Near the majestic Bec d’Allier (where the Allier River joins the Loire), Le Guétin’s canal-bridge makes quite an impression on this EuroVelo 6 stage leading on via Cuffy to the Loire à Vélo cycle route. The Canal Latéral à la Loire then acts as a link between Burgundy and the Loire Valley. This charming stage, starting at the unique city of Nevers, with its many services and shops, is almost entirely on greenways.

This Loire à Vélo stage runs for some way right beside the Canal Latéral à la Loire, then moves onto a raised levée to reach Marseilles-lès-Aubigny. This charming port is a great spot to stock up on provisions, what with its shops, giving you a boost to continue cycling. This is a very easy stage, mainly along greenways.

This EuroVelo 6 stage leads you to the splendid riverside town of La Charité-sur-Loire, with its fabulous basilica and strong literary links. The route is easy and offers an inspiring concentration of Loire nature, culture and heritage. There are cycle tracks practically all the way along. Enjoy the exceptional views down on the Val de Loire Nature Reserve too.

L’île du Faubourg, an island at La Charité-sur-Loire, provides an exceptionally scenic view of the Loire, on the frontier between Burgundy and Centre-Val de Loire, both regions famed for their wines. On this Loire à Vélo stretch through the heart of the Val de Loire Nature Reserve, enjoy the river’s wonderful shifting light. This stage is very easy, mainly on greenways.

This is a short, easy Loire à Vélo stage, encouraging you to enter Sancerre’s glorious hilly countryside and taste its famed wines. Here you can mix cycling with gastronomy and oenology, of course making sure you drink in moderation! A detour up to the historic town of Sancerre itself is highly recommended.

This Loire à Vélo stage, going along the eastern edge of the old French province of Berry, alternates between stretches beside the wild Loire and others alongside the Canal Latéral à la Loire. Between Léré and Belleville-sur-Loire, the heritage of centuries of river trade is everywhere to be seen. This stage is very easy, mainly sticking to greenways.

Travel by waterway has pride of place along this beautiful stretch of the Loire à Vélo. The highlight is Mantelot Lock by Châtillon-sur-Loire, where boats once gathered to cross the Loire, before the construction of the canal-bridge at nearby Briare. Lock and canal-bridge are both splendid constructions not to be missed. This section is easy, mainly on greenways.

The Briare canal-bridge is the highlight on this Loire à Vélo stage. The route then continues via hilly little roads to the town of Gien, renowned far and wide for its pottery. See how its haughty castle stands aloof above the town as you approach Gien via the Loire’s south bank. On this stage, several stretches are on roads with slopes.

This Loire à Vélo stage runs in part beside the Loire. Here, you reach the eastern end of the stretch of the Loire Valley designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The medieval Château de Sully provides a brilliant introduction, guarding the river, surveying cylists as they pass by. Several stretches of the route are along roads, with some significant slopes.

Leaving the superb Château de Sully-sur-Loire behind, this Loire à Vélo stage follows the great meanders in the Loire to the city of Orléans. Glorious, calm halts here include the magnificent Abbey of St-Benoît-sur-Loire and the ancient church at Germigny-des-Prés. This is an easy stage, mainly on greenways.

This Loire à Vélo stage sticks close to a great Loire meander leading to Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, a town with a museum dedicated to Loire mariners and trade. Lovely grounds planted with rare trees provide a peaceful place to stop. Continue to south-bank Jargeau via a raised levée affording lovely views across the Loire. The route is easy, on quiet roads and greenways.

The dramatic skyline of the city of Orléans can be seen from afar, shifting with the meanders in the Loire as you draw closer. The outdoor sports and recreation centre of the Ile Charlemagne offers a green lung in the city, a place to relax before exploring this intense town. The route is easy, mainly on greenways.

Gateway to the famed Loire Valley heartlands, once a capital in early medieval France, Orléans is now a lively modern city. It’s an ideal place to join the Loire à Vélo and EuroVelo 6 cycle routes. Whether heading upstream or down, it’s simple for cyclists to find the cycle paths leading to the Loire. This stage is as easy as it is enjoyable!

Once you’ve left Orléans’s suburbs behind, you reach the attractive confluence of the Loiret and Loire rivers. This stage of the Loire à Vélo and EuroVelo 6 runs in part along a raised Loire-side levée, looking over an agricultural plain used for market-gardening. Don’t miss Meung-sur-Loire et Beaugency, deeply atmospheric small historic towns.

The contrast between the picturesque old Loire-side villages and the electricity power station at St-Laurent-des-Eaux shows how important the Loire has been for so many human activities, past and present. A lovely cycle path runs beside the river from Tavers to Avaray, offering a flat, easy stretch as you approach the Pays des Châteaux tourist area with its famed castles around Chambord and Blois.

On this easy Loire à Vélo stage from Muides-sur-Loire to Blois, you enter the fabulous Pays des Châteaux tourist area, covering the lands around Chambord and Blois, boasting many famed châteaux. Choose between three more or less direct routes. The Loire à Vélo itself provides the most direct way, but the alternative, meandering circuits allow you to seek out great castles scattered across these unique landscapes.

This Loire à Vélo stage takes you away from Blois along the Loire’s south bank, then a little further south to the village of Candé-sur-Beuvron via vine-covered slopes. Next, follow the River Beuvron back to the majestic Loire and the splendid Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, perched above the river, with magnificent gardens and garden festival.

On this Loire à Vélo stage, enjoy exploring fine wine-making lands as well as the regal river. You’re now in the historic county of Touraine. Excite your taste buds by visiting wine estates, some with impressive underground cellars. As to your eyes, marvel at the glories of the Château d’Amboise and nearby Clos-Lucé, the latter last home to Leonardo da Vinci. There are a few slopes along the way.

On this Loire à Vélo stage, the soaring Chinese-style Pagoda of Chanteloup near Amboise offers a Zen experience. Next, on to the prestigious Montlouis appellation wine area. Discover the wide range of local whites in the cellars and restaurants around here. Don’t overdo it like Gargantua, the greedy fictional giant closely linked with Touraine! This stage is relatively easy for cyclists.

This Loire à Vélo stage proves as delightful as it is easy, leading to the gentle capital of the county of Touraine, Tours. The microclimate at the confluence of the Loire and Cher rivers proves ideal for imparting unique qualities to the grapes of the exclusive Montlouis wine appellation. You can now explore this blessed corner of Touraine with ease thanks to the new greenway laid out beside the Loire.

Touraine is known as ‘le Jardin de la France’ (The Garden of France) and Tours is a perfect central gateway for exploring it. This Loire à Vélo stage leads you along the south bank of the Cher River to the Château de Villandry, a major stop, with its world-famous gardens, before rejoining the Loire. Either side of Villandry are picturesque cycle paths leading to the great river. This stage proves extremely enjoyable.

This is a star-studded Loire à Vélo stage, taking you from the glorious Château de Villandry, with its stunning gardens, on via the confluence of Loire and Cher rivers to the fairytale Château d’Ussé. On this stage, you cycle along a raised levée beside the Loire, allowing you wonderful views of the great river. This is a special stage, mainly along shared country roads.

This Loire à Vélo stage is marked by atmospheric islands in the Loire colonized by birds. At the Indre River’s confluence with the Loire, the setting is unspoilt. Further west, enjoy one of the most magnificent panoramas on the Loire à Vélo and Eurovelo 6 routes from gorgeous Candes-St-Martin, looking onto the confluence of Vienne and Loire rivers. This stage is easy, alternating between greenways and quiet country roads.

This Loire à Vélo stage from Candes-St-Martin to Saumur takes you from Touraine into the famous neighbouring county of Anjou, offering a wealth of discoveries, alternating between wine and subterranean (or troglodyte) sights. Either stick to greenways down by the Loire, or choose the higher, more demanding route on small country roads, through vine-covered slopes, ending with a dramatic arrival at Saumur Castle.

On this Loire à Vélo stage, enjoy some of the most spectacular, luminous stretches along the Loire. The route hugs the south bank of the river, allowing you to appreciate close-up remarkable buildings made in the gorgeous local tufa limestone, including the major church at Cunault and St-Maur Abbey. All told, a magical but easy stage.

For this Loire à Vélo stage, cross to the Loire’s north bank through Anjou, cycling through former marshes turned into rich agricultural lands in medieval times, when the raised levées were built. Pick up local produce on the way! At La Daguenière, either head for Anjou’s capital city, Angers, via Trélazé’s former open slate mines, or follow the Loire to the dramatic confluence with the Maine River at Bouchemaine.

This Loire à Vélo stage to Anjou’s capital takes you through the startling landscapes of the former slate mines of Trélazé. Then enjoy crossing the Authion River via a little cable ferry. This makes for a fun way to reach the enticing city of Angers, spread across both banks of the Maine River. An equally enjoyable alternative route takes you to Bouchemaine via the Loire-side town of Les Ponts-de-Cé (see stage La Daguenière >Bouchemaine).

In the heart of Anjou, this Loire à Vélo stage goes from opposite Angers’s central castle out via the green setting of the Lac de Maine. This urban stage is startling, avoiding motorized traffic, taking you through parkland and alongside the Maine River. Bouchemaine is great for a stop, for its typical quayside restaurants or a picnic beside the Loire.

Start at La Pointe, in a tremendous setting in the heart of Anjou, where the Maine River joins the Loire. A bit west, this magical Loire à Vélo stage allows you glimpses of the prestigious vine-covered slopes of Savennières. You follow the wild Loire closely here. Don’t miss Béhuard Island before going on to cross Chalonnes’s island.

This Loire à Vélo stage in Anjou crosses the startling island of Chalonnes, one of the largest on the Loire. Nearby, along the south bank, are the celebrated Coteaux du Layon vineyards, then the pretty perched villages of Montjean-sur-Loire and St-Florent-le-Vieil. The route is along quiet roads, cyclists able to make the most of the raised Loire-side levées and views across the islands.

From Mont Glonne, at the top of St-Florent-le-Vieil, with its great views of the Loire Valley, this Loire à Vélo stage goes on to Champtoceaux, an historic fortified site with further tremendous river views, standing on Anjou’s frontier with the Pays d’Ancenis on the north bank. It’s worth conquering the heights of St-Florent and Champtoceaux for the panoramas! The route is along quiet roads and greenways.

Welcome to the Basse-Loire, or Lower Loire and the county of Loire Atlantique. The importance of the Atlantic begins to be felt on this Loire à Vélo stage, as the ocean starts to exert more of an influence. The Loire islands, vine-covered slopes producing Muscadet wine and flat, very fertile market-gardening fields on the way to Nantes provide pleasingly varied landscapes. This Loire à Vélo stage proves interesting as well as easy.

Designated European Green Capital in 2013, the city of Nantes comes into view, a shaded towpath offering a gentle way into town. The new Tabarly Bridge leads over to L’île de Nantes, home to extraordinary outsized machines you can ride on, and to the Malakoff Quarter, being completely renovated. This island makes for a great introduction to the joyous tumult of the largest city along the Loire à Vélo cycle route.

Contemporary art features large along the Loire’s long estuary and this stage shared by the Loire à Vélo and Velodyssey cyles routes. The installations are startling, set in unusual locations. They offer joyous surprises close to the city of Nantes.

The calm Canal de la Martinière acts as your guide on this stage shared by EuroVelo 6 and the Loire à Vélo cycle routes. You cycle along quiet little roads, in the midst of landscapes typical of the Loire estuary, with broad marshes and meadows spreading out from the great river.

This is the last stage on the Loire à Vélo cycle route, but it also offers you the opportunity of joining the Velodyssey cycle route as it runs alongside the Atlantic. The Loire is strongly affected by the tides here and arriving at the end of the stage, you end up in a typical seaside resort!