Both routes in France often follow local roads. These are numbered as départemental roads (D roads). However, the numbering system can be confusing. Responsibility for roads in France has been devolved from national to local government with responsibility for many former routes nationales (N roads) being transferred to local départements. This has resulted in most being renumbered as D roads. As départements have different numbering systems, these D road numbers often change when crossing département boundaries.
Maps
While it is possible to cycle both routes using only the maps in this book (particularly the Avenue Verte which is waymarked throughout), larger scale maps with more detail are available, although these are not specifically cycle maps. Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50,000 maps give excellent coverage of the English stages while either Michelin or IGN local maps are good for France. Street atlases might be useful for cycling in London and Paris.
| Classic route | Avenue Verte | |
| OS Landranger (1:50,000) | 177 East London | 176 West London |
| 178 Thames Estuary | 187 Dorking & Reigate | |
| 189 Ashford & Romney Marsh | 188 Maidstone & Royal Tunbridge Wells | |
| 179 Canterbury & East Kent | 199 Eastbourne & Hastings | |
| 198 Brighton & Lewes (very small part) | ||
| Michelin (1:150,000) | 301 Pas de Calais, Somme | 304 Eure, Seine-Maritime |
| 305 Oise, Paris, Val d’Oise | 305 Oise, Paris, Val d’Oise | |
| IGN (1:100,000) | 101 Lille/Boulogne-sur-Mer | 107 Rouen/Le Havre (small part) |
| 103 Amiens/Arras | 103 Amiens/Arras | |
| 108 Paris/Rouen | 108 Paris/Rouen |
Various online maps are available to download, at a scale of your choice. Particularly useful is Open Street Map (www.openstreetmap.org) which has a cycle route option showing British NCN routes, French voie verte and the Avenue Verte. The official website for the Avenue Verte is www.avenuevertelondonparis.co.uk which includes definitive route maps, details about accommodation and refreshments, points of interest, tourist offices and cycle shops.
Guidebooks
This is the only guidebook for the classic route and the only one which describes Avenue Verte in both directions. There are two other guidebooks for the Avenue Verte: one in English describing the route from London to Paris (Avenue Verte, published by Sustrans) and one in French for the route from Paris to London (Paris–Londres à vélo, published by Chamina Edition).
There are many guidebooks to London and south-eastern England and to Paris and northern France, including some specially aimed at cyclists. Most of these maps and guidebooks are available from leading bookshops including Stanford’s, London and The Map Shop, Upton upon Severn. See Appendix D for further details. Relevant maps are widely available en route.
Accommodation
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. Prices for accommodation in France are similar to prices in the UK. See Appendix D for a list of relevant contact details.
A former Clunaic abbey overlooks St Leu d’Esserent (classic route, Stage 9)
Hotels, guest houses and B&B
Hotels vary from expensive five-star properties to modest local establishments and usually offer a full meal service. Guest houses and bed and breakfast accommodation, known as chambres d’hôte in French, generally offer only breakfast. Tourist information offices (see Appendix B) will often telephone for you and make local reservations. Booking ahead is seldom necessary, except in high season (mid-July to mid-August in France). Most properties are cycle friendly and will find you a secure overnight place for your pride and joy. Accueil Vélo is a French national quality mark displayed by establishments within 5km of the route that welcome cyclists and provide facilities including overnight cycle storage.
An accueil vélos (cyclists welcome) sign shows an establishment that provides facilities for cyclists
Youth hostels and gîtes d’étape
While there are several youth hostels in both London and Paris, there are only three hostels en route (Calais, Montreuil and Amiens; all on the classic route in France) and three just off-route (Medway, Eastbourne and Southease in England). These are listed in Appendix C. English hostels managed by the YHA and FUAJ hostels in France are affiliated to Hostelling International. Other French hostels are managed by BVJ. 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.
Gîtes d’étape are hostels and rural refuges (shelters) in France mainly for walkers. They are mostly found in mountain areas, although there is one at Forges-les-Eaux (Stage 5) on Avenue Verte. Details of French gîtes d’étape can be
