Notre sélection de pistes cyclables & voies vertes à découvrir :
Des voies sécurisées dans des lieux propices au tourisme à vélo: voici notre tour d'horizon des pistes cyclables et voies vertes qui méritent bien d'aller y donner quelques coups de pédale !
De Pontivy à Hennebont : voie verte le long du Blavet
Tout en méandres, la rivière sinue au pied de collines verdoyantes et encaissées où se dégage une atmosphère paisible et agréable. Ce parcours vélo sur la Voie 8 Bretagne, exclusivement sur voie verte, est rythmé par les écluses et les moulins.
- Distance : 60km
- Accès : Gares au départ et à l'arrivée (Pontivy / Hennebont)
De Culoz à Belley : le long du lac du Bourget sur la ViaRhôna
Située près du lac du Bourget et du Parc naturel régional du Massif des Bauges, la piste cyclable entre Culoz et Belley refaite à neuf est l’une des plus agréables de la région. Elle fait partie de ViaRhôna.
- Distance : 16 km
- Accès : Gare au départ (Culoz)
De Mauron à Questembert : en surplomb des vallons
Composée de bitume enrobé qui assure un revêtement parfaitement lisse, cette voie verte idéale pour la pratique du vélo ou du roller est la plus roulante de Bretagne et vous amenèra jusqu’à Questembert sans forcer !
- Distance : 55km
- Accès : N/A
Entre Domfront et le Mont Saint-Michel
La voie verte qui s’étend de Domfront jusqu’à Ducey vous permet de traverser le bocage normand à vélo en toute sérénité pour arriver ensuite au Mont Saint-Michel. Le faible dénivelé rend cette sortie accessible à toute la famille !
- Distance : 90 km
D'Arcachon à Léon : entre bord de mer, lacs et forêts
Cette partie de l'itinéraire La Vélodyssée (EuroVelo 1) qui part de la dune du Pilat vous amènera à passer par les grands lacs landais. De magnifiques pistes cyclables au cœur d’une des régions les plus visitées de France.
- Distance : 130 km
- Accès : Gare au départ
De Forges-les-eaux à Dieppe : balade au fil de l'eau
Cette voie verte parfaitement plate et très roulante sur l’Avenue Verte London-Paris vous guidera de Forges-les-Eaux jusqu’à Arques-la-Bataille porte d’entrée maritime.
- Distance : 50 km
- Accès : Gare au départ et à l'arrivée (Serqueux / Dieppe)
De Saint-Jean-De-Monts à Noirmoutier : au cœur des pins
Partez à vélo entre terre et mer, entre dunes de sable et forêts de pins sur cette étape de l'itinéraire La Vélodyssée (EuroVelo 1) qui ne laissera personne indifférent.
- Distance : 20 km
De Mauves-sur-Loire à Nantes : le long de la Loire
Que vous arriviez ou que vous partiez de Nantes par La Loire à Vélo, cette piste cyclable allant jusqu’à Mauves-sur-Loire vous déroule le tapis rouge sur 19 km !
- Distance : 19 km
- Accès : Gare à l'arrivée (Nantes)
De Condé-sur-Huisne à Alençon : le Perche à vélo
Partez à vélo découvrir le pays d’Alençon et traversez cette voie verte qui relie le Parc naturel régional du Perche au Parc naturel régionale Normandie-Maine. C'est l’un des tronçons phares de La Veloscénie sur une piste cyclable en parfait état.
- Distance : 70 km
- Accès : Gares à Nogent-le-Retrou (liaison jusqu'à Condé) et à l'arrivée (Alençon)
De Bray-et-Lu à Gisors : un petit patrimoine à portée de roues
Cette voie verte, partie prenante de l'Avenue Verte London-Paris traverse la vallée de l’Epte entre ponts, moulins, vieux villages et ruines d’impressionnants châteaux forts. Une magnifique voie verte à 1h de Paris !
- Distance : 21 km
- Accès : Gare à Vernon (liaison depuis le départ) et à l'arrivée (Gisors)
Tailor-made itineraries
Tailor-made itineraries
5 Pontivy / St-Nicolas-des-Eaux
At Pontivy, the route leaves the Canal de Nantes à Brest to run alongside the canalized Blavet. This river meanders along between steep green hills, in a delightfully peaceful atmosphere. This stage is exclusively along greenways. The way is dotted with locks and mills, notably that of Le Roch.
6 St-Nicolas-des-Eaux / Pont-Augan
This stage from Saint-Nicolas-des-Eaux reveals all the authenticity of the Blavet. As you cycle along the river's meandering banks, you'll be able to appreciate the small religious and feudal heritage hidden along its banks. Every summer, during the "L'art dans les chapelles" festival, artists take over some twenty chapels.
7 Pont-Augan / Lorient
The cycle route along the Blavet runs under a canopy of oak and chestnut trees. At Lochrist, the route passes the former forges of Hennebont, which you can discover by visiting the ecomuseum. The beautiful flower-lined lock at Polvern marks the end of the canalized Blavet and the beginning of the maritime influence with the ebb and flow of the tides.
30 Arcachon / Biscarrosse-plage
After an essential trip to the top of the Dune of Pilat to appreciate the beauty of the area and the views, we once again set off on a long crossing through the Landes Forest. Just before the Biscarrosse-Plage, La Vélodyssée takes you seamlessly from La Gironde into the Landes.
31 Biscarrosse-plage / Parentis-en-Born
From Gironde to the Landes nothing really changes, apart from the section of military land which forces La Vélodyssée away from the seafront to make a long detour inland, where the blues of the vast ponds replace that of the sea. You may try out the hydroplanes, common to this part of Biscarrosse!
32 Parentis-en-Born / Mimizan-Plage
After the Biscarrosse and Parentis Lakes, the trail follows secondary roads and takes us to the more secluded northern lake of Aureilhan. Several access paths later, the trail brings us onto the western bank, for a moment of relaxation and a swim on the beach.
33 Mimizan-Plage / Léon
Having soaked up the atmosphere of the Mimizan-Plage seaside resort, it’s back on the saddle to once more find the inner calm of the forest: its silence and delicate fragrances, with the deep sense of tranquility, and being master of this happy space, far away from the hustle and bustle of the world. La Vélodyssée encourages meditation…The woodland trail bringing a feeling of peace, reinforced by the fragrant pine trees. You have to leave the trail to enjoy the seaside beaches near Contis-Plage or St-Girons-Plage, or those of the Léon Lake beaches that you come to.
5 Seyssel / Chanaz / Belley
This ViaRhôna stage goes along both banks of the Rhône. This route is provisional. It leads between crests and plateaux, through landscapes marked by lakes and waterfalls. Then you come to a land of vineyards and gastronomy set below the Bugey Range, passing delightful little historic stops like Belley, Culoz and Chanaz. This physically-demanding stage is along a mix of greenways and roads.
34 Mauves-sur-Loire / Nantes
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.
4 Ploërmel / Questembert
Leaving from beside the Lac au Duc at Ploërmel, this high greenway offers magnificent views down on verdant valleys. At several points you can spot the Canal de Nantes à Brest, almost playing hide-and-seek with you! The surface is smooth, allowing you to cycle along with ease, taking in the country views. A stage suitable for all cyclists.
6 Forges-les-Eaux / Dieppe
This stage begins in the heart of the Bray area, veritable picture postcard Normandy with its cattle and its apple orchards. It was here on the former Dieppe to Paris railway line that the Avenue Verte London-Paris was born. Furthermore the places through which you pass still have reminders of their railway past with the houses of level crossing keepers, old railway stations now put to new uses, signs and marker posts… As the miles pass, you will sense the scent of sea air get stronger. And what a finishing line with the impressive white chalk cliffs of the Alabaster Coast!
3 Chaussy / Gisors
This stage has both intimacy and grandeur. Here the little bridges, windmills and fortified castles of the peaceful Epte Valley contrast with the touristic bustle of the village of Giverny. The many miles of greenway created between Gasny and Gisors provide the ideal opportunity to really appreciate the bucolic landscapes punctuated by the river and several lakes. But don’t forget that you are also on the old frontier between France and Normandy which takes you towards the legendary chateau of Gisors.
17 Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe / Alençon
You're on a greenway for this stage of La Véloscénie, with just a short stretch on roads to take you through hamlets around the A 28 motorway and another to reach Alençon town centre. A delightful trail leads through the Bourse Forest, beside the Vésone River.
16 Mortagne-au-Perche / Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe
La Véloscénie continues along the greenway from Condé-sur-Huisne to Alençon. You just swap the Parc Naturel Régional du Perche for the adjoining Parc Naturel Régional Normandie-Maine, just before Le Mêle-sur-Sarthe. The lake here provides a refreshing halt, one that children greatly appreciate.
15 Rémalard / Mortagne-au-Perche
Continue along the greenway hugging the Huisne River and cross through the heart of the Parc Naturel Régional du Perche. In many places, perhaps half-hidden by trees, you'll spot a typical old manor or restored mill. All told, this is one of the most enchanting stages along La Véloscénie.
14 Nogent-le-Rotrou / Rémalard
At the start of this stage of La Véloscénie you follow undulating little forest roads. Then you join the greenway from Condé-sur-Huisne to Alençon, cycling beside the Huisne River. Enjoy the total peace and quiet of this long country section up to Rémalard.
21 Domfront / Barenton
The exit from Domfront isn't easy, with a steep slope and a lot of traffic. However, La Véloscénie then joins a greenway, allowing you to enjoy the beautiful, typical Bocage Normand countryside, particularly beside the Sélune River.
22 Barenton / Mortain
The village of Mortain stands out on its hillside at the heart of the green Bocage Normand area. It also stands at the crossroads of La Véloscénie and Le Tour de Manche cycle routes. This stage of La Véloscénie is almost entirely on greenways, except for the unavoidable link to Mortain.
23 Mortain / St-Hilaire-du-Harcouët
The enchanting Cance waterfalls are a focal point of the powerful local terrain, carving between steep hills, an untamed heart of ‘Armorican Normandy’. The greenway then heads towards St-Hilaire which precedes your arrival in the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel.
24 St-Hilaire-du-Harcouët / Ducey
Stronghold between Brittany, Cotentin and the Loire country, St Hilaire du Harcouët offers many activities during the summer around the Prieuré lakes. This stage of la Véloscénie and the Petit Tour de Manche, travelling along a greenway, is full of life.
25 Ducey / Mont-Saint-Michel
The final stage of la Véloscénie and a spectacular resting point on the Tour de Manche, where the greenway rolls all the way to the mouth of the Sélune. From there on, as you travel on shared roads, you can indulge in a feast for the eyes: Mont-Saint-Michel rises up, a colourful panorama, set like a jewel in the circle of the bay.
17 La Barre de Monts - Fromentine / St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
This stage of La Vélodyssée focuses entirely on the sea, the beach, the forest and the dunes. There are 18 kms of cycle paths winding through the national forest of Pays de Monts, after which you come to the very lively seaside resort of St-Jean-de-Monts. Before reaching the Vendéenne Cove and its famous boulders at Sion-sur-l’Océan, La Vélodyssée heads towards an old fishing village in the commune of St-Hilaire-de-Riez, adjoining St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. A superb stage.
