Bicycling tour

[Heath]

Has anyone got any suggestions for a bike trip of about 500 k or so within france.

Somewhere were there are interesting places or things to see on the way.

We did Arcachon to Narbonne plage last October . We took five days over it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Appreciate any ideas.

Heath.

[Kitty]

I had a great holiday cycling from Perpignan along the coast to the Carmargue and then up to Chateauneuf du Pape in the Rhone valley via Aix-en-Provence (Cezanne country) and Avignon.

I have checked on Google and it is 400 kms direct but easily 500 kms by using the minor roads.

[Cendrillon]

I believe a new long distance cycle route was opened this Summer it follows the Weat coast from Brittany all the way to the Spanish border. I have no more details but maybe a bit of googling would provide the details or contact various tourist offices in those area.

[Alex H]

We've been cycling in France for over 20 years, most of them from the UK.

We have a tandem and the way the holidays usually worked is that we would transport it on the car to the first hotel,

cycle round in a big circle for 2 weeks and return to pick up the car.

So, a few suggestions;

Normandy - in at St Malo (car left at UK port this time), Rennes, Mont St Michel, across the middle, Bayeaux, 2nd World War Beaches

back via Cherbourg

Loire Valley - Lots to see, if you get the direction right and cross over as required, you can be cycling on the river side of the road all the way

Alsace - Circular routes around the Vosges - fairly flat on the west - wine route on the east (about 150km - can be very hilly going into all those little vineyards)

West Coast - in at Roscoff, out at Santander ( was over 800km a bit past your limit)

and my favourite Provence;

First hotel near Mt Ventoux - (no, not quite - it's really hard on a tandem from Malaucene [:)]) south to the Luberon, east round the Luberon then south and back west, south to the Camargue, from Salin le Giraud to Saint-Maries-de-la-Mer there is a bike / pedestrian only path through the Camargue

then north to Arles, Avignon and return