From the Normandy Bocage to Mont-Saint-Michel

Take the train to The Vélomaritime®

Cycle to Mont-Saint-Michel on 3 trails, through the Normandy Bocage and its green meadows, the Vire Valley, and the Sélune Valley.

Practical information:

Length: 3 days and 2 nights
Departure and arrival: Saint-Lô railway station. You can park in the car park beside the tourist office (Plage Verte) or beside the railway station, on the edge of the River Vire.
Distance: ~ 170 km (~ 106 miles)

A selection of Accueil Vélo (bike-friendly) accommodation

Souleuvre viaduct ©Calvados Attractivité

Day 1: from Saint-Lô to Vire Normandy (65 km - ~ 40 miles)

Leaving Saint-Lô, cycle along the River Vire to Pont-Farcy on the old towpath. You can admire the River Vire’s heritage, in the form of locks and dams, all bearing witness to past activities.

Leaving Pont-Farcy, you will leave the towpath to return to the small hilly roads of the Bocage running along the Vire. You will meet with a section of the greenway at La Graverie, 4 km (2 ½ miles) before you reach Vire.

Things to see on the way: the Roches de Ham, a rocky site of outstanding natural beauty, the Usine Utopik centre in Tessy-Bocage, where old greenhouses have been converted into a contemporary art centre, the Souleuvre Viaduct, the best place to experience adrenaline-pumping thrills with bungee jumping, and a really long zip line… And at the bottom of the viaduct, a sensorial trail “Au Jardin pieds nus” (Barefoot garden).

Day 2: from Vire Normandy to Ducey-Les-Chéris (76 km - ~ 47 miles)

From Vire to Ducey, cycling on over 90% greenways. This long greenway makes use of the old Fougères-Vire railway line.

From small vales to valleys, the greenway runs through the Vire Bocage before crossing the Mortain Bocage. Sourdeval, Mortain, Barenton, Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët are the main trails.

Things to see on the way: La Dathée Lake, bird sanctuary, Mortain’s large and small waterfalls, the Château des Montgommery and the old Ducey Bridge, “Les Fleurs du Cassel” gardens at Isigny-le-Buat open from mid-May to end August.

EV4 / Emmanuel Berthier

Day 3: from Ducey-Les-Chéris to Mont-Saint-Michel (31 km - ~19 miles)

For this last trail, The Vélomaritime® cycle route follows a greenway that leads to the mouth of the River Sélune. After this, it follows small roads with lots of views of the Mont-Saint-Michel, with the hedgerow farmland giving way to salt meadows.

Things to see on the way: Mont-de-Huisnes German War Cemetery, the Moidrey Windmill in Pontorson

Tip: to get back to Saint-Lô, cycle to the Pontorson railway station (10 km / 6 miles from Mont-Saint-Michel) where TER trains will take you there.

Parcours et points d'intérêt

Stages Accommodation Restaurants/bars

22 Pont-Farcy / Saint-Lô

32 km

2 h 06 min

Beginners/Families

Your cycling trip continues gently along the picture-postcard Vire towpath, with peaceful meadows where sheep and horses graze, wild hedges full of flowers in season, and enchanting villages, including lively little Tessy-sur-Vire. Along the way, don't miss the detour to Les Roches de Ham, providing spectacular views over the Vire Valley and the Pays Saint-Lois area. The Vire's waters long attracted numerous craftspeople, including weavers, tanners and washerwomen, while many barges, houseboats and gabarres, traditional boats, are still to be seen along this picturesque valley.

21 Vire Normandie / Pont-Farcy

36 km

2 h 10 min

I cycle often

The Vire Valley acts as the thread along this Vélomaritime stage. After a stretch of greenway, you ride along minor roads through Normandy hedge-row-divided fields and valleys. With its ups and downs, this stage provides splendid views over the Vire's meanders and leads to La Ferrière-Harang, followed by the peaceful village of Pont-Farcy, nestled in a green corner beside the river. Highlight of the day is perhaps cycling under the grand Souleuvre Viaduct.

20 Mortain-Bocage / Vire Normandie

43 km

2 h 50 min

Beginners/Families

The sound of the largest waterfalls in northwest France still ringing in your ears, continue riding along a greenway through the hedge-divided fields of the Normandy bocage. Here, green dominates the scene and the typical Normandy countryside imparts a feeling of well-being. Once past Sourdeval, the Vélomaritime route leads on to Vire, a town rebuilt after the 1944 Allied bombings. The place has preserved its lively traditional market and is reputed for its culinary and craft heritage.

19 Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët / Mortain-Bocage

11 km

43 min

Beginners/Families

Leading you along slopes, this Vélomaritime stage guides you gently towards Mortain, at the green heart of Normandy's extensive area of typical hedge-divided fields, known as the bocage, and located where our route meets the Véloscénie cycle route. The greenway on this stage takes you close to the enchanting Cance waterfall. Do go and see it in its wild, steep setting, clearly showing how this part of Normandy is part of the wider Armorican granite peninsula.

18 Ducey-Les Chéris / Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët

19 km

1 h 15 min

I cycle often

This Vélomaritime stage shares the way with the Véloscénie cycle route, taking you along a former railway track converted into a greenway, leading to St-Hilaire du Harcouët. Founded and fortified by a comrade-in-arms to William the Conqueror, this fortress town strategically placed between the Cotentin Peninsula, Brittany and French Maine (now in the Pays de la Loire Region) offers a variety of activities in summer based around the Plans d'eau du Prieuré, a series of lakes.

17 Mont-Saint-Michel / Ducey-Les Chéris

22 km

2 h 03 min

Beginners/Families

The Vélomaritime route leaves Normandy's Marvel behind, taking you via a greenway through the salt meadows. Make the most of the last glimpses you're afforded across to the Mont Saint-Michel set in its great bay before reaching the Sélune Estuary, your gateway to the traditional bocage normand landscapes, consisting of hedge-divided fields. An other lovely greenway leads you gently to the centre of the well-flowered village of Ducey.

The Vélomaritime route leaves La Merveille via