©Ile d’Aix à vélo / Salt In Our Hair / CRTNA
In Nouvelle-Aquitaine, La Vélodyssée makes its entrance at Marans, right at the gates of the Marais Poitevin. Fancy just an afternoon in the saddle? Follow the canal into La Rochelle, where two towers still stand guard over the harbour. Feeling more ambitious? Push on to Rochefort and its Corderie Royale, the great rope-making arsenal of the French navy. The sea breeze rides along with you the whole way.
Got more days to spare, or based elsewhere on the coast? Keep going through the Seudre marshes, past Royan with its unmistakable 1950s seaside charm, across the Gironde Estuary and on to Bordeaux. From there, the route crosses the Landes forest to the Basque Country and Hendaye, on the Spanish border. Every stage brings new scenery — and new things to taste.
In Nouvelle-Aquitaine, La Scandibérique sets off from Châtellerault, on the edge of Poitou. It follows the Vienne Valley and its charming villages, skirts the keep at Chauvigny, then reaches the lakes of Haute-Charente. Pick your own pace: a single day among lakes and forests, or the start of a much longer crossing.
The route carries on through Angoulême (France’s comic-strip capital) then Cognac, Bordeaux and Saint-Émilion: some seriously famous vineyards along the way. Next come the Landes via Mont-de-Marsan and Dax (maybe time for a thermal spa stop?), before reaching the Basque Country and the first Pyrenean foothills at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the last French stage of the Camino de Santiago. Of its 1,700km all the way to Santiago de Compostela, nearly 900 run right through our region.
©Moulin des Tours à Barbaste / OT Albret
©Châteauneuf -sur-Charente / Flow Vélo – TTW Production
La Flow Vélo carries us off from Île d’Aix, tiny and car-free, facing the offshore Fort Boyard. It follows the Charente Estuary to Rochefort, then heads back up the river to Saintes, where a Roman amphitheatre and triumphal arch bring 2,000 years of history to life. After the salt air, it’s all vineyards and riverside guinguettes around Cognac — perfect for a weekend of tastings.
Further inland, the route visits Angoulême and its Cité de la Bande Dessinée, the national comic-strip museum. It then crosses the Périgord-Limousin Regional Nature Park, a land of traditional craft (Nontron especially, famous for its knives), before heading south to Sarlat-la-Canéda. Between fine living and the prehistoric cave art found nearby, this golden stone town is well worth lingering in.
Heading south-west, La Vélo Francette begins at Thouars, a fortified town perched on its rocky spur. Winding through Petites Cités de Caractère and gently rolling countryside, it leads to Parthenay, nicknamed “the little Carcassonne of the West” for its intact ramparts and fortified Porte Saint-Jacques. Fancy a single day along the river, complete with shady spots for a nap? Or is this the start of a longer ride to the ocean?
Carry on and you’ll reach Niort, its Romanesque keep watching over well-stocked covered markets. This is the gateway to the Marais Poitevin, our own “Green Venice”, best explored on foot, by bike or by canoe. Then comes La Rochelle, where the Atlantic welcomes you with beaches, heritage and seafood. This is the good life.
©Fontet-Canal des Deux Mers / Gironde Tourisme
Meet us at Royan, facing the Gironde Estuary. Take a stroll past its Belle Époque villas and post-war reconstruction architecture, a dip at Grande Conche beach, and off you go. First stop: Talmont-sur-Gironde, perched on its rock, then across the water on the Blaye-Lamarque ferry (say hello to Vauban’s citadel) and straight into the vineyards of the Médoc. Cheers to that. Call it a day trip, or the start of an adventure all the way to the Mediterranean.
If it’s the latter, after Bordeaux the route crosses the Entre-deux-Mers (forests, abbeys, vineyards and bastide towns), then settles alongside the calm Canal de Garonne. Under the plane trees, lock by lock, you’ll pedal gently on to Agen‘s famous canal bridge — yes, the prune capital, just the fuel you’ll need.
First stop: Évaux-les-Bains. Before saddling up, you could always drop by the thermal baths. The hills of the Limousin ahead will call for some stamina… but every town and landscape along the way feels like a medal earned. Take Aubusson, where weavers still work wool on traditional tapestry looms. Or Lac de Vassivière, the region’s own “little Canada”, beautiful whatever the season. The route also crosses the Millevaches Regional Nature Park: moorland, peat bogs, wooded hills.
Save some leg strength for what comes next, further south in Corrèze: chestnut groves, granite hamlets, ponds and rivers… La Vagabonde’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine stretch ends on a high note at Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France, sitting right on the water — time to follow its lead and slow down too.
©Vélidéale – Bressuire / Sébastien Laval
Back to Lac de Vassivière, that Limousin “little Canada” we already crossed on La Vagabonde above. La Vélidéale sets off westward from here, through the Millevaches Regional Nature Park. It’s green, open, inspiring. Much like the exhibitions at Rochechouart Castle, itself built right on a meteorite impact site. Or like the medieval bridge leading into Limoges — before you discover the rest of what this porcelain capital has to offer.
The route crosses paths with another one at Lac de Lavaud (La Scandibérique), then climbs back up toward the Deux-Sèvres, passing the silver mines of Melle and the museums of Niort, at the gateway to the Marais Poitevin. Hop on to explore its maze of canals. And don’t forget to say hello to the dragonflies.
Set off to explore our destinations: from the foothills of the Pyrenees to hidden villages, from surfing sessions on the coast to hikes in the wide open spaces of the Limousin. You’re bound to find a holiday that takes your fancy.
To find out more about the destination or the experiences on offer there, here are a few pages that invite you to continue your exploration, either online or in person.
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