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).