In 1993 France, together with 11 other members of the European Community, ratified the Treaty on European Union and so became one of the EU countries. A year later the Channel Tunnel was completed, linking France with England.
The château of Foix (Route 6)
Getting There
From the UK and Ireland
Flying to France is much cheaper now than a decade ago. The number of budget airlines has grown at such a rate that the major airlines have found it hard to compete and have reduced their fares accordingly. Budget airlines include:
Ryanair (www.ryanair.com)
Easyjet (www.easyjet.com)
Flybe (www.flybe.com)
Thomsonfly (www.thomsonfly.com)
Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com)
bmi/British Midland (www.flybmi.com)
The major airlines include British Airways (www.ba.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com).
The following table indicates the start points of the eight routes, the nearest airport to each, and which airlines fly there from the UK.
If flying to the nearest airport to the start of a route is not feasible, another option is to fly to Paris and travel on to your destination from the capital. The journey onward from Paris airports to central Paris is described below. From here you can take a train to your final destination.
Further information regarding travel to the start points is given at the beginning of each route description, as well as a few alternative airports located further away than those listed above.
Val d'Azun (Route 6)
Most airlines now stipulate that your bike goes in a bike bag, and UK airlines may charge £15–£20 for a bike on a single flight. They will want the tyres fully deflated, pedals removed, and handlebars turned so that they are parallel with the top tube. I recommend bubble-wrapping the derailleurs and any other parts of the bike you cherish, and removing the rear rack which can be used to further protect the rear derailleurs inside the bike bag. You can buy bags through most reputable bike shops in the UK.
If you don't like flying, there are other options. From Ireland, Brittany Ferries (www.brittany-ferries.co.uk) operate one weekly crossing from Cork to Roscoff between April and October, and Irish Ferries (www.irishferries.ie) operate up to three crossings between Rosslare and Roscoff from mid-April to October. These are convenient for those wanting to tackle the Brittany tour (Route 1). Irish Ferries also operate a route between Rosslare and Cherbourg three times a week. Ferry crossings from Ireland take anything from 12–20 hours.
Crossings from England are much shorter. From the south coast Brittany Ferries operate four routes (Portsmouth to St Malo, Portsmouth to Caen-Ouistreham, Poole to Cherbourg and Plymouth to Roscoff) and Condor Ferries (www.condor ferries.com) operate two (Poole to St Malo and Weymouth to St Malo). The Condor ferries are fast, reaching St Malo in five hours. Hoverspeed (www.hoverspeed.com), Sea France (www.seafrance.com) and P&O Ferries (www.poferries.com) operate ferry crossings between Dover to Calais. Foot passengers can take bicycles on all of these (£5–£10 charge). A useful website for information is www.aferry.co.uk.
There are regular train services to Paris from all the French ports mentioned (although some, such as Caen-Ouistreham, require a ride into town to the main station).
Cyclists can also reach France by train from England. The regular Eurostar service (www.eurostar.com) via Ashford International in Kent and the Channel Tunnel departs from St Pancras International and takes about 3 hours to Paris Gare du Nord. Trains run every hour during the week from 5.30am to 7.40pm. You can also get off at Lille (2 hours from St Pancras) and take a high speed TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) to the Paris airport CDG where the Marne and Picardy tour (Route 2) begins. This TGV line bypasses Paris and continues on to the south of France.
It is also possible to travel direct to Avignon (Route 5) in the south of France from St Pancras by Eurostar on Saturdays from the end of May to mid-October, but you need to book well in advance. The direct services operate from St Pancras and Ashford in Kent to and from Avignon Centre station and the journey time is only 6 hours 15 minutes (an hour less from/to Ashford). Tickets can be purchased through the Eurostar contact centre in the UK on 08705 186 186, online at www.eurostar.com, at St Pancras and Ashford International Terminals or through registered agents. Check in at least 1 hour before departure. If you want to travel on other days of the week, you can use Eurostar and connecting TGV services in Paris or Lille to travel to or from Avignon (‘Eurostar Plus’ services). Lille is probably preferable to Paris since you have to get across the centre of Paris for your TGV connection.
You can take your bicycle with you on the Eurostar in a bike bag as long as its dimensions do not exceed 120cm x 90cm together with your panniers, otherwise they advise you to use the registered baggage service which operates between London, Paris, Lille and Brussels Eurostar Terminals. Registered items will be ready for collection within 24 hours of registering them. The charge for a bicycle (tandems not accepted) is £20, and £12 for all baggage up to 30kg. For more information call 08705 850 850 (in the UK). If 10 or more of you travel together a special group luggage service operates between St Pancras, Paris Gard du Nord and Brussels Midi with all your luggage loaded up in a secure compartment on the train that can be collected at your destination. Call 08705 850 850 for more information, or email [email protected].
The onward journey from Paris train stations is described below, and information given on taking bicycles on trains in France.
From the United States and Canada
It is possible to fly direct to Paris from about 30 cities in the United States, and from Toronto and Montreal in Canada. Major airlines serving Paris include:
Air Canada (www.aircanada.ca)
Air France (www.airfrance.com)
American Airlines (www.aa.com)
British Airways (www.ba.com)
