France has built a national network of véloroutes that is now among the best in Europe. La Loire à Vélo runs 900 km along the château valley on the flat; La Vélodyssée follows the Atlantic from Roscoff to Hendaye; the ViaRhôna goes from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean; the Canal du Midi towpath crosses the south under plane trees. And when you want the other thing entirely, the Tour's cols — the Tourmalet, the Galibier, Ventoux, Alpe d'Huez — are all open public road.
Start here
If you only do cycling once in France.
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Château de Chambord 440 rooms, 282 fireplaces and a double-helix staircase -
The Canal du Midi Carrying boats under plane trees since 1681, from Toulouse to the sea -
Lake Annecy Often called the cleanest lake in Europe, ringed by a cycle path -
Île de Ré Whitewashed villages, green shutters, salt pans and 110 km of cycle path - The Côte de Nuits Gevrey-Chambertin to Vosne-Romanée — the most valuable vines on earth
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Mont Ventoux 1,910 m of bare limestone — the Tour's hardest climb, and windiest
Region by region
Grand Est
Champagne cellars, the Alsace wine road and Strasbourg's Christmas markets
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
The world's most valuable vineyards, Romanesque abbeys and the Jura's quiet mountains
Brittany
2,700 km of granite coast, standing stones older than the pyramids, and a Celtic language
Pays de la Loire
Where the Loire meets the Atlantic — Nantes, the Vendée beaches and the last châteaux
Centre-Val de Loire
The château valley — Chambord, Chenonceau and 280 km of UNESCO river
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Bordeaux and its vineyards, the Dordogne's prehistory, and Europe's tallest dune
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La Rochelle Three harbour towers, arcaded streets and the bridge to Île de Ré - The Atlantic Coast Europe's tallest dune, 250 km of surf beach and the oyster basins behind it
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Île d'Oléron The largest French island after Corsica — oysters, dunes and a lighthouse -
Île d'Aix Car-free, crescent-shaped, and Napoleon's last night in France
Occitanie
Carcassonne and the Cathar castles, the Canal du Midi, the Pyrenees and the Camargue's edge
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Lavender and Roman arenas inland, the Riviera on the coast, and the Alps behind both
Other things to do
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Culture & heritage 53 UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the cathedrals that invented Gothic -
Food & wine Seventeen wine regions, 1,600 cheeses, and the gastronomic meal on the UNESCO list -
Nature & outdoors Glaciers, gorges, volcanoes and 180,000 km of waymarked footpath -
Sport & adventure Skiing, surfing, climbing, paddling — and the Tour, Roland-Garros and Le Mans -
Remembrance The Somme, Verdun and the Normandy beaches — two wars written into the landscape -
Pilgrimage & spirituality Four Camino routes, Lourdes, Mont-Saint-Michel and the Romanesque abbeys -
Spa & wellness Around 90 working thermal spa towns, and the coastline that invented thalassotherapy -
Romance The Riviera corniche, a Loire château, a Provençal village, a Paris weekend -
Shopping & savoir-faire Perfume in Grasse, porcelain in Limoges, crystal in Lorraine, couture in Paris -
Nightlife & entertainment Festival season, cabaret, beach clubs and the theme parks