The route takes in North Rhine-Westphalia, passing through Cologne, Bonn and Aachen. The origins of these towns date back to antiquity, and they have managed to preserve their heritage. Romanesque art flourishes here, and the Gothic cathedrals are imposing.

For the first fifty kilometres, the route is guided by the Rhine, before heading west towards the wooded hills and protected wilderness of the North Eifel.

In Germany, EuroVélo 3 is signposted D-Route 7.

This section, comprising four stages, starts in Aachen (Germany) and ends in Namur, the capital of the Walloon Region in Belgium.

A route presented in two sections :

• a journey through the Pays de Herve along the former L38 and L39 railway lines, now fully converted (RaVel)
• the Meuse Valley, from Liège to Namur, following the towpath

This peaceful route, which is very well maintained and signposted, offers a wealth of varied discoveries for everyone.

The Sambre Canal guides the route between Namur and Maubeuge.

Steelworks, glassworks, workers’ houses and slag heaps reveal the important industrial and mining past of the Charleroi region.

The route also offers a more bucolic setting with its woods and meadows. It passes through the medieval towns of Thuin and Lobbes.

The Avesnois and Thiérache regions are green, hedged farmlands with a wealth of biodiversity: forests, meadows, hawthorn hedges, marshes and ponds.

Dairy farming produces famous cheeses such as Maroilles, Boulette d’Avesnes and Dauphin.

In the Avesnois region, mills, cast-iron and wrought-iron dance halls, abbeys, brick and bluestone oratories can all be discovered at the turn of a road or village. In the Thiérache region, fortified churches dating from the 16th and 17th centuries can be veritable fortresses, like those at Wimy and Autreppes.

From Guise to Noyon, the Oise valley unfolds all its charms with its many canals, Saint-Quentin and its Art Deco heritage, Tergnier and its railway town, not forgetting Manicamp, a local cheese to be savoured. The Château de Coucy, a magnificent fortress situated on a rocky outcrop 15 km from Chauny, offers a short break from the Canal Latéral à l’Oise.

The route links Compiègne and Senlis, two royal towns with a considerable historical heritage.

In the forest of Compiègne, there are a number of cycle routes where you can explore the forest in search of remarkable trees, including a 900-year-old yew tree in the grounds of Saint-Pierre-en-Chastres, or discover the imposing silhouette of Pierrefonds castle.

Then the route, between the Oise and the old sand pits, joins the beautiful Halatte forest to the north of Senlis. To the south, in the Ermenonville forest, the Scots pine gives way to deciduous trees, heather and broom.

The route, to the east of Roissy airport, winds through villages and farmland.

From Claye-Souilly to Paris, the route follows the greenway along the Canal de l’Ourcq, in a rural setting as far as the Parc de la Poudrerie in Sevran, which offers a host of activities for young and old alike.

Crossing the capital along the Ourcq and Saint-Martin canals is like plunging into a history book. The north-eastern sector of Paris, between La Villette and Pantin, has become a prime location for outdoor leisure activities. This new attraction reinforces the French capital’s position as the world’s leading tourist city, with the banks of the Seine river, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, now open to pedestrians.

To plan your trip, visit the Paris cycling guide website.

From Choisy-le-Roi to Corbeil-Essonnes, the route is still very urbanised.

Then you can enjoy the wooded banks of the Seine river as far as Ponthierry, the historic centre of Melun or a swim at the Bois-le-Roi leisure centre . The towpath leads to the beautiful village of Samois-sur-Seine.

Before approaching Veneux-les-Sablons, the royal town of Fontainebleau invites you to take a stroll through its vast forest and numerous rock formations.

From Paris to Saint-Mammès, the route is shared with La Seine à vélo – V33.

After riding along the banks of the Seine river from Paris, take the towpath along the Canal du Loing, a green route with a smooth surface.

Stop off to discover the rich cultural heritage of Moret-sur-Loing and Nemours, or take a more leisurely break at the Souppes-sur-Loing leisure centre.

Make a diversion to the ancient medieval stronghold of Château-Landon.

53 km long, the Briare navigable canal provides a link between the Seine basin and the Loire basin.
This route, which is very pleasant in dry weather, provides an opportunity to meet lock-keepers, boatmen and tourist boats.

Numerous structures linked to inland waterway transport are dotted along the route. At Rogny-les-Sept-écluses you can see the remains of 7 successive locks.

In Briare, as well as the famous canal bridge over the Loire, don’t miss the Maison des deux Marines, which presents the history of the Loire and canal marinas.

At Briare, the cycle route joins the Loire à vélo / EuroVélo 6 route, and they run together as far as Tours.

Briare is the gateway to the Unesco World Heritage Loire landscape, with its growing number of historic sites, the river with its marshes, meadows, islands and sandy shores where colonies of birds nest, and the revival of inland waterway transport, with “gabarre” and “futreau” boats gliding along the water’s edge.

The route wanders between “gardened” farmland and a wild flora of poplars, willows and osiers.

The historic sites, royal castles and religious buildings become denser. It’s time to start humming “Orléans, Beaugency, Notre Dame de Cléry…”.

The final leg takes in the majestic Château de Chambord.

So where can you take a cultural break? The châteaux of Blois? Chaumont with its International Garden Festival, which is a real visual and olfactory treat? Or Clos Lucé, with its exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci? Not to mention the many other châteaux, manor houses and parks. The choice is endless!

From Blois, there are 550 km of cycle paths to discover the châteaux of the Loire Valley.

From Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine, there are two routes to Châtellerault

• The official Scandibérique route : this leads to Châtellerault via the Vienne Valley. The roads (D1 and D18) are busy and there are few cycle facilities.

• CycloTransEurope route : a more pleasant route to discover Descartes and the troglodyte refuges on small roads.

The route follows the Vienne valley to Confolens, the gateway to the Charente-Limousin region.

There are swimming spots dotted along the route, and as you drive along, you’ll discover the exceptional medieval site of Chauvigny, the imposing viaduct at l’Isle-Jourdain, the pretty village of Availles-Limouzine and the impressive fortress of Saint-Germain de Confolens perched on its promontory.

The Scandibérique route is hilly, with a few steep climbs.
Well signposted, it winds its way towards the lakes of the Haute-Charente, a guaranteed change of scenery.
As far as Eymouthiers, it follows quiet country roads. It joins the “Coulée de l’Oc” greenway and makes a diversion north ofAngoulême via the Saint-Yrieix lake.

From Angoulême to Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, Eurovélo 3 runs alongside the Flow Vélo , which links Thiviers to the Ile d’Aix.

Châteauneuf-sur-Charente begins the journey through the hillsides of the famous Cognac vineyards. From Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire to Chevanceaux, you cycle along the Galope Chopine and then the Haute-Saintonge greenway as far as Clérac, where the blue lakes created by the old clay quarries invite you to take a few detours.

From Guîtres, this route is an invitation to discover the famous wine-growing areas of the Libourne, Entre-Deux-Mers and Graves regions, crossing the Pomerol vineyards, heading for Libourne and then Saint-Emilion, a World Heritage site. It follows the pleasant Roger Lapédie greenway to the city of Bordeaux. It passes by the Cayac priory in Gradignan and then crosses the Pessac-Léognan vineyards.

The Voie Verte Roger Lapédie is also part of the cycle route to Sète via the Canal de la Garonne.

From Bordeaux, you can reach Lacanau-Océan via a 60km greenway.

From Le Nizan Gare, there are two routes available:

• The official Scandibérique route  :  it skirts the Landes forest and takes a detour via the Pays d’Albret, following the Garonne Canal.

• The CycloTransEurope route : it heads due south towards the Landes d’Armagnac. This section therefore provides a direct link between Bazas and Roquefort before joining the EV3 route at Labastide-d’Armagnac.

From Mont-de-Marsan to Dax, in addition to the Scandibérique route, CyclotransEurope is offering a link to discover Saint-Sever and the hillsides of Chalosse.

From Saubusse, between the Adour and the marshy meadows with their exceptional biodiversity, the change of scenery is guaranteed.

At Urt, the Scandibérique heads for Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, a famous stop-off point for pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostela.

From Urt to Came, the route follows a peaceful, bucolic cycle route that partly runs alongside the Bidouze river, which is rich in biodiversity.

From Came onwards, the gradients are short but difficult with a loaded bike. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, in the heart of a mountain cirque, is the first stage town on the Camino Francès.

From Urt to Escos, the Scandiberique follows the same route as the V81Pyrenean Piedmont cycle route.

The association is also proposing a low-relief route along the Adour to reach the ocean and then Spain.