Discover La Loire à Vélo

La Loire à Vélo - Bike paths & Cycle tourism - Atlantic Loire Valley

Montsoreau
Saumur
Troglodytes du village de Souzay-Champigny
Angers - Quai de la Doutre
Varades, vue sur Saint-Florent-le-Vieil
Saint-Brevin-les-Pins

Follow the cycle paths of La Loire à Vélo route, which borders the last wild river in Europe. An unforgettable journey on the discovery of châteaux, troglodyte caves, wine-making estates and characterful villages.

La Loire à Vélo: 230 km of specially-created cycle trails

This is a town with a rare elegance, with its white tuffeau stone sprinkled with slate blue, and its château reflected by the river... Here, in Montsoreau, at the border with l'Indre-et-Loire, is where the route of La Loire à Vélo starts – or ends, depending on which way you go – in our region. It has 230 km of specially-created trails along the total 800 km that make up this route that links Cuffy in the Cher region with Saint-Brevin-les-Pins in the Loire-Atlantique.

The Loire châteaux along the way.

The uncontested starts of the circuit are the Loire châteaux. There's the one in Montsoreau, of course, but also those in Saumur, Serrant, Oudon, Brissac and even Nantes, not to mention the one in Angers and the majestic Fontevraud abbey, two buildings that cyclists can get close to on one of the available circuits. These monuments are interspersed with Saumur's troglodyte caves, with underground passages also accessible by bike. Don't forget to stop off and try a fouace, the local gourmet speciality. Along the way, you can also taste pike in beurre blanc sauce, fried eel and the product of the Vallée de Loire wine-making area, with which the circuit meets up every now and again.

Preserved, fragile and fascinating nature

Note that the itinerary also highlights the Loire islands, including the largest, Chalonnes, or Béhuard, with its spectacular floods. Other totally wild islands are home to terns, grey herons and egrets alongside a wealth of plant species. You can discover this unique and fragile ecosystem by taking a ride on a "toue", a barge or a flat-bottomed "plate". Further on along the estuary, don't miss the little fishing villages and unexpected artworks sprinkled along your route. The last of these is in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins in the form of a monumental Sea Snake, half-submerged in the sea and finally revealed at low tide. You can finish your getaway here, or choose to go back to Saint-Nazaire to explore the port city by bike. Another option for adventure-lovers is to head south along the La Vélodyssée coastal route!