The Vélomaritime® is a coastal cycle route covers 1,500 km (932 miles) between Roscoff in Brittany and Bray-Dunes in the North, from English Channel, to the North Sea. It features some amazing sites to explore, among which are the Pink Granite Coast, the Mont-Saint-Michel, the D-Day landing beaches, the Étretat cliffs, the Bay of the Somme and the Opal Coast.
With rocky points, bays, dunes, cliffs, UNESCO World Heritage sites and more, The Vélomaritime® is a biking experience second to none. It is an ideal route for riders looking to get away from it all, ready for a challenge, or in search of a cultural experience with delicious food to boot.
Explore the top sites of The Vélomaritime®
A fully completed route
The Vélomaritime cycle route has been fully completed since June 2021. Some sections are provisional, pending improvement work.
Main characteristics of the Vélomaritime cycle route
- from Roscoff to Mont-Saint-Michel: country roads mostly, with some steep sections
- from Mont-Saint-Michel to Cherbourg: green ways mostly, predominantly flat
- from Cherbourg to Tréport: country roads mostly, with some steep gradients and provisional sections (an alternative green way along the Lin cycle route is available between Fécamp and Dieppe)
- from Tréport to Berck: country roads mostly, with some cycle paths, flat
- from Berck to Bray-Dunes: country roads mostly, with some steep gradients and provisional sections.
Under a European project, the Roscoff to Cherbourg cycle route was devised. From this originated the “Tour de Manche” around the French and English coasts of the Channel (continue the cycle route in England).
A hilly route mainly along shared paths and roads and passable to cycle in both directions
We are not in the mountains here, but from Brittany to Hauts-de-France (region in the north), the trails have gradients that may represent a challenge when combined. But don’t forget, for every ride up a hill, you can enjoy riding down!
62% of The Vélomaritime® runs along shared roads. These are road with little traffic.
We have chosen to provide a description of the route from Roscoff to Dunkirk on our website. The most experienced cyclists recommend cycling the route from west to east as you’re more likely to enjoy some tailwind along the way! That’s the thinking behind our decision, but there’s nothing to stop you going the other way, as both ways are signposted.
A European cycle route...
The Vélomaritime® is the French section of EuroVelo 4, one of the 17 cycle routes of the EuroVelo network. Also referred to as the Central Europe Route, it runs for 4,000 km from Roscoff in France to Kiev in Ukraine, passing through Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic and Poland.
Learn more about the EuroVelo 4
... connected to other long cycling routes
The Vélomaritime® also crosses 3 other European cycles routes:
- The EuroVelo 1 in Roscoff - The Vélodyssée
- The EuroVelo 5 in Calais - Via Romea (Francigena)
- The Eurovelo 12 from Calais to Bray-Dunes (North Sea Cycle Route)
and national cycle routes in France :
The Vélomaritime in a nutshell:
📅 2021 – the route was officially opened
🚲 A 1,500 km route running from the English Channel to the North Sea
️ 🗺️ A route crossing through 3 French regions and 9 departments
💯 100% signposted all along
🇪🇺 A European cycle route: the Vélomaritime is the French section of the EuroVelo 4 route
🔗 9 cycle routes linked up to it, including three EuroVelo routes and six national cycle routes
