Loire Valley Fairytale

Discover the Loire by bike!

Start your Loire Valley cycling adventure from Orléans, in the Loiret region. Its stately buildings and graceful curve around the Loire river, weaving away from the adopted home of Joan of Arc (they still call her “la pucelle d’Orléans, the maid of Orléans). Bike to the magnificent vista of impressive 16th century chateaux, Chambord and tour its labyrinth of rooms. Enjoying the tranquil countryside of this area as you pedal to the attractive market town, Amboise, before heading off deeper into the winding routes of France’s most famous castles.

On a French cycling trip like this, you can not pass up missing this most fascinating area with Amboise´s own turreted castle and the close by magical Chateau de Chenonceau, another lovely vision of French Renaissance. The Kings and Queens of France didn´t build their royal residences around here by accident, so lovely is this landscape. Bike around the famous villages and make your way to Tours, home of its famous charcuterie meat products, hidden leafy mansion estates and timber framed homes within tiny villages set in the rolling countryside. A French bike tour for architecture lovers!

Highlights

• An unrivalled area of superb French wine and cuisine
• Visit world famous châteaux and their wonderful gardens
• Tranquil cycling alongside the meandering River Loire
• Journey through the passage of time, following in the footsteps of Kings and Queens
• Explore a mix of medieval villages and traditional market towns

The terrain is mainly flat with a couple of small hills. Good surfaced roads on quiet country routes (busier near the bigger towns).