Entre Rhin et Loire à vélo / EuroVelo 6

Description All stages Reviews

Canals & intimate rivers

1 week or more

570 Km

I begin / Family

Bâle (Suisse)

Nevers (58)

Linking the Black Sea to the Atlantic, EuroVelo 6 is one of Europe’s major cycle routes, connecting so many countries. The EV6 through France provides c.1,300km of fine cycle paths following major rivers, from Alsace to the Atlantic. Going east-west, this route has two main sections: the first, from Basel to Nevers, known as Entre Rhin et Loire à Vélo - EuroVelo 6; the second, from Nevers to St Brevin-les-Pins, known as the Loire à Vélo. Riding along, what a great way to learn about major chapters in French history. A unique patchwork of places reveals the country’s diversity and grandeur, from Renaissance gems to where 19th-century scientist Louis Pasteur carried out experiments, from military engineering marvels by Vauban to Joan of Arc’s Loire forays, from perched castles in Alsace to the Loire Valley’s royal châteaux, from major industrial endeavours to contemporary art along the Loire Estuary.

Elevation of the route

1165 m 1092 m

Waytypes of the cycle route

Cycle path: 390,08 km By road: 188,16 km Unknown: 0,01 km

Surface of the cycle route

Smooth: 320,50 km Rough: 76,57 km Unpaved: 17,01 km Unknown: 164,17 km

570km Entre Rhin et Loire à vélo - EV6,from Basel to Nevers

SIGNPOSTING | SERVICES | ACCESS | CONNECTIONS

Signposting

EuroVelo 6 is fully signposted in both directions. EuroVelo 6’s logo features clearly on all waymarking.

Services

Many Accueil Vélo accredited accommodation providers (campsites, hotels, gîtes and chambres d'hôtes or B&Bs) are located close to the cycle route, so consult our interactive maps.

Access

Main line train stations and services that accept bikes along EuroVelo 6:

Basel SBB train station: with many international connections
TGV Metz > Strasbourg > Mulhouse > Besançon > Dijon (high-speed trains for which you have to book a space in advance for any bike and pay a fee)
TER Dijon > Dole > Besançon
TER Chalon > Montchanin > Nevers (with a change at Montchanin)
TER Nevers > Decize > Dijon
Direct train lines from / to Paris, with spaces available for bikes:
Basel with an average of 7 connections a day from Paris’s Gare de l’Est (3hrs 17mins for TGV high-speed trains, plus regional TER service also)
Mulhouse (4hrs 30mins, by regional TER) | Chalon-sur-Saône (3hrs 50mins, by regional TER) | Nevers (2hrs, by Intercités or TER regional train)
With 1 change at Dijon: Besançon, Dole

Long-stay car parks along the cycle route

There are a number of car parks you can use to reach the cycle route and where you can park your car for the whole duration of your cycling trip: Nevers | Chalon-sur-Saône | Besançon | Belfort | Saint-Louis

Ideas for short cycling trips along Entre Rhin et Loire à Vélo - EV6:

To head out on a cycling weekend or a short trip along this cycle route, here are some ideas for stretches you might choose to cover:

From Doubs to la Saône - 95km
The canal du Rhône au Rhin à vélo - 92km
The Canal du Centre à vélo - 129km
From Nevers to Orléans - 207km

The Loire à Vélo by EuroVelo 6 (continued!) from Nevers to the Atlantic:

To prolong your cycling adventure along EV6, at Cuffy (nr Nevers), you can start following the Loire à Vélo, a very special cycle route running along France’s most regal river, the Loire, up to its Atlantic estuary. On the cards: Loire châteaux; vineyards; remarkable towns; splendid gardens… There are numerous train + bike options, enabling you to join or leave the cycle route at different points.