Explore The World

One of our favourite countries is France. We love the food, countryside, medieval villages and history.

We will spend nearly 2 months exploring parts of France we have never been. Firstly a month on the road and then just over 3 weeks cycling.

Below are all the areas we will be visiting. We pick up the car in Paris and travel around 3500 kms – firstly visiting Normandy, into Brittany, then cross the interior to Provence before heading North back to Paris. The cycle will start in Strasbourg and we will cycle through the Alcase, into Burgundy and then back to Strasbourg – total of 700kms.

Bring it on!

We only had a brief overnight in Paris as we wanted to hit the road. We love Paris and could easily come and live here for a month and explore every arrondissement.

PLACES WE HAVE BEEN

Honfleur

First stop from Paris is in Normandy – Honfleur.

There are “see through” bronze statutes at the Port which are very impressive. Called Les Voyaguers – the travellers!

Honfleur is a very old port with a cool historic town full of half timbered houses – real gems.Thankfully it was spared being bombed in WW2.

Omaha Beach

We headed up the coast to visit Omaha beach, one of the 5 beaches where allied forces landed on June 6th 1944.

Dinan

Fabulous old town with ramparts and magical cobblestone alleys and buildings.

One of the sites to behold in Normandy is Saint Mont Michel – a fortified island monastery and village just off the coast.

We also visited the old town of Saint Malo. It was destroyed in WW2 but was rebuilt to its former glory.

Back in Dinan we walked down the Rance river to a lovely little village -Lehon

Dinan has been one of the highlight towns so far. We loved it.

After 3 great days exploring Dinan and the region we hit the road again to go further West in Brittany.

Locronan

Quimper

We drove to Quimper – the capital of the Finistere region in Western Brittany.

Vannes

Our last stop in Brittany was Vannes. Another fortified town from Medieval times.

While in Vannes we witnessed the solar eclipse. It was only a 96% eclipse so it wasn’t overly impressive. We were surprised how bright it was even with only 4 % of the sun visible.

Rochefort en Terre

Rochefort en Terre is a lovely small town only 30 kms from Vannes. Very charming !

We drove South and into the interior of France between Nantes and Bordeaux. There are just so many wonderful little medieval villages oozing with history and charm.

Verteuil sur Charente

Verteuil sur Charente was our favourite village enroute to our next destination.

Saint Yrieix la Perche

A small town with a medieval centre. Not really on the tourist trail but charming place. Very close to Dordoyne region.

One of the best Chateau’s we have visited was only a few kilometers away – Chateau de Jumilhac.

It seemed to be exactly as it was centuries ago which made it fantastic to wander through.

It’s amazing how many of the villages in France seem totally deserted.

Segur la Chateau

Another absolute gem of a historic village.

Racomadour

A monastery and village built into the cliff.

We walked up through the village and to the top of the ramparts. Very cool.

Saint Cirq Lapolie

The absolute jewel of the crown so far. A magical village above the Lot River where we stayed right in the heart for a couple of days.

It was such a charming gorgeous place – not a modern building in sight!

We visited a chateau from the 13th century nearby.

Sainte Enimie

Heading towards the lovely Gorges de Tarn we came across a small village built in the hillside with a castle at the top! A fairly common theme in France.

Gorges Valley is lovely. Fast flowing river running through it with spectacular vertical rock faces cascading to the sky. Sainte Enimie is a small village in the middle dating back to the 10th Century.

We took a lovely walk through the valley following the river.

Uzes

The drive through the Gorge was cool.

Uzes is a very grand old town – reminds me a bit of the buildings in the heart of Paris. Lots of lovely trees line the plazas and streets.

There is something magical about just beating the feet and exploring the old towns and villages in France.

St Remy du Provence

From Uzes we visited an amazingly old viaduct – built 2000 years ago by the Romans – Pont du Gard

Provence is full of very old small villages perched high into the rocks.

St Remy is a bigger town – we had a top Airbnb overlooking the old town.

In Saint Remy we caught the first All Black v Springbok test. A bar we went to put it on for us!

Driving Provence is good fun – lots to see. Vineyards, olives, medieval villages set into hillsides.

We passed this vineyard so thought we had better check it out.

Apt

A larger town near the lovely villages of Rousillon and Gordes. We based ourselves here for a couple of days to explore around the area.

Roussillon was a cool village where all the houses were red or shades of.

Saignon was just a few kilometers from where we were staying in Apt – so we took a look.

Another lovely town was Saint Saturnin les Apt. It was a village built on top of a natural ridge with steep ravines either side.

Gordes

Bonnieux

Just another medieval villages!

A big shout out to the French! They cherish their history and old towns. Very strict laws are in place to preserve what they have and not build 2shit in small medieval villages.

Also another shout out – we have found the French polite, friendly and courteous. So many say “bonjour” as you pass by. It happens to be about the only French word I know!

Aix en Provence

A larger town where we stayed a couple of nights. Many plazas and wider streets full of life and markets.

La Garde Adhemar

We started our journey back to Paris. We stayed in a 16th Century farmhouse which was great just below La Garde Adhemar – a small medieval villages.

Lyon

Our first big city in a long while! We visited a top hillside village on the way.

Lyon is a great spot – grand and set on the river Rhone. We stayed in a fabulous historic building built in the 18th century.

Lyon has a very impressive Basilica standing proudly above the old town.

It was magnificent inside.

Vezelay

Our last stop on our road trip. Enroute we stopped in the medieval town of Brancion.It felt like 500 years ago in the village!

Our 1 month road trip is coming to and end. We are just 200 kms south of Paris.

It has been an awesome few weeks covering over 3000kms. We love France – probably for me its the small medieval villages perched on hillsides that appear from nowhere.You wander through them and feel like you are in another time. The French have preserved and cherished their history and we have felt welcomed as visitors to their country.

We now ditch the car in Paris and start a 700 km cycle through the Alcase and Burgundy.

Strasbourg

Marie arrived in Paris to join us for our 3 week cycling trip.

Our bus trip was 6 hours to Strasbourg which is on the border of Germany.

We picked up our rental bikes ready for our trip.

First day was only 40 kms to Obernai. A lovely cycle down a canal.

Obernai

First night stop – Obernai.

Today we cycled about 55kms to Riquewihr. Some fantastic villages along the way.

Riquewihr

Second night stop. Absolutely gorgeous medieval villages. We stayed within the walls of the the old town.

We visited two lovely villages enroute to Colmar.

Colmar

Unofficial capital of the region.

Eguisheim

Absolutely beautiful village about 15 kms from Colmar.

Mulhouse

A large city which will be our last night in the Alcase before we head west towards Burgundy country.

From Mulhouse we cycled west and followed the Euro velo 6 along the Canal du Rhine au Rhin. It use to be a bustling waterway but now very quiet!

Montbeliard

Baume les Dames

Lovely ride today through the Le Doub Valley. We cycled 60 kms .

Besancon

We only cycled 40 kms today along the Le Doub River.

We had a big surprise when we got to Besancon. A fabulous city – lovely buildings and Cathedrals. We stayed right in the centre of the old town.

Dole

Another lovely town. The home of Louis Pasteur who discovered pasteurisation and the rabies vaccine.

We followed the Eurovelo 6 along the canal.

Verdun sur le Doubs

A very small town where we stayed in a 500 year old building.

Chalon sur Saone

We followed the Saone River for around 30 kms today. A very easy day!

Beaune

We cycled around 50 kms North to get to Beaune. A beautiful town!

We stayed right next to the Cathedral and enjoyed a beer when we arrived.

Lovely ride today to Dijon. Around 50 kms through Burgundy wine country and small medieval villages.

We visited a Chateau which had a huge collection of old cars, planes and motorbikes.Not really our gig but quite fascinating!

Dijon

We have a couple of nights in Dijon. Everyday when we arrive in a new town our first stop is a bar!

Old Dijon is lovely.

Nancy

We caught a train with our bikes to Nancy.We had no real expectations about Nancy as it was just the starting point to cycle the Eurovelo 52 to Strasbourg. However it is very impressive.

Lagarde

Great to get on the bikes again from Nancy and hit the canal.

We will follow the canal about 150 kms over the next 3 days to reach where we started – Strasbourg.

It is incredibly peaceful and relaxing.

Saverne

Lovely ride today to Saverne through a beautiful valley.

We are now almost back to Alcase – very Germanic influence.

Strasbourg

After a great 2 weeks and almost 900 kms of cycling we hit Strasbourg – where we started from.

Strasbourg is a lovely city – beautiful streets and half timbered houses along canals.

Paris

We caught the fast train to Paris for 1 more night in France. We are staying in the 13th arrondissement which has an interesting mix of oldish housing and new high rise.

We wandered through the lovely Garden des Plantes down by the Seine.

We leave France after 7 weeks – 4 weeks road trip and then cycling.

We love France – the villages, all the old towns within cities ,canals, cycleways, countryside, boulangeries, wine, cheese, the history, architecture, markets and yes the French!

We want to come back next year and spend a few weeks in Paris and just explore every arrondissement and live a bit like a Parisian.