.

Mountains and sporting routes

• Route des Grandes Alpes (720 km, Thonon-les-Bains – Nice): over the great Alpine valleys, from Lake Geneva to the Côte d’Azur.
• P’tites Routes du Soleil (915 km, Thonon-les-Bains – Nice): the quieter variant through the Alps.
• Tour du Ventoux (128 km, a loop from Vaison-la-Romaine).
• Luberon (241 km, a loop from Cavaillon).
• Tour du Jura Sport (252 km, round trip from Lons-le-Saunier).
• Grand Traverse of Jura (375 km, Montbéliard – Culoz).
• Vélosud (650 km, Biarritz – Le Barcarès): along the foothills of the Pyrenees.
• Grande Traversée de la Corse (GT20) (592 km, Bastia – Bonifacio): crossing Corsica from side to side.
• La Durance by bike (170 km, Monêtier-les-Bains – Sisteron).

Mountain biking and gravel: the Grandes Traversées

• Grand Traverse of the Central Massif (1400 km, Avallon – Agde)
• Grand Traverse of the Ardèche (315 km, Annonay – Bourg-Saint-Andéol)
• Grand Traverse of Jura (425 km, Mandeure – Culoz)
• Grand Traverse VTT Alpes-Provence (305 km, Col de Larche – Manosque)
• TransVerdon (260 km, Col d’Allos – Gréoux-les-Bains)
• Grand Traverse of the Rhone (230 km, Lancié – Condrieu)
• Great Traverse of the Volcano (165 km, Port d’Agrès – Brassac-les-Mines)

Many of these routes are also suitable for cycling with a mountain bike with wide tires; check the terrain for each stage.

Along rivers and canals

• La Voie Bleue (700 km, Sierck-les-Bains – Lyon)
• EuroVelo 5 Moselle / Alsace (390 km, Sarreguemines – Basel)
• EuroVelo 15 Rhine (180 km, Basel – Lauterbourg)
• EuroVelo 19 Maas (444 km, Langres – Givet)
• Seine (510 km, Paris – Le Havre/Deauville)
• La Flow Vélo (400 km, Sarlat – Île-d’Aix)
• Vallée du Lot (480 km, Aiguillon – La Canourgue)
• Via Allier (455 km, Nevers – Langogne)
• La Belle Via (280 km, Seyssel/Aix-les-Bains – Valence)
• Canal de la Marne au Rhin (147 km, Nancy – Strasbourg)
• Canal between Champagne and Burgundy (278 km, Vitry-le-François – Dijon)
• Valley of the Somme (195 km, Tergnier – Saint-Valery-sur-Somme)
• La Véloccitanie (237 km, Seuil de Naurouze – Béziers)

Normandy, Brittany and the West

• Véloscénie (450 km, Paris – Mont-Saint-Michel)
• VéloWestNormandy (185 km, Bayeux – Mont-Saint-Michel)
• La Littorale (600 km, Roscoff – Nantes)
• Velocéan (148 km, Pénestin – Saint-Nazaire)
• Very ideal (680 km, Royère-de-Vassivière – Saint-Nazaire)
• Vendée Vélo Tour (700 km, round trip from Les Sables-d’Olonne)
• V2 Bretagne (245 km, Saint-Malo – Arzal)
• V7 Bretagne (147 km, Roscoff – Concarneau)

Rundowns through a region

• Tour de Bourgogne (664 km, round trip from Dijon)
• Tour de Gironde (480 km, round trip from Bordeaux)
• Tour de Creuse (327 km, round trip from Crozant)
• P’tite GTJ (256 km, round trip from Lons-le-Saunier)
• Tour du Jura Vélo Loisirs (150 km, round trip from Dole)

Pilgrimage routes

• Saint-Jacques by bike via Vézelay (420 km, Vézelay – Limoges)
• Saint-Jacques (400 km, Poses – Tours)

Award-winning cycling regions

Do you want to know which areas are best suited for cyclists? Read about it 30 Destinations in France by Bike.

Source: France Vélo Tourisme (routes, lengths and stages).