Brand new website for the French section of EuroVelo 3: the country’s longest cycle route!
The new website of La Scandibérique is integrated into the French national platform for cycling tourism, France Vélo Tourisme. Route descriptions, practical information, Accueil Vélo services, points of interest not to miss along the route... this lively and inspiring website provides all the information you will need to plan your trip. Downloadable GPS tracks are also available for each daily section, as well as information on how to reach the route by train and its connections with Belgium and Spain.
EuroVelo 3 – Pilgrims Route is a European cycle route connecting Trondheim, in northern Norway, with Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The full itinerary is 5,300 km long, crossing 7 countries and visiting 20 UNESCO sites along the way. The French part of EuroVelo 3 is the longest national section of this itinerary and runs diagonally across the country, from north-east to south-west, from Belgium (Maubeuge in the North) to Spain (Arnéguy in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques), via Paris, Bordeaux and Tours.
La Scandibérique is already very well developed: 95% of the route is realised, with 43% on dedicated cycle paths and greenways and 52% on small roads with low traffic. Additionally, over 90% of the route is signed with EuroVelo signs, as can be seen on this page. Being the longest cycling itinerary in France, the route is interconnected to many other cycling itineraries that you can use to make your own path across the country: www.scandiberique.fr/decouvrir/itineraires-interconnectes.
Towards the south, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and across the Spanish border in Navarra, the route is being further developed through the Interreg POCTEFA BICIMUGI project. This project also aims to multiply the connections between EuroVelo 3 and local cycling routes, in order to link rural localities with the main itinerary. By the end of the project, in summer 2022, a network of cycling loops will be structured in the area.
The Pilgrims Route is of course more than a regular cycling route. Through its connection with the Way of St James leading to Santiago, the route is historically and culturally charged. It embodies, in its identity, the path as a life experience, a physical and emotional relationship to cycling, and an introspective journey. If you cannot choose between nature, architecture, art history and exciting cities for your next trip, but also want to experience hospitality and great encounters along the way, look no further than the French section of EuroVelo 3!
In short:
• Explore the new website of La Scandibérique: https://www.scandiberique.fr/
• Follow La Scandibérique on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/lascandiberique/
• Follow La Scandibérique on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/scandiberique/?hl=fr
Author : Florence Grégoire