Nevers / Sancoins

Your journey along the Via Allier cycle route begins in the ducal city of Nevers. You’re led across the Loire, following its parallel canal (canal latéral) to Le Guétin canal-bridge, taking you over the Allier River. At the natural site of Le Bec d’Allier, admire how the waters of Allier and Loire merge. Cycling a little further, you reach Apremont-sur-Allier, a member of the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. This place, dominated by a château with floral gardens awarded the national accreditation of a Jardin Remarquable, provides a Romantic stop! Before the small town of Sancoins, La Halle de Grossouvre and its Espace Métal recall the area’s iron-forging past.

The Via Allier cycle route from Nevers to Sancoins

From Nevers town centre, you need to cross the Loire to get on to the Via Allier, which joins a section of the longer Loire à Vélo cycle route for the first few kilometres. After crossing Nevers’s bridge over the Loire, you cycle alongside the port and then a connecting canal to reach the link to the Canal Latéral à la Loire, where you can get onto the Loire à Vélo/EuroVelo 6 cycle route. Take the direction of Cuffy / Bec d’Allier. Immediately after crossing Le Guétin’s canal-bridge, you leave the Loire à Vélo, the Via Allier leading you towards Apremont-sur-Allier, as you continue along the towpath beside the Canal Latéral. After Apremont, the route takes you along quiet roads to La Chapelle Hugon, Grossouvre and Sancoins. Be careful crossing the D920 road (at Grossouvre) and the D2076 (at Sancoins). Note that these country roads can sometimes be muddy because of the farm vehicles using them.

Don’t miss

• Nevers: the historic centre of this ducal city, awarded Ville d'Art et d'Histoire status for its rich cultural heritage, which included becoming a major French porcelain centre in the 17th century.
• Pont canal du Guétin: this major stone canal-bridge boasts 18 arches crossing the Allier River, while the Canal Latéral à la Loire runs along the top of it!
• Bec d'Allier: an exceptionally beautiful natural spot where Allier and Loire Rivers merge. The area provides a sanctuary for rare and endangered fauna, with beavers and migrating birds living side by side.
• La Tour Sully in Cuffy: a fortified stronghold dating from the 12th to the 15th centuries, with significant vestiges of the outer walls, the keep and several towers. 
• Apremont-sur-Allier: at the heart of this listed medieval village, also a member of the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, the Parc Floral includes both an arboretum and a botanical garden, visitors able to admire over 1,500 varieties of plants.
• La Halle de Grossouvre: a former coal yard storage facility turned visitor centre dedicated to the discovery of the history of the iron works in these parts, notably with its museum, the Espace Métal

Railway stations

• Nevers station (departure of the route):
  • Line TER Nevers <> Moulins
  • Line Intercités Clermont-Ferrand <> Nevers <> Paris 
• Railway station in La Guerche sur l'Aubois, 10km from the cylce route : Line TER Bourges <> Nevers