Véloire

While awaiting the extension of the Véloire further up the Loire, Montrond-les-Bains is the entry point to this cycle route following the upper stages of the longest river in France. This riverside thermal resort looks impressive, with its Renaissance castle perched above town. Here, you’re in the Forez area, known for gentle good living. The cycle route leads you off on minor roads across the bocage ligérien, hedgerows dividing this area’s pastures, past countless lakes on the way to Feurs. This town was a strategic spot in Gallo-Roman times, and capital of the Segusiaves tribe; the place stands at a crossroads between Clermont-Ferrand and Lyon and halfway between Roanne and Saint-Etienne. Its racecourse is highly regarded, in an area known for its stud farms.

Your journey along the Véloire cycle route continues with this stage, the great wild river your companion for most of the way. Crossing the villages of Pinay, Saint-Jodard, Bully and Saint-Jean-Saint-Maurice, appreciate the peaceful atmosphere of the Roannais countryside. Taking you along often shaded roads with little traffic, this stage offers a mix of unspoilt nature and rich cultural heritage, the Château de la Roche providing a fine example, on the Loire itself. The boating river ports of Bully, then Roanne, are two obvious stops to enjoy.

The Véloire cycle route now leads you very peacefully into southern Burgundy. Don’t forget to buy a praluline brioche for your pannier before heading off gently along the Canal de Roanne à Digoin greenway. Riding along the former towpath, you go from one lock to the next. As you continue, you reach tarmacked stretches. The renowned Charolais breed of cow becomes a common sight in the fields, underlining the bucolic, rural nature of this stage. This part of the Brionnais area reveals the richness of Burgundy’s architectural legacy. In the Pays du Sornin, a link can take you to Charlieu, designated a Petite Cité de Caractère, the centre dominated by a beautiful old Benedictine abbey. Do try the local culinary specialities: Charlieu andouille (chitterling sausage) and François Pralus’s praluline (a brioche containing caramelized nut pralines).

On its final stage, the Véloire route unfolds like a green ribbon across the Brionnais area. Keeping beside the wild Loire, this magnificent stretch is tarmacked and offers wonderful glimpses onto very diverse natural environments. The peaceful town of Paray-le-Monial makes a perfect stopover for a rest before continuing your cycling adventures along the Canal du Centre and EuroVelo 6. In town, the splendid Basilique du Sacré-Cœur is a place of major Catholic pilgrimage well worth a visit.