Cycling, cycling holidays and bike hire in Poitou-Charentes
The French refer to the bicycle as la petite reine or little queen... And according to local tourism bosses, the queen is well and truly in her own kingdom in the Poitou-Charentes. But how well-suited is the Poitou-Charentes to cycling and cycling holidays? Of course it depends what cycling you like to do.
If for you riding a bike means staying on the flattest possible terrain then parts of the Deux-Sèvres and Charente-Maritime are just perfect. The Île de Re, Île d’Oléron and Île d’Aix off the Atlantic coast are paradise for anyone who likes cycling the easy way. In particular more people seem to cycle than use their car on the Île de Re in the summer months, attracted by the many cycle paths - and of course the lack of hills! Further inland is the Marais Poitevin – the mysterious land of marsh and water – that also offers easy (=flat) cycling and bike hire for the more leisurely cyclist.
If, however, it’s a challenge you want then you should try hiring a bike in the Charente-Limousine. This area in the north-east of the Charente marks the start of the mountain range the Massif Central that climbs and climbs until it dominates the centre of France. And though there might not be any snow-capped mountains here there are nonetheless some steep hills to negotiate, for example around Massignac or Étagnac.
ON YOUR BIKE!
You don’t need to stay in the countryside to enjoy cycling in Poitou-Charentes, though. It’s easy to hire a bike and explore La Rochelle, for example, where there are about 180km of cycle routes in the city and around the surrounding area.
Another very popular area for cycling is Royan, from where it is a great place to explore the nearby pine forests and spectacular scenery of the Côte Sauvage. Again, it’s easy to find places to hire bikes in and around Royan.
Around Poitiers, too, there are some 400km of cycle routes, which take you through some beautiful countryside. In the Deux-Sèvres a popular cycling route is between Thouars and Parthenay, a journey that takes you past Roman remains, across old bridges and through pretty wooded valleys. It’s possible to hire a bike in both towns.
LONG-DISTANCE RIDING
For the more adventurous there are also four long cycling routes that criss-cross the Poitou-Charentes region, from north to south and east to west. These are known as the transversales picto-charentaises and were created by the Ligue Régionale de Cyclotourisme. The four routes are: From Argenton-Château in north Deux-Sèvres to Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron in the Charente-Maritime - 280 km; Confolens in the north east of the Charente to Royan in the Charente-Maritime - 281km; From Cerizay in the north west of the Deux-Sèvres to Aubeterre-sur-Dronne in south Charente - 291 km; and from Angles-sur-l’Anglin in the north east of the Vienneto to Ars-en-Ré on the Île de Ré in Charente-Maritime - 329 km.
For more information contact: Ligue Poitou-Charentes de Cyclotourisme (FFCT) Claude BREGEAT - 6 allée de Boisrouge - F-86000 Poitiers Tél 05 49 01 44 63 Email: claude.bregeat@wanadoo.fr
See also:
Tips on bike rides and cycling in the Poitou-Charentes
Download cycle routes in the Charente
Photographs: © champa - Fotolia; Dmitry Naumov - Shutterstock