French Cycling Holiday: Loire Valley “Bike & Ride”!

Our new cycling tour for the 2010 season combines selected routes from our main cycling holiday with chauffeured trips out to the stunning chateaux and vineyards of the Touraine region. Bike for 3 days, ride for 2 days!

Once again, our hub and spoke cycling and chauffeured routes will return you back to us each evening to enjoy great food and hospitality.

We’ve included the fantastic routes of Bourgueil, Saumur and Villandry from our Discovery Cycle Tour and have added two superb chauffeured days out encompassing the stunning chateaux of Chenonceau and Amboise, and the wonderful Vouvray and Chinon vineyards. Taste to your heart’s content, without having to worry about the drive home!

2010 Dates: Sunday 26 Sept - Saturday 2 Oct (6 nights)

Price: £795 plus 60 euros bike hire (if required)

Single supplement £100

See our Dates & Prices page for more detailed information on what’s included.

Day 2    “Chenonceau & Amboise” - Ride

Chenonceau, the chateau des dames, truly is the Loire’s finest. With renaissance architecture and beautiful gardens, it really is a must.

We’ll take in a lovely french lunch and then on to Amboise, the home of the royal chateau and resting place of Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci spent his last 3 years at Clos du Luce in the town, which is now a museum dedicated to his mechanical designs.

Day 3   “Vines, Wines & Markets” - Bike (35km/21 miles)

A morning’s cycle ride through forests and rolling vineyards to the wine town of Bourgueil, in time for the weekly food market.  

Opportunities aplenty here for some market shopping and lunch from one of the stalls or restaurants in this town made wealthy by the local wines.

There is the thousand year old abbey  to explore and a chance to sample the local wine grower’s tasting cave - cut into the rock above Bourgueil.  The route back wends its way back through hunting forests full of wildlife.

Day 4 “The Loire Chateaux” - Bike (46km/28 miles)

This is what makes the Loire world famous.  This cycle tour takes you through hunting forest, tree covered river valleys and small hamlets to the ancient town of Langeais with its impressive 11th Century fortress.  In the afternoon you can choose from a selection of routes and cycle to the chateaux of Villandry, Ussé or Azay-le-Rideau, or all three depending on your thirst for cycling!  

All the afternoon routes return you back to Langeais for a pick-up, which takes you and your bicycle back to Gue de Ray by minibus.

Day 5  “Saumur” - Bike (38km/23 miles)

You head south before crossing the Loire near the artist town of Candes St Martin and the Chateau of Montsoreau.  

In the afternoon you have the flexibility to choose from two routes to cycle onward to Saumur.  

The first route takes you directly to Saumur via the ‘Loire a Velo’ cycleway, past mushroom caves and Troglodyte dwellings, through vineyards and leaving ample time to explore Saumur itself.

The second route enables you to cycle via Montsoreau and Candes St Martin to the Abbbaye Royale de Fontevraud, where English kings of the Middle Ages are entombed.  

We provide a mini-bus pickup from Saumur at the end of the day to bring you back to base, along with any souvenirs you may have picked up!

Day 6   “Touraine Vineyards” - Ride

Our second chauffeured day out exploring the vineyards of Vouvray and Chinon (plus another chateau if you like!).

First stop, Vouvray, great, stylish white wines from the Chenin Blanc grape. Sec (dry) or demi-sec, sweet and sparkling - there are plenty to choose from!

It wouldn’t be France without stopping for lunch! And then onwards to taste the reds of Chinon (plus the whites and rosés if you wish!). There’s also the fortress chateau, steeped in history, dating from the 10th century. If you’re ‘chateau’d’ out by this time, just relax by the banks of the Vienne River with a local tipple! Someone-else is doing the driving!

Call

0033 625 819 851

E-Mail

info@loirelifecycling.com

French Cycling Holidays from LoireLife

Explore the Loire Valley!