France – September 2024 – Explore The World

After a few days exploring Paris we hired bikes and cycled the Loire Valley for 10 days from Orleans to Nantes.We then cycled the Canal de Garonne and Canal di Midi from Bordeaux to Sete. We will have a few days in between the two cycle trips to rest our bums and see the sights around Bordeaux.

Paris August 26th – 30th

How wonderful to be back in Paris! The last time Helle was in Paris was 1989!

*Our street we stayed on for a few days in Paris – 17th Arrondisement*

We rented bikes from the “Velib” network – it’s the public bike system with 19000 bikes and around 1500 docking stations in greater Paris – bloody awesome!

*Off we went exploring – no fixed route*

It’s the start of the Para Olympics so it’s busy in the middle of town waiting for the opening ceremony tonight. We caught the lighting of the flame in the Champs Elysees

*Flame lit – this lady wouldn’t let me go any closer*

*We found a few quiet streets in central Paris*

We loved our 3 days in Paris. We cycled everywhere. It’s the only way, in my opinion, to really get an appreciation of Paris in a short time. It was bloody awesome!

*Our staircase in our apartment in Paris*

Loire Valley August 30th – September 9th

We hired bikes in Orleans and are cycling the Loire for 10 days. We arrived from NZ with our 3 pannier bags each ready to go.

From Paris we bussed a couple of hours to Orleans. We caught the bus from Saint Germain en Laye which had a stunning chateau and garden .

Orleans

Plus some top little streets to explore

We stayed in a cool place that had a central courtyard with lots of character.

Next day we were ready to hit the Loire Valley.

*We picked up our bikes, loaded up and we were ready to hit the road*

Orleans to Beaugency – 30 kms

Our first day was very easy and that was the plan. We aren’t here to break any records but to take it slowly and enjoy the small historic towns on the way and the lovely countryside. We were not disappointed!

We rode through the small medieval village of Meung-sur-Loire

*Boulangerie – we stopped to get some lunch*

Beaugency – our first overnight stop on the Loire. What a charming place.

*Enjoying cheese and crackers and a bit of local plonk*

Beaugency to Blois – 52 kms

*Chambord – built by King Francis* 11 in 15th Century

*Blois steps – they change them every year*

*Our rustic courtyard and apartment in Blois*

*Looking across the Loire back to Blois*

Blois to Amboise – 52 kms

Today was the toughest cycle day as we encountered a few hills!

*Lots of sunflowers – almost past their best*

Amboise to Villandry – 50 kms

*Tours Cathedral – Helle not that excited*

*Savonnieres – a lovely village we passed through*

Chateau de Villandry was awesome. Built in the 16th century and then restored a number of times . The gardens were inspiring.

Villandry to Chinon – 40 kms

*We visited this vineyard and did some wine tasting*

*We grabbed a bottle to drink in Chinon – very drinkable!*

*Some top streets to wander from medieval times*

*Views from Chinon castle were spectacular*

*In 1204 the French took the castle from the English in a hard fought battle*

Chinon to Saumar – 40 kms

Great ride today along the Vienne River, through lovely forest, more vineyards and some quaint villages.

*A little wine tasting at the end of the day*

6 days riding so far. It is just fantastic. The countryside is so peaceful and many of the villages seem like ghost towns. The history, the beauty of each chateau and just meandering down the Loire is awesome.

We have stayed in some fantastic little historic B&B’s and the delicious pastries and croissants from the boulangeries are our staple picnic lunch!

Saumar to La Bahalle – 40 kms

La Bahalle to Rochefort sur Loire – 40 kms

Lovely ride to Angers and then along the Maine River.

Rochefort – sur – Loire to Ancensis – 55 kms

Our biggest day cycling so far. Our place in Rochefort was right on the river.

Ascensis to Nantes – 40 kms

Home stretch! Last day on our Loire Valley cycle.

*Our top little 17th century cottage for the night*

What a fabulous 9 days cycling. The countryside, river, medieval towns, chateaux, vineyards and the wonderful places we stayed. We have found the French to be so friendly and respectful to cyclists.

Tomorrow we bus to Bordeaux and have a few days exploring the region. Then we hit the saddle again from Bordeaux to the Mediterranean.

Bordeaux region – Sept 10th – 15th

We have hired a car and hit the road to find some villages and vineyards around Bordeaux.

*Lovely historic town around 1 hour from Bordeaux*

*Castillonnes – cute street where we stayed*

*Our living room – best accommodation* yet

A big day today – visiting a number of medieval towns around the Bordeaux and Dordogne area.

*Helle shopped and I admired the old buildings*

*A spot of lunch looking over the Dordognes*

*Our favourite village – Beynac et Cazenac*

*Our cool little rental – great for negotiating small streets*

*Sarlat – this is our homebase for a night*

Sarlat – what a wonderful town. It is one of the few towns that has escaped fire and war!

*The cone shaped building use to be the morgue*

We headed North to the Dordoyne region – lovely small villages and forest. Also many caves discovered from prehistoric times – over 20,000 years ago

We loved our stay in Castillonnes so much we booked another night.

*Wine tasting at the Chateau – 2 different Semillon vintages.*
*Too sweet for me*

*Enjoying a drink outside our B & B in Monpazier*

Our final destination before hitting the bikes again – Bordeaux. It was crazy busy in town.

Cycling Bordeaux to Sete – Sept 15 – 28th

Bordeaux to Saint Brice – 50 kms

We cycled the Roger Lapebie cycle path. Roger won the Tour de France in 1937 and the path is the old rail route. Absolutely lovely.

Saint Brice to Couthures Sur Garonne

50 kms

*Sauveterre de Guyenne – a town ready for battle*

*Wine o’clock at Couthures sur Garonne B&B*

Couthures Sur Garonne to St Laurent 55kms

*Couthures – the ropes from the old bridge*

St Laurent to Valence D’Agen – 55 kms

Lots of apple orchards today and also some kiwifruit!

Valence D’Agen to Montech – 40 kms

*Canal de Garonne built over the Garonne river*

We stayed on a boat on the Canal in Montech.

Montech to Toulouse – 45 kms

*We braved to rain to check out Toulouse*

Toulouse to Castelnaudary- 65 kms

Our biggest day yet on the bikes.

*Lots of houseboats as we left Toulouse*

We reached Castelnaudary which is where my nephew Eamon did his French Foreign Legion training! A somewhat unremarkable town apart from that.

*Perhaps prisoners were kept in this tower*

Castelnaudary to Carcassonne – 40 kms

*View form our apartment in Carcassonne*

Initially we didn’t think much of Carcassonne – but as we explored it more the town grew on us!

Carcassonne to Roubia – 50kms

Roubia to Beziers – 60 kms

Beziers – what a fantastic town. Certainly the best to explore on Canal du Midi

*A mighty fine Cathedral* as you enter town

Beziers to Agde – 25 kms

*We explored a bit more before we set off*

*Finally time to hit the road and leave Beziers*

Agde to Sete – 30 kms

Our final stage was a short one.

It was great fun. The most beautiful part was definitely the Garonne – from Bordeaux to Agen.

We had a wonderful month in France. The best cycling was in the Loire Valley – it had glorious villages and towns, magnificent chateaux and of course vineyards to taste along the way!

France – September 2024

Orleans

Villandry to Chinon – 40 kms

Share this: