The Loire Valley 

Often called the "Garden of France" the Loire Valley is an enchanted land of vineyards, flowers and rolling green hills dotted with more than a thousand châteaux. It is perhaps the charm of its gentle pace life that has, for centuries, made it a sought-after location for poets and writers. It is a step back through the history of some of France's finest works of art.

Cycling here is a real pleasure; the countryside is laced with quiet roads connecting delightful villages and towns, many with small shops, cafés and pâtisseries.

Maine et Loire département 49 in west central France, has a varied landscape with forested hills in the south and north, separated by the Loire valley. The highest point is Colline des Gardes at 210m making this one of the most popular cycling areas of France.

The areas famous navigable rivers, include the Loire, Sarthe, Mayenne, Loir and Authion. The préfecture (capital) is the city of Angers, and the sous-préfectures are Cholet, Saumur and Segré.

There are also cycle routes through many other areas in the region which provide tarmac cycle tracks through some beautiful countryside and providing quiet links around the busier towns.

Among departments in France, Maine et Loire ranks fifth in farming, and also boasts some 20,000 ha of vineyards — which produce 27 different A.O.C. wines. Annually, about 2.3 million tourists visit this region, drawn by the many castles, abbeys, parks, and the fascinating troglodyte caves — whose thousands of tunnels now host wine cellars, museums and art galleries.

The La Loire à vélo continues to develop the purpose built cycle route along the Loire with existing sections gradually being connected together to create a cycle route all along the Loire – and eventually connecting up with other French and European networks to create a 1,500 km route from the Atlantic to Hungary!