“ the newly-lauched Avenue Verte cycle route runs all the way between London and Paris’
France
France has witnessed a spectacular growth of traffic-free and‘ traffic-lite’ cycle routes under the banner of an organization called AF3V. The‘ 3V’ stands for voies vertes andvéloroutes – that’ s greenways and bike routes to you and me( the‘ bike routes’ being a mixture of traffic-free routes and lightly trafficked minor roads).
As a cycle guide author I couldn’ t believe my luck on discovering these – combined with French cuisine, their gorgeous countryside this traffic-free route network meant France was the perfect cycling destination for all levels of cyclist, from gnarled touring veterans to family potterers and everyone in between. Here’ s my pick of the best routes drawn from my several years of French pedaling.
Through the Vosges Foothills The Vosges mountains of north-east France are the equally sumptuous equivalent of Germany’ s nearby Black Forest. There are certainly steep hills here but this route links together traffic-free paths and tiny roads along the Vosges foothills taking in great mountain views but avoiding the steepest gradients.
The route actually starts in Switzerland at Basel; the heart of this very cosmopolitan and attractive city is Swiss but there are also large areas of it in France and Germany. Although pancake flat at the start, after the medieval splendours of Colmar the verdant, volcanic slopes of the Vosges accompany you through flowered-bedecked historic towns
“ the newly-lauched Avenue Verte cycle route runs all the way between London and Paris’
Normandy Landing Beaches and Railpaths Normandy’ s Cotentin peninsula packs a lot of scenery into a small area; expansive beaches, towering dunes, fertile rolling countryside with barely a soul to be seen and beautiful river valleys. From Cherbourg follow the bucolic Val de Saire to the lovely ports of Barfleur and Le Vast before continuing via the D-Day beaches to Carentan.
Traffic-free railpaths take you across the peninsula to the wilder west coast at Carteret, with massive expanses of beach accompanying your ride north back to Cherbourg and its UK ferry links. and villages such as Ribeauville and Andlau. Along the Canal de la Bruche the towering spire of Strasbourg cathedral awaits you at journey’ s end.
The Forgotten Oise and the Impressionists’ Seine Part of the newly-lauched Avenue Verte cycle route that runs all the way between London and Paris, this section starts in the cluster of ancient buildings that is the heart of the town of Senlis. The lovely river Nonette heralds the royal splendours of the chateau and racecourse, complete with
10 | EuroTravel