• Like last summer, many tourists will travel to Brittany by bicycle this year.

  • The region is taking full advantage of this sustainable tourism which has seen a boost with the health crisis.

  • In the wake of these cyclists, many services have developed in the region.

The first four stages of the Tour de France proved, if it was still necessary, that Brittany was crazy about cycling.

In the land of Bernard Hinault and David Gaudu, more and more tourists are discovering the charms of the region by bicycle.

Slow tourism had already launched the movement a few years ago.

The health crisis has since only reinforced this trend.

🚲 @VeloTerritoires has just unveiled the 2020 version of the Brittany cycling atlas.



In summary ?

The advancement of the regional scheme of # cycle routes, regional cycle use and the provision of secure bicycle parking near stations.

👇https: //t.co/vEVFEcsFzZ

- Tourism Brittany (@CRT_Bretagne) June 23, 2021

With its idyllic setting, between land and sea, and its 2,000 kilometers of cycle paths, Brittany has of course benefited from it.

If 2020 was a black year for tourism, cycle routes and greenways have seen their attendance increase by 8% in the region, with an increase of 23% in July and August.

"People wanted to get away from it all, sport and nature last summer and Brittany, as a safe haven, took advantage of it", underlines Anne Gallo, vice-president of the region in charge of tourism.

The boom in bicycle tourism benefits new territories

The threat of Covid still weakening the tourist season, it's a safe bet that it will still be the same this summer. "It already started in June with the Tour de France effect and we still expect to have a high attendance this summer," says the elected. Good for the economy, this boom in cycle tourism also makes it possible to irrigate areas that were little popular until now by tourists. “One of the objectives of the regional plan is, moreover, to promote tourism off the coast,” indicates Anne Gallo.

A strategy that seems to bear fruit, judging by the number of cyclists who walk the towpaths every day in the four corners of Brittany.

Many of them are also newbies, like Laurine and Nathan, both 27 years old.

Leaving Rennes on Thursday morning, they hope to reach Saint-Malo this Friday evening along the Ille-et-Rance canal.

"We will be able to enjoy the landscapes and the calm like that", underlines the young woman.

Halfway, they will stop for a well-deserved night at the water's edge in a barge in Saint-Domineuc.

New services are emerging

In the wake of these cyclists, many services have indeed developed in the region with accommodation, catering as well as bicycle rental and repair. In Rennes, Emilie Touchais has been offering unusual tours on classic or electric bikes since spring. "I myself am a cyclist and I find that the city lends itself rather well to bike rides", underlines the co-founder of the agency Oh! Detour.

Each week, she accompanies an increasing number of clients for two to three hour visits to the Breton capital.

"There are tourists who do not know the city at all and want to discover it in another way, but also people who have just arrived in Rennes", indicates the young woman, delighted that the bicycle has "really come back to life. popular ”.

In Brittany, “the eldest daughter of cycling”, we have not finished pedaling.

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