Three Cycling Getaways Along the Loire: Castles, Canals, and Wild Nature

A little further south, here is Cheverny, which inspired Hergé to create Moulinsart in his drawings. After passing the Château de Villesavin, at Tour-en-Sologne, comes the centerpiece of the journey: Chambord. Along forest tracks, the scent of the undergrowth precedes the visual impact of the 282 chimneys of François I’s colossal château, built in the 16th and 17th centuries. A stone’s throw away, La Loire à Vélo brings you back to Blois, where you should not forget to visit the royal château. This route can easily be extended, for instance by heading downstream toward Candé-sur-Beuvron and the Chaumont-sur-Loire estate, enhanced from April to October during the International Garden Festival.

To find inspiration, study the map “Châteaux de La Loire à Vélo,” available on bloischambord.com

To the east of Orléans: from Loire banks to canal tranquility

Starting from Orléans, this loop emphasizes water and canals. Leaving the city of Joan of Arc, first La Loire à Vélo invites cyclists to ascend the river along its southern bank, then the northern one. First stops: Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and its Fleury Abbey, a Romanesque architectural jewel, then Sully-sur-Loire, 8 km further, whose castle ringed by moats stands at the confluence of the river and the Sange.

Next, at Briare, the Loire is crossed by a famous canal-bridge built at the end of the 19th century, spanning it over more than 600 meters. The ascent northward then begins along the Briare Canal, one of the oldest in France, linking the Loire to the Seine — with, along the way, the spectacular flight of locks at Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses. Here, you ride on EuroVelo 3, which connects Spain to Norway… and you leave it at Montargis, nicknamed “the Venice of the Gâtinais” for its 131 bridges and footbridges. The route then veers onto the Orléans Canal bike route, a newly inaugurated path in 2025. This bucolic greenway winds 80 km to Orléans, weaving between flowered locks, ponds, forests and tranquil villages.

Upstream of Nevers: a nature stroll along the wild waters

Is it the Allier that flows into the Loire, or the other way around? Some geographers argue that the tributary could be seen as the main branch… This loop explores the places at the heart of that debate. Leaving Nevers to the west along the initial (or final, depending on direction) kilometers of La Loire à Vélo, you reach the confluence of the two rivers: the Bec d’Allier, a mosaic of sandbanks with a touch of Amazonian vibe. From there, you head south along the Via Allier, a bike route that leads to Moulins via Apremont-sur-Allier, named a “Plus Beaux Villages de France”, then Le Veurdre, where the Maison de la batellerie narrates the history of navigation on this lively river.

From Moulins, the bike route 75 reconnects with the Loire at Diou, via the small roads of the Bourbonnais Sologne. We then descend the river along the rolling terrain of the EuroVelo 6, on the right bank, past the medieval town of Bourbon-Lancy (to reduce elevation and distance, follow the left-bank canal along the Loire). A detour to the Loire Bourguignonne nature reserve lets you connect with the river in a setting of sandy plains that shift with the floods. After Decize, the canal gently guides you back to Nevers.

➤ Article published in GEO HS magazine no. 134, “Grand Escapes at Slow Speed,” August-September 2026.

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