An Unprofessional Adventure

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France - summary and route

We already knew how great France was for cycle touring, having previously explored Brittany (riding the Tour de Manche) and Corsica (stunning, just stunning). In addition to being very bike friendly, with LOTS of cycle paths and backroads, it's also a very affordable destination. I am not sure we paid more than 15 euros for a campsite the entire time. There are municipal (no frills) campsites in most towns, and the non-municipal sites were about the same price anyway (but feel a lot more like holiday parks). Supermarket shopping is very affordable, and the all-important fresh bread is readily available for small cost. As is the wine, of course.

In terms of Eurovelo 5, there is no evidence of any route until Mulhouse but, after that, it's all signed. It follows the wine route through Alsace which is absolutely gorgeous......but far from direct. You could still ride a wonderful route by cutting off a few of the loops - I probably would have felt fulfilled seeing just half of the 'fairytale' villages! But I'm not complaining really! We skipped the route after Molsheim as it does a biiiiig detour to take in Strasbourg and to follow bike paths. We took a more direct route which was very pretty indeed, but not quite so flat!

Bottom line - France is great, come here immediately if you haven't already been (and even if you have!)

Our route in France, following Eurovelo 5 fairly faithfully between Mulhouse and Molsheim.