rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gites-refuges.com">www.gites-refuges.com. 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 will probably be the cheapest way of cycling the route. Stage descriptions identify official campsites. Camping may be possible in other locations with the permission of local landowners.
Food and drink
Where to eat
There are many places where cyclists can eat and drink, varying from snack bars, crêperies, pubs and local inns to Michelin starred restaurants. Locations are listed in stage descriptions, but these are not exhaustive. Days and times of opening vary. When planning your day, try to be flexible as some inns and small restaurants do not open at lunchtime. In France, an auberge is a local inn offering food and drink. English language menus may be available in big cities and tourist areas, but are less common in smaller towns and rural locations.
When to eat
In England, breakfast in hotels, guest houses and B&B is usually a cooked meal while English pubs generally provide a wide variety of light snack and full meal options for both lunch and dinner.
In France, things are a little different. Breakfast (petit déjeuner) is continental: breads, jam and a hot drink. Traditionally lunch (déjeuner) was the main meal of the day, although this is slowly changing, and is unlikely to prove suitable if you plan an afternoon in the saddle. Most French restaurants offer a menu du jour at lunchtime, a three-course set meal that usually offers excellent value for money. It is often hard to find light meals/snacks in bars or restaurants and if you want a light lunch you may need to purchase items such as sandwiches, quiche or croque-monsieur (toasted ham and cheese sandwich) from a bakery.
For dinner (dîner) a wide variety of cuisine is available. Much of what is available is pan-European and will be easily recognisable. There are however national and regional dishes you may wish to try. Traditionally French restaurants offered only fixed price set menus with two, three or more courses. This is slowly changing and most restaurants nowadays offer both fixed price and à la carte menus.
What to eat
Neufchâtel cheese is a heart-shaped soft cheese from Neufchâtel-en-Bray (Avenue Verte, Stage 4)
France is widely regarded as a place where the preparation and presentation of food is central to the country’s culture. Modern day French cuisine was first codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in Le Guide Culinaire (1903). Central to Escoffier’s method was the use of light sauces made from stocks and broths to enhance the flavour of the dish in place of heavy sauces that had previously been used to mask the taste of bad meat. French cooking was further refined in the 1960s with the arrival of nouvelle cuisine which sought to simplify techniques, lessen cooking time and preserve natural flavours by changing cooking methods.
Northern France and Normandy are not particularly well-known for gastronomy, although there are a few local specialities you may wish to try (or avoid!). Andouillettes are coarse sausages made from pork intestines with a strong taste and distinctive odour. Not a dish for the faint hearted. As in nearby Belgium, moules et frites (mussels and chips) are popular light meals while Dieppe (Avenue Verte, Stage 4) is famous for hareng saur (smoked herring). Local cheese includes Neufchâtel (Avenue Verte, Stage 4) while Camembert (from lower Normandy), Brie (from the Marne valley) and Maroilles (from Picardy) are produced nearby. All are soft, creamy cows’ milk cheeses with blooming edible rinds. One way of serving cheese is le welsh, a northern French take on welsh rarebit consisting of ham and grilled cheese on toast often topped with an egg. Normandy and the Bray have orchards producing apples, pears and cherries from which fruit tarts such as tarte tatin are produced.
What to drink
In Normandy apples are used to produce cider
Both England and France are beer and wine consuming countries. In England beer sales are declining but wine is growing, while in France wine is declining and beer growing.
Although France is predominantly a wine drinking country, beer (bière) is widely consumed, particularly in the north. Draught beer (une pression) is usually available in two main styles: blonde (European style lager) or blanche (partly cloudy wheat beer). Most of this is produced by large breweries such as Kronenbourg and Stella Artois but there are an increasing number of small artisanal breweries producing beer for local consumption. No wine is produced commercially in northern France, although wine from all French vineyard regions is readily available. Cidre (cider) and calvados (apple brandy) are produced in Haute Normandy, while Bénédictine liqueur comes from Basse Normandy.
All the usual soft drinks (colas, lemonade, fruit juices, mineral waters) are widely available.
Amenities and services
For a breakdown of facilities en route, see Appendix A. This list is not exhaustive but provides an indication of the services available.
Grocery shops
All cities, towns and larger villages passed through have grocery stores, often supermarkets, and most have pharmacies. In France, almost every village has a boulangerie (bakery) that is open from early morning and bakes fresh bread several times a day.
Cycle shops
Most towns have cycle shops with repair facilities. Locations are listed in the stage descriptions, although this is not exhaustive. Many cycle shops will adjust brakes and gears, or lubricate your chain, while you wait, often not seeking reimbursement for minor repairs. Touring cyclists should not abuse this generosity and always offer to pay, even if this is refused.
Currency and banks
The currency of France is the Euro. Almost every town has a bank and most have ATM machines which enable you to make transactions in English. However very few offer over-the-counter currency exchange. In London, Paris and port towns (Dover, Folkestone, Newhaven, Calais and Dieppe) there are commercial exchange bureau but in other locations the only way to obtain currency is to use ATM machines to withdraw cash from your personal account or from a prepaid travel card. Contact your bank to activate your bank card for use in Europe or put cash on a travel card. Travellers’ cheques are rarely used.
Telephone and internet
The whole route has mobile phone coverage. Contact your network provider to ensure your phone is enabled for foreign use with the optimum price package. International dialling codes are +44 for UK and +33 for France.
Almost all hotels, guest houses and hostels, and many restaurants, make internet access available to guests, usually free of charge.
Electricity
Voltage is 220v, 50HzAC. Plugs in Britain are three-pin square while in France standard European two-pin round plugs are used. Adaptors are widely available to convert both ways.
What to take
Clothing and personal items
Even though the route is not mountainous there are some undulating sections crossing chalk downland and consequently weight should be kept to a minimum. You will need clothes for cycling (shoes, socks, shorts/trousers, shirt, fleece, waterproofs) and clothes for
