Cycling Adventures in France
There are very few places in the world as attractive a destination as France. France is one of the best places for cycling adventures because of the range of terrain offered to those who are brave enough to cycle through the same terrain used in the Tour de France competitions. Bike tours will take you past castles that look like they were plucked straight from a fairytale, through fields of lavender, olive groves, vineyards, and ancient villages. You can immerse yourself in opportunities like dining at Michelin star restaurants or chatting with local vintners.
When preparing for a cycling adventure you must choose your destinations based largely on the amount of time you have prepared for your trip.
- Shorter trips that take place within a smaller geographic area, exploring the nearby towns and ruins.
- Medium length trips but enable you to try out more than one province and see multiple geographic elements.
- Longer trips give you the chance to fit many more locations, stops, and downtime activities across a wider geographic area.
No matter what you decide, you can select tours to travel along geographic areas like the south of France, Paris, the beaches along the north-western coast, or the winemaking regions that border Germany.
Monaco and the Riviera
Monaco has a reputation of being the “billionaires playground” and while the rich and famous are frequent visitors, Monaco also has a lot to offer the average tourist. Monaco and the Riviera make for a prestigious touring location especially at the end of a long trip. The reason for this is that Monaco is an area home to some of the most glamorous events and famous casinos in the world but also to a beautiful beach, perfect for any vacation. The French Riviera provides stunning bike tours of St. Tropez and Cannes, perhaps at the right time of year to visit the film festival or just to enjoy the bustling city streets and historic architecture. These tours are very relaxed and offer idyllic views of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea, luxury hotels, and local wines. Monaco and the Riviera offer some of the best casino art exhibitions in the world and a visit to Casino de Monte Carlo is recommended even to non-gamblers. Anyone can visit the legendary casino atrium of Casino Monte Carlo without showing ID to get a feeling of being in a “James Bond” movie.
Booking Monaco at the end of a cycling adventure in France is a strategic decision. Over the course of long bike tours most people want to book at least one or two premier hotels along the way, especially when most of the tour consists of camping at the roadside or casual motels at best. Monaco, with a visit to one of the famous casinos, a walk along the Riviera, and shopping, is the perfect icing to your vacation cake.
Alsace and Bordeaux
Lovers of sparkling wine should take advantage of the north-eastern region of Alsace. Alsace is home to sparkling champagne and wonderful cycling tours that include stops across multiple villages, wine tasting and meetings with local vintners, visits to some of the best museums and castle ruins in the area. Fans of Beauty and the Beast should make it a point to integrate this particular region of France into their cycling tour because one of these smaller towns here, Riquewihr. It’s pedestrian-only cobblestoned streets and fountain served as the inspiration to Walt Disney during his European travels, though not on a bike!
The north is not the only region of France that offers wonderful cycling opportunities but stops across multiple castle ruins, World War bunkers, and through modern-day vineyards. There are Bordeaux bike tours and cycling adventures that include stops at Michelin star restaurants for dinner, tours of grand wine estates and famous locations like the Châteaux of Garonne, the Châteaux Dordogne and that of Gironde.
Seine and Normandy
Making your way through the center of the country you can stop by Paris and Normandy and book yourself multiple cycling stops through famous forests, along the Seine River in the city of Paris, and through the D-Day sites of nearby Normandy. A trip through Paris means a chance to watch older Parisian men gather in groups to play pétanque under the Eiffel Tower or along the Seine. These same areas are home to the majestic Mont Saint-Michel, another of Disney’s sources of inspiration. Mont Saint-Michel served as the inspiration for the main castle in the remake of Rapunzel: Tangled. There are of course trips to the seaside through quintessential villages draped against the backdrop of wartime memorials.