16 long distance cycling routes through Europe
EuroVelo is a brilliant initiative for cyclists, a network of 16 long-distance cycle routes, known as EuroVelo routes, crisscrossing Europe. Once complete, the network will cover 70,000km. France is spoilt with 9 EuroVelo routes crossing the country, offering over 6,000km to explore. Discover more about these routes below.
What is a EuroVelo route?
- A cycle route crossing several European countries, joining together national or regional cycle routes.
- It must be at least 1,000km in length.
- It must be specially signposted, with signs visible in both directions.
How do you recognize a EuroVelo route?
- All the EuroVelo routes share a common logo – the European Union flag, with the route’s number indicated in the centre.
- Each number corresponds to the EuroVelo route concerned.
Les 10 EuroVelo qui traversent la France
Les 10 EuroVelo qui traversent la France
La Vélodyssée, the Atlantic Cycling Route
La Vélomaritime / EuroVelo 4
EuroVelo 15 - The Rhine Cycle Route in Alsace
ViaRhôna
The Meuse cycle route
La Loire à Vélo - Loire Valley by bike
Mediterranean Cycle Route
EuroVelo 5 - Moselle / Alsace
The Scandibérique / EuroVelo 3
EuroVelo 1 - The Atlantic Coast Route - 8 186 KM
Norway (Nordkap) > Scotand > Ireland > England > France > Spain > Portugal (Sagrès)
Measuring over 1,200km, EuroVelo 1, also known as La Vélodyssée®, is France’s longest cycle route, going north-south from Roscoff to Hendaye. Discover the best of the regions covered, with the Atlantic Ocean as backdrop!
- 1,200km in France
- Percentage completed: 99%
- Connections: EV 4 (at Roscoff); EV 6 (at Nantes); EV 3 (at Bayonne)
View the whole EuroVelo 1 cycle route
EuroVelo 3 - The Pilgrims Route - 5 122 KM
Norway (Trondheim) > Sweden > Denmark > Germany > Belgium> France > Spain (Santiago de Compostela)
EuroVelo 3, known as "La Scandibérique" in France, crosses the country diagonally from the Belgian border to that with Spain. The route passes through the Ile-de-France Region around Paris, joins a section of the EuroVelo 6 route along the Loire, then crosses Poitou and Gascony, going via Bordeaux to finally join EuroVelo 1 at Bayonne. This route is being put in place now, with certain sections already up and running.
- Once completed: 1,500km through France
- Connections: EV 6 (Orléans<>Tour), EV 1 (at Bayonne)
EuroVelo 4 - The Central Route - 4000 KM
Ukraine (Kiev) > Poland> Czech Republic > Germany > The Netherlands > Belgium > France (Roscoff)
The French part of EuroVelo 4 links Roscoff out west in Brittany to Bray-Dunes in the north. It passes through Normandy, via Carentan, St-Lô, Vire, Honfleur and Le Havre, continuing to Calais (EV5) and Dunkirk. Between Roscoff and Carentan you join the French section of the EuroVelo 4 - La Vélomaritime, following the French side of the English Channel!
- Once completed: 1,195km through France
- Connections: EV 1(at Roscoff); EV 5 (at Calais)
View the whole EuroVelo 4 cycle route
EuroVelo 5 - La via Romea Francigena - 3900 km
United Kingdom > France (Calais and Lille) > Belgium > Luxembourg > Germany > France (Strasbourg) > Switzerland > Italy
EuroVelo 5 in France consists of two parts. One in the North, coming from England which passes by Lille to join Brussels; the other coming from Luxembourg by Sarreguemines, passes by Strasbourg and the Alsace wine route before taking the direction of Basel in Switzerland.
- 567 km in France
View the whole EuroVelo 5 cycle route
EuroVelo 6 - Atlantic - Black Sea Route - 3 650 KM
France (Saint-Brevin) > Switzerland > Germany > Austria > Slovakia > Hungary > Croatia > Serbia > Bulgaria> Roumania (Constanta)
EuroVelo 6 is the best-known, best-loved French Veloroute. Having followed the Doubs Valley and crossed Southern Burgundy, it then joins the legendary Loire à Vélo route.
- 1,300 km in France
- Connections: EV 1(at Nantes), EV 3 (Orléans<>Tours) EV 15 (at Kembs)
View the whole EuroVelo 6 cycle route
EuroVelo 8 - The Mediterranean Route - 5 888 KM
Spain (Cadix) > France > Italia > Slovenia > Croatia > Bosnia and Herzegovina > Montenegro > Albania > Greece(Athène)
At time of writing, the setting up of EuroVelo 8 in France is in its early stages. It will follow the Mediterranean coast from Le Perthus (Col de Panissars) on the Spanish border to Menton on the Italian border. The route is planned to go through Narbonne, Béziers, Sète, Forcalquier, Nice and Monaco.
- Once completed: 670km in France
- Connections: ViaRhôna (at Sète) and the Canal du Midi (at Agde)
View the whole EuroVelo 8 cycle route
EuroVelo 12 - Véloroute de la Mer du Nord - 7050 KM
Norvège > Suède > Danemark > Allemagne > Pays-Bas > Belgique > France > Royaume-Uni
L'EuroVelo 12 - Véloroute de la Mer du Nord en France est un itinéraire commun à l'EuroVelo 4 - La Vélomaritime, de la frontière belge à Calais où vous pouvez prendre un ferry pour le Royaume-Uni. Ce court passage en France vous permet de traverser Dunkerque, connue pour ses plages et pour la bataille de Dunkerque qui eut lieu pendant la seconde guerre mondiale.
- Distance (France) : 77 km
- Statut : 56% réalisé
- Connexion : EV 4
Eurovelo 15 - The Rhine Veloroute - 1 230 KM
Switzerland (Andermatt) > Germany > France > The Netherlands (Rotterdam)
EuroVelo 15 runs beside the Canal du Rhône au Rhin and the Réserve de la Petite Camargue Alsacienne, crosses La Hardt Forest, Neuf-Brisach (a citadel designed by Vauban, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and continues to Artzenheim, passing via Strasbourg, capital of Alsace and home of the European Parliament..
- 180km in France
- Connection: EV 6 (at Kembs in Alsace)
View the whole EuroVelo 15 cycle route
Eurovelo 17 - The Rhône Veloroute - ViaRhôna - 1 115 KM
Switzerland > France
Over 1115 km, EuroVelo 17 "Rhone Cycle Route" or ViaRhôna in France runs along the Rhône from its source in the Swiss Alps to its mouth on the French Mediterranean coast. The route crosses the emblematic landscapes of the terraced vineyards of the Côtes du Rhône and those of southern Provence: perched villages, fields of lavender or olive trees...
- 815 Km in France
See the whole EuroVelo 17 cycle route
Eurovelo 19 - The Meuse Cycle Route
Netherlands > France
European cycle route, La Meuse à Vélo (Meuse by bike) crosses the French county (or département) of Ardennes using the greenway called the Trans-Ardennes. Running along the towpath beside the Meuse River from Remilly-Aillicourt to Givet, this cycle route was voted Véloroute de l'année (Cycle Route of the Year) in 2011. The rugged landscapes here have inspired countless legends. Remarkable architecture also marks the way, such as the vast Château-Fort of Sedan and the grand facades of Place Ducale square in the town of Charleville-Mézières.
- 443 Km in France
View the whole EuroVelo 19 cycle route
Where can you find information on the other EuroVelo routes?
- The website EuroVelo.com provides information on all the EuroVelo-routes, at a European-wide level.
- The website provides general information on the different routes, plus links to more specific websites covering relevant stretches in the various countries concerned.
