Mont Saint Michel self guided cycling tours in Normandy & Brittany
| country: | France |
| location: | Brittany, Normandy |
| trip type: | Self guided, moderate cycling holidays |
| departures: | This trip can depart any day April - October |
| price: | From €715 (6 days) excluding flights. |
| more info: | Price based on double occupancy. Includes 5 nights accommodation (4 nights in 3-star, 1 night in 2-star property of character, daily breakfast, 3 dinners, meeting with local rep on day 1, luggage transfers and assistance if necessary. Price does not include drinks, lunches, insurance, hybrid bikes. Hybrid bikes are available at a rate of €75 per bike. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
introduction to Mont Saint Michel self guided cycling tours in Normandy & Brittany
From beginning to end, the mesmerizing Mont-Saint-Michel and its towering abbey will be within sight, except for those memorable gastronomic gaps and other spectacular sites that dot your route, such as the fishing port of Cancale and medieval Saint-Malo. We have kept the mileage to a minimum to better enable you to visit and savour this tour's extraordinary sites and soak up the relaxing and refreshing rural life of this part of France.
Highlights include:
- Cycling along the coastal road with Mont-Saint-Michel as backdrop and through the quaint countryside with picturesque small villages and hamlets.
- Visit of Majestic and imposing Mont-Saint-Michel, a world-renown and car-free island village.
| Day 1: | Arrive in Avranches. Our Normandy tour starts in Avranches, where you will meet your local guide. Your guide will give you maps and all the information you’ll need, but don’t forget, you can call your guide at any time if you need assistance. . |
| Day 2: | Avranches to Pontorson (36 km or 22.5 miles) The first leg of your cycling journey won’t take too long, as this is your first day of riding; plus, you have a major site to visit! Avranches is located on top of a hill, overlooking the peaceful coast of northern France. From this hilltop perch, you can take a very quiet back road to discover the entire Mont-Saint-Michel Bay stretching for miles. Once you’re down at sea level, cycle through farmland where you will encounter more tractors and sheep than cars. All the while, you will be drawing nearer and nearer to Mont-Saint-Michel. Once you arrive at Mont St. Michel, we suggest you take a few hours to explore (on foot) this incredible site: visit the abbey, find a place to take a lunch break… we’ll tell you a few tricks to avoid the crowds. Our comfortable hotel is only 10 kilometres away in Pontorson, a leisurely ride back from Mont St. Michel. |
| Day 3: | Pontorson to Dinan (58 or 75 km; 36 miles or 49 miles). In the morning, you will depart the province of Normandy and ride through to Brittany’s rolling country side. There you will have the chance to see one of the highest Menhirs in Brittany before our stop in Dol-de-Bretagne. Dol is a lovely little town with cobblestone streets, a great cathedral, both granite and wooden frame houses, and of course, numerous traditional cafés and creperies. In the afternoon, you will travel a fair distance through a mixture of serene woodland, ponds, and quiet villages before reaching the canal to get to Dinan. Tonight’s hotel is in a stately granite building from the 16th century, located right in the centre of this historical town. Dinan is definitely one of the loveliest towns in Brittany, with half-timbered homes, romantic ramparts, and its very own castle. We will give you a few suggestions for your dinner tonight, giving you the chance to experience Dinan by night! |
| Day 4: | Dinan to La Gouesnière (30 or 42 km; 19 or 26 miles)You can choose to give yourself time to explore and walk around Dinan before you set off on the next exciting stage of your journey. On this day, you will discover the Rance river, a magical site in Brittany where you can experience the coast right in the middle of the countryside. La Maison Tirel-Guerin, our lodging for the next 2 nights, has been a family-run business for more than 100 years, with spa, sauna and massage treatments available. The establishment is also recognized for having one of the very best restaurants in the county. |
| Day 5: | Loop around La Gouesnière (45 km or 28 miles) You’ll have a lot to see today on your cycling loop. Your first stop will be Cancale, a little fishing harbour on the western side of the bay. Cancale is known for the quality of its oysters, mussels and other sea food. |
| Day 6: | Transfer to Dol-de-Bretagne TGV Today we have arranged for your transfer to the Dol-de-Bretagne train station. |
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We offer you a unique way to offset your carbon by using pollution-free bicycles. Travelling by bike, you are no longer an observer you are a peaceful and friendly actor of local people, environment and culture. This trip takes a fresh look at the region’s exceptional resources, away from its well-known tourist attractions and puts the spotlight on the multi-faceted Norman character.
With your bike you have a unique way to approach the Mont Saint Michel, through salt meadows and magnificent polders (lands that have been reclaimed from the sea) where traffic is restricted. What is more, following the coast and passing by small harbours, you will be served freshly fished fish and seafood of superior quality. Relying on local guides and family-owned hotels, you will be ensured a warm, personalized welcome. All properties are run by people who have a passion for their region and its cultural, gastronomic, and historical heritage. We use genuine places with local charm, blending harmoniously into the environment. Our hotels offer guests a pleasant, nice-sized environment. Some of them have as few as two rooms, while others are small human-sized hotels. We have teamed up with some local renters throughout France. We value their expert work and most of our clients are renting bikes directly through them instead of bringing their own. This, of course, also benefits the local economy. We are based in France. This is where we live and work. Our office is located in the French Alps, just a stones throw from the Swiss border, and we ride the very same roads we recommend to you for your cycling vacations. As firm believers of sustainable development, we have established a friendly network of professionals, comprised mainly of local tour guides, small operators, and family-run agencies. Most of our people have created their own jobs/enterprises in order to live their passion for the region and cultural heritage. All have extensive travel experience and have lived in various places before falling in love with the area they now call home. Traveling with us guarantees that you will be taken care of by caring professionals who chose to build their lives here. Forget the non-descript and indistinguishable big chain hotels; we use genuine places with local charm. All the properties we use are run by people who have a passion for their region and its cultural, gastronomic, and historical heritage.' We recommend travel by train, a much more eco-friendly solution. To travel within Europe, we recommend taking trains over renting cars, or air transports. Trains are more energy-efficient and will minimize the CO2 emission by capita. When flying is required, prefer an airline that contributes to funds aimed at offsetting carbon emissions. In cities, we recommend clients to use public transportations, or to walk or bike. City bike rentals are more and more widely available in big and medium-sized cities across Europe they are the best way to get around congested cities. Our travel tips include a list of renters. |
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