BikeSherpa Bike Tours Let's ride together

Travel destinations on the map

— Day 1: Saumur (Pays de la Loire)

Individual arrival at Saumur.

In the late afternoon, you get detailed tour information on your tour as well as your bike.

Saumur is called the "White Town" due to the pale lime-sandstone which dominates the town scape. This town is the ideal starting point for your cycle tour: situated picturesquely on the bank of the Loire River, it is dominated by a mighty castle, the westernmost one of the large Loire castles.

---

60 km Day 2: Angers (Pays de la Loire)

Your first daily trip will lead you along large sparkling wine producers and mushroom cultivators situated in former subterranean quarries.

You will cycle over gentle, wood-covered slopes and through some of the most beautiful Loire-villages: Chénehutte, Cunault, and Le Thoureil. You'll enjoy castle ruins, Romanesque churches and impressive villas built by Dutch and British wine traders.

You will cross the Loire at St.-Mathurin and cycle through a "polder scenery" (land which is under the water-level during high tide). The route is flat, you will pass by small hamlets and farms, the land is fruitful and has been used intensively for horticulture and seed production for several centuries.

Your destination today is Angers, the "Black Town" – houses and roofs are made of slate, which is still extracted nowadays.

---

45 km Day 3: Ingrandes (Pays de la Loire)

After breakfast, take a stroll through Angers to the castle which hosts the world-famous "apocalypse of Angers", a monumental series of wall hangings from the 14th century which is presented to the visitor in a gallery built especially for this work of art.

Our cycle ride today takes you along the Maine River, the last important tributary of the Loire before the Atlantic Ocean. You will follow this river until the point where it flows into the Loire at La Pointe-Bouchemaine. Now, you will cycle along the foot of a slate-granite-massif until Savennières with the oldest church of this region.

Several of the best wines of the Loire valley are grown here, fruity-dry white wines – you should not miss a visit to a local wine-grower as well as to Béhuard, the only village in the river Loire. It is situated on one of the numerous islands the river has formed.

From La Poissonnière on, you pedal over dykes with beautiful views of the Loire to the cute town of Ingrandes-sur-Loire, where we'll spend the night.

---

60 km Day 4: Nantes (Pays de la Loire)

You'll spend another relaxing day pedaling along the Loire River through steadily changing scenery.

High above the old town of St-Florent-le-Vieil [next to the church], a magnificent look-out point is worth visiting. If you are not in the mood for "climbing" today, you can admire the village from below.

Soon afterwards, the valley narrows considerably, the Loire finally enters into the province of Bretagne and squeezes through slate and granite rocks until Nantes. The cycle path changes the river bank several times, and you have to overcome several minor hills – but the reward for each climb is a beautiful view!

Our day's destination is the historical capital of the Bretagne: Nantes.

---

45 km Day 5: Mesquer (Pays de la Loire)

You can again spend the morning with a stroll through the former seaport of Nantes and discover the impressive architectural and cultural heritage.

In order to get to the Atlantic, take the train as far as Saint-Nazaire, which has a seaport and a shipyard. You are on the peninsula of Guérande now, a small area with an astonishingly rich scenic and cultural variety. The ancient town Guérande is situated high above on a hill and is up to now completely surrounded by an ancient stonen city wall. Protecting also the salt lakes producing the famous "Sel de Guérande".

Now you can almost smell the sea: your accommodation is situated in the small seaside resort Mesquer-Quimiac, only some hundred metres away from the beach.

---

60 km Day 6: Mesquer (Pays de la Loire)

Today is a day for riding along the sea.

From the hotel, you cycle along the coastal road into the fishing port La Turballe. Then, you will cycle across the salt gardens to Batz-sur-Mer, and finally to the outmost land point, the port of Le Croisic.

North of Le Croisic, you will cycle along the Côte Sauvage, a rocky coast which shows you that you are on a former island. This coast was gradually connected to the mainland by the sand of the Loire.

The small town of Batz-sur-Meer is situated on the narrowmost point of this sand band. The church tower of Batz is a unique look-out point over the sea, bays and salt gardens.

Enjoy the ride along the charming coastal scenery and the recurring views over the blue sea. Another overnight stay in Mesquer-Quimiac.

---

50 km Day 7: Mesquer (Pays de la Loire)

You will start the today round trip by passing a charming landscape full of old bretonique farmhouses, hamlets and abandoned salt lakes to arrive at the famous national preserve "La Grande Brière".

This national preserve constitutes one of the largest areas of swamplands and lagoons within the French midland. The scenery is characterized by peat extraction, thatched houses, canals covered with reeds and islands which are often veiled in a white scarf of mist. You will find an exceptional fauna and flora in this unique scenery, covered with willows and reeds. Small islands with picturesque farm houses and whitewashed buildings rise above the marshland.

Another overnight stay in Mesquer-Quimiac.

---

— Day 8: Mesquer (Pays de la Loire)

After breakfast, this beautiful and relaxing tour comes to an end.

See you on the road again soon!

all bike rentals come with a pannier to hold your stuff.
road bike comes with a aluminum frame, carbon fork, Shimano triple 105

---

---

---

Photos are examples, actual hotel & room may vary.

---

Tour Season

April 14th – October 6th 2012

---

Check-in

• Saturday