EuroVelo · EV1

La Vélodyssée

France's longest cycle route, the Atlantic section of EuroVelo 1: Breton lighthouses, marshes, pine forests and beaches, from Roscoff to the Basque border.

Bretagne → Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Distance
877 km
Stages
8
Elevation gain
3 235 m
Difficulty
moderate
La Vélodyssée and its 8 stage points. Base map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Where to sleep on La Vélodyssée

Halta lists 732 places to sleep within 5 km of the route: 590 campsites, 22 bivouac spots, 120 hotels. For each one, the app shows the real detour from your stage — and it is that distance, not the straight line, that decides how a day ends.

  • Campsites
  • Bivouac spots
  • Hotels

Alongside the campsites, mountain huts and bivouac spots drawn from open data, there are the hosts of the Halta community: travellers who welcome others into their homes, usually for free. You write to them before you come; you do not book a slot.

The 8 stages of La Vélodyssée

An indicative split, drawn on real roads: distances and elevation come from route calculation, not from an estimate. In the app every stage can be adjusted — stretched, cut short, or pushed back a day.

Stages of La Vélodyssée with distance and elevation gain.
#StageDistanceElevation
1 Roscoff → Carhaix-Plouguer 71 km 749 m
2 Carhaix-Plouguer → Redon 156 km 797 m
3 Redon → Nantes 73 km 402 m
4 Nantes → Les Sables-d'Olonne 94 km 328 m
5 Les Sables-d'Olonne → La Rochelle 92 km 208 m
6 La Rochelle → Royan 81 km 192 m
7 Royan → Arcachon 154 km 176 m
8 Arcachon → Bayonne 156 km 383 m

Frequently asked questions about La Vélodyssée

How many days does La Vélodyssée take?

La Vélodyssée takes about 15 days, split into 8 stages over 877 km — an average of 58 km a day. The split is indicative: stages stretch or shorten depending on your form and the weather.

Where can you sleep on La Vélodyssée?

Halta lists 732 places to sleep within 5 km of La Vélodyssée: 590 campsites, 22 bivouac spots, 120 hotels. On top of those are the hosts of the Halta community, travellers who welcome others into their homes, usually for free.

How hard is La Vélodyssée?

La Vélodyssée is rated moderate, with 3 235 m of cumulative elevation gain over 877 km. Per stage, that works out at roughly 404 m of climbing a day.

Where does La Vélodyssée go?

La Vélodyssée runs from Roscoff to Bayonne, by way of Nantes, La Rochelle, Arcachon, across Bretagne → Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is travelled by bike and totals 877 km split into 8 stages.

Figures established on 17 September 2026, from Halta’s own data. How they are calculated.

More routes by bike

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Contient des données EuroVelo (ODbL, eurovelo.com). Étapes indicatives, Halta 2026-07. Places to sleep: OpenStreetMap, refuges.info and DATAtourisme (ODbL). Photo : Wikimedia Commons (CC).