is almost perfect in consistency. In France the route has been designated as ViaRhôna. This route has been in development since 2010 and by 2015, 75 percent of waymarking was complete. Officially the route is designated V60, but this does not appear on waymarks except in Bouches-du-Rhône (Stage 20) where it appears as V60A. While the planning of national cycle tracks is a regional government responsibility, implementation is delegated to départements. Unfortunately provision of dedicated cycle tracks and waymarking varies greatly between départements. Some, notably Isère (Stages 9–10), Gard and Vaucluse (Stages 18–19), have not yet waymarked their parts of the route. The Swiss part of the variant route passing south of Lake Geneva (Stages 5A–6A) is waymarked R46 Tour de Leman, while the French part is mostly unwaymarked. In 2015 the whole route was accepted by the European Cyclists’ Federation as EuroVélo route 17 and EV17 waymarks are being included on new signposts. In the introduction to each stage an indication is given of the predominant waymarks followed.
In France the route sometimes follows local roads. These are numbered as departmental roads (D roads). However the numbering system can be confusing. Responsibility for roads has been devolved from national to local government and responsibility for many former routes nationales (N roads) has been transferred to local départements and renumbered as D roads. As départements have different systems of numbering, D road numbers often change when crossing département boundaries.
| Summary of cycle routes followed | |||
| R1 | Rhone Route | Stages 1–7 | Switzerland |
| R46 | Tour du Léman | Stages 5A–6A | Switzerland |
| VR | ViaRhôna | Stages 7–19 | France |
| V60A | ViaRhôna | Stage 20 | France |
Maps
There are no published maps specifically covering the Rhone cycle route. Kümmerly & Frey publish a series of regional cycle maps that cover the Swiss part of the route (Stages 1–7).
Kümmerly & Frey (1:60,000)
22Berner Oberland Ost, Goms
21Oberwallis
20Bas Valais, Sion
15Gruyère
14Lausanne, Vallée de Joux
17Genève
For the French Stages (7–20) the most suitable maps are regional road and leisure maps published by Michelin and IGN.
Michelin (1:150,000)
328Ain, Haute-Savoie
327Loire, Rhône
333Isère, Savoie
332Drôme, Vaucluse
340Bouches-du-Rhône, Var
IGN (1:100,000)
143Lons-le-Saunier, Genève
150Lyon, Villefranche-sur-Saône
157Grenoble, Montélimar
163Avignon, Nîmes
171Marseille, Avignon
Various online maps are available to download, at a scale of your choice. A strip map of the Swiss stages can be downloaded from www.veloland.ch, while the French stages can be found at www.viarhona.com. Particularly useful is Open Street Map www.openstreetmap.org, which has a cycle route option showing the route in its entirety. This cannot be downloaded directly from OSM but it can through the Viewranger App (for iPhone or Android) without charge.
Guidebooks
Switzerland Mobility and Werd Verlag publish a guide with maps to the Swiss part of the route, available in French or German (not English). La Suisse a Vélo/Veloland Schweiz, volume 1 Route du Rhône/Rhone Route, ISBN 9783859325647. A guide in French to the ViaRhôna by Claude Bandiera is published by Biclou, ISBN 9782351490006.
Most of these maps and guidebooks are available from leading bookshops including Stanfords, London and The Map Shop, Upton upon Severn. Relevant maps are widely available en route.
Accommodation
Hotels, guest houses and bed & breakfast
For most of the route there is a wide variety of accommodation. The stage descriptions identify places known to have accommodation, but are by no means exhaustive. Hotels vary from expensive five-star properties to modest local establishments. Hotels usually offer a full meal service, guest houses do sometimes. Bed and breakfasts, chambres d’hôte in French, generally offer only breakfast. Tourist information offices, which are listed in Appendix D, will usually telephone on your behalf to check availability and make local reservations. After hours, some tourist offices display a sign outside showing local establishments with vacancies. Booking ahead is seldom necessary, except in high season, although it is advisable to start looking for accommodation no later than 4.00pm. Most properties are cycle friendly and will find you a secure overnight place for your pride and joy.
Prices for accommodation in France are similar to, or slightly cheaper than, prices in the UK. Switzerland is significantly more expensive.
Grand Hotel du Lac in Vevey (Stage 5) was the inspiration for a Booker prize winning novel
Youth hostels
There are only nine official youth hostels on or near the route (five Swiss and four French). These are listed in Appendix E. To use a youth hostel you need to be a member of an association affiliated to Hostelling International (YHA in England, SYHA in Scotland). If you are not a member you will be required to join the local association. Rules vary from country to country but generally all hostels accept guests of any age. Rooms vary from single sex dormitories to family rooms of two to six beds. Unlike British hostels, most European hostels do not have self-catering facilities but do provide good value hot meals. Hostels get very busy, particularly during school holidays, and booking is advised through www.hihostels.com. The cities of Lausanne, Geneva, Lyon and Avignon all have privately owned backpacker hostels.
Gîtes d’étape are hostels and rural refuges mainly for walkers. They are mostly found in mountain areas, although there are three near the ViaRhôna at Evian, Culoz and Pont-St Esprit. Details of French gîtes d’étape can be found at www.gites-refuges.com and in Appendix E. Do not confuse these with gîtes de France, which are rural properties rented as weekly holiday homes.
Camping
If you are prepared to carry camping equipment, this is the cheapest way of cycling the Rhone. The stage descriptions identify many official campsites but these are by no means exhaustive.
