🚴♂️ 2 Days Cycling the Loire Valley – Orléans → Meung-sur-Loire → Beaugency → Blois
I came to France with 4 days to explore, flying in and out of Paris, and wanted a bike trip that actually fit my schedule. After researching every possible option, one route stood out: La Loire à Vélo, often called the most beautiful cycling route in France.
The best part? You can reach Orléans by regional train from Paris almost every hour — making it the perfect quick escape.
After a few travel hiccups in Paris, I finally reached Orléans at sunset… and that’s where the real trip began.
Day One takes me through quiet riverside trails, medieval towns, 1,000-year-old bridges, and one of the best surprise lunches of my life — escargot and freshwater white fish in Meung-sur-Loire, which I later discovered is exactly what the town is known for.
Then I continued through Beaugency (with its legendary medieval bridge) and finished the day in Blois, a former royal seat filled with incredible — and dramatic — French history.
If you’re planning a Loire Valley bike trip, researching Loire à Vélo, or just love exploring Europe by bike, I hope this video helps you plan an amazing journey.
🗺️ My Route Today
Orléans → Meung-sur-Loire → Beaugency → Blois
(About 60–65 km, depending on detours)
📍 Timestamps (Very Detailed for SEO)
00:00 — Orléans sunrise & intro to the Loire trip
00:25 — Why I chose the Loire Valley for a short France bike trip
00:52 — Quick talk: train from Paris to Orléans
01:15 — Arriving in Orléans at sunset
01:35 — Joan of Arc’s influence on Orléans
02:05 — Leaving Orléans on La Loire à Vélo
02:26 — Trail quality, signage, and first impressions
02:50 — What is EuroVelo 6?
03:18 — The Loire River: France’s last wild river
03:55 — Paris was freezing — clothing mistake
04:12 — Two big tips: tire pump + bring cash
04:55 — Missing out on pain au chocolat (the tragedy)
05:22 — Arriving in Meung-sur-Loire
05:45 — Medieval history of Meung-sur-Loire
06:10 — The “golden hour” for food in France explained
06:35 — Finding lunch in Meung-sur-Loire
07:05 — Eating escargot + local freshwater fish
07:39 — Accidentally ordering the town’s signature dish
08:10 — Riding toward Beaugency
08:35 — Beaugency’s 1,000-year-old stone bridge
09:02 — Why this town mattered historically
09:28 — Napoleon’s battles here
09:50 — Why towns like this are better seen by bike
10:22 — Entering Blois along the Loire
10:55 — Dramatic royal history of Blois
11:18 — The assassination of the Duke of Guise
12:02 — How this moment shook France
12:30 — Ending thoughts — why cycling Day 1 was perfect
12:55 — What’s coming tomorrow (hint: Chambord)
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II had 4 days to explore France, flying in and
out of Paris, and I wanted a bike trip that actually fit my schedule. After researching
every possible option, one route stood out: the Loire Valley. People call it one of the most
beautiful cycling paths in all of France. And the fact that you can reach Orléans from Paris
almost every hour by train made it perfect. After a few hiccups getting out
of the big city on the first day, I arrived in Orléans at sunset on my second
day — and that’s where the journey begins. So, we’re going to begin our day in
Orléans. And guys, I’m new to this, so if you could please like, subscribe,
follow… that would be wonderful. I think I’m at 460 subscribers today,
so you will be noticed. Ciao. Orléans is famous for Jeanne d’Arc,
who helped free the city in 1429. Her influence is everywhere — statues, street
names, plaques. But I didn’t spend too much time exploring. I just grabbed some food, got some
rest, and got ready for my first day of riding. Okay, so I’ve officially left Orléans. I’m
very happy to say this is a very well-marked trail. Leaving Orléans is calm and easy.
La Loire à Vélo is very well marked, flat, peaceful, and perfect for settling into the ride. This part of the path is
also part of the EuroVelo 6, a long-distance route that crosses all of
Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. I’ve done a lot of these in Portugal, and
this is the first one I’ve done in France. The Loire River itself is interesting — it’s
the last major wild river in France. It still moves and floods naturally, which is why the
villages along it have these long raised levees. Yesterday, the weather was incredibly cold.
I was freezing in Paris. I came to Paris with every single piece of clothing I had because
I didn’t realize how different the weather in Paris would be from Lisboa. But today has
cleared up, so I’m very happy to enjoy that. Two things I’d like to mention. The
first one is completely my own doing: I brought an electric tire pump, not
a regular pump. So when I needed to pump my tire… yeah. Luckily
I did find places to pump it. Secondly — and this is something I just
didn’t think about — definitely bring cash, because it’s those little tiny bakeries you
really want to try that won’t accept your card. And I live in Portugal, my card is from
Portugal, and I’ve had a bit of trouble with a few of the ATMs accepting my
card. So it would’ve been nice to have that sorted out before.
Just remember to bring cash. For instance, today there was a huge line for
croissants. I missed out on a pain au chocolat. After about an hour, I reached Meung-sur-Loire, a small, quiet town with a surprising
amount of history. Jeanne d’Arc also freed this town after Orléans, and the
old streets still feel very medieval. I think the best advice I was given
online is: don’t miss the golden hour for food. And right now is that golden hour.
So we’re going to find some lunch. In France, a lot of smaller restaurants close between
lunch and dinner. If you miss lunch, you might not eat well again until the
evening while biking. That’s a big mistake. So I stopped here for lunch — and I’m really glad
I did. I had escargot and a fresh white-fish dish. And only later, when I looked up some information
for this video, I found out this town is actually known for freshwater fish. So without planning
it, I ended up ordering the signature dish. It’s one of those times when you’re biking
and you just have to stop and be like, “Huh? How did me and my bike end
up in France eating escargot?” After lunch, I got back on the bike and rode
into Beaugency, which is only a few kilometers away. I was barely there for a minute, but
the town is worth mentioning. It has a stone bridge that’s almost a thousand years old —
beautiful, medieval, and incredibly special. For a long time, this bridge made
the town strategically important. Even Napoleon fought battles here.
Today, the place is tiny and calm. It’s the kind of town you’d miss
by car but appreciate on a bike. The rest of the ride into Blois was smooth,
and the scenery stays beautiful. But Blois itself has a very dramatic history. The
city used to be a royal seat of France, and the Château de Blois was the center of power
during some intense moments in French history. The biggest one: in 1588, King Henri III had the
Duke of Guise assassinated inside the château. He had a list of reasons: the Duke led the
ultra-Catholic faction, he was more popular than the king, and crowds in Paris treated him
like the real leader. The king felt threatened. So Henri III had him summoned, and royal guards
killed him as he walked into the chamber. It shook France — and the king himself was
assassinated less than a year later because of it. Today, Blois looks peaceful and historic, but knowing this part of its history
gives it a completely different energy. Day one was definitely not about pushing
hard. If you weren’t filming like me, you probably could’ve gone much further
and maybe even done Chambord today as well. But tomorrow, I head to one of the most iconic locations on the Loire.
See you in the morning.