Sully-sur-Loire / Orléans

After enjoying the green surrounds of the Château de Sully-sur-Loire, this Scandibérique stage leads you beside the Loire, drawing great meanders up to Orléans. Enjoy rustic stops at Germigny-des-Prés Church and Fleury Abbey, the latter dominating St-Benoît-sur-Loire. At Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, the Musée de la Marine de Loire focuses on river mariners, while the grounds contain rare species of trees and provide a fine picnic spot. Cycling along the Loire-side levée to Jargeau affords you filmic views on the river. Heading for Orléans, the city’s distinctive silhouette dominated by its cathedral comes into view on the north bank. Before reaching its urban bustle, the outdoor leisure centre on Ile Charlemagne offers you a green break where you can unwind.

The route

Alternating between cycle tracks and minor roads. Take care crossing the narrow bridge at Châteauneuf-sur-Loire. The surfaces make for easy riding, except for a stretch of cobbles along Jargeau’s quays. Before arriving at Orléans, you ride through parks with compacted tracks. 

Surfacing smooth: the asphalt along the towpath is in good condition. There are compacted tracks through the parks you cross before arriving at Orléans. The minor roads make for very comfortable riding.

Links 
For the villages of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and Germigny-des-Prés, the small towns of Châteauneuf-sur-Loire and Jargeau, and Orléans town centre, plus Orléans train station.

Trains

• Orléans train station, offering good daily links with Paris to the northeast and Blois and Tours to the southwest.

Don’t miss

• Sully-sur-Loire: the château and its park
• Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire: Fleury Abbey, a major medieval religious centre; the Centre d’Interprétation de l’Art Roman (explaining Romanesque art); the belvedere; the whole village, designated a Petite Cité de Caractère for its history
• The hamlet called Le Port de St-Benoît-sur-Loire with its sweet traditional Loire fishermen’s cottages close to the river 
• Germigny-des-Prés: the Oratory with mosaics, dating back to Carolingian times
• Sigloy Village: outings on the Loire aboard a traditional river boat
• Châteauneuf-sur-Loire: Musée de la Marine de Loire (on Loire mariners down the centuries) and the former castle grounds 
• Saint-Jean-le-Blanc: Base de loisirs de l’Ile Charlemagne, an outdoor leisure centre, bathing possible in season 
• Orléans: designated a Ville d’Art & d’Histoire for its rich historical legacy; Cathédrale Sainte-Croix; Maison de Jeanne d’Arc (on Joan of Arc); Hôtel Groslot (an historic house turned town hall); the restored Loire-side quays