This twinning is essential for the Véloroute’s visibility and fits perfectly into our international promotion, positioning and marketing strategy. We were in luck because Canal Évasion happened to be in France at the same time as our delegation, and its production team decided to include the coverage of our twinning initiative in one of its thirteen programs. Meetings were held to plan the logistics on each side of the Atlantic, and below you will find the first actions to be carried out within the framework of the Véloroute-Saône-et-Loire twinning initiative:

• Promotion of cycling circuits in France and Quebec

Beginning in 2007, the Véloroute des Bleuets and Saône-et-Loire Véloroutes and Voies Vertes commit to:

• Promote each others infrastructures in their respective published tourist information tools;
• Include a hypertext link on the following websites: Conseil général et du Comité départemental du Tourisme de Saône-et-Loire and Véloroute des Bleuets.

• Marketing of destinations

The twinning also has for objective to design and market tourist products on each side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Saône-et-Loire General Council

Overflowing with beauty, sensational natural settings, pure air, rock formations and fresh water, Saône-et-Loire is a true paradise for connoisseurs of the great outdoors.

Vacationers can choose from a wide array of traditional activities, such as hiking, horseback riding, and biking. As for those seeking more extreme sensations, Saône-et-Loire has special activities in store for them, including speed boating, hot air ballooning, ultra-light motorised aircraft rides, hang gliding, and mountain climbing - just to name a few.

With waterways stretching over 4,000 kilometres, the Department’s 1,200 hectares of lakes and ponds have been the favourite destination of thousands of fishing, canoeing, pleasure boating and water tourism vacationers worldwide.

The Voies Vertes cross no less than 120 kilometres of breathtaking scenery adorned with prestigious sites, castles, Romanesque churches, wash houses and fountains, mills and museums.
Whether visiting alone or with your family, the Voies Vertes are accessible to nonmotorised users of all ages (cyclists, in-line skaters, pedestrians, mobility impaired, etc.).

What are Saône-et-Loire’s Voies Vertes?

The Voies Vertes, over 100 km of bike paths, were developed by Saône-et-Loire’s General Council. These paved paths were built on abandoned railway corridors or towpaths and are perfectly smooth and easy to ride on.

Facilities and services are available from one end of the Voies Vertes to the other: parking spaces, drinking water supply points, restrooms, picnic and recreational areas, shelters, benches, bike racks, bike and in-line skate rentals.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to develop Voies Vertes bike paths everywhere. Therefore, the General Council has committed to the construction of Véloroutes (marked cycling circuits), i.e. low traffic roads with sloops that are more challenging than those on the Voies Vertes.

In all, enthusiasts have access to 25 looped circuits specially designed for their bicycle touring pleasure. These marked circuits are on secondary roads with a daily traffic of less than 1,000 vehicles. Every one of them connects to the Voies Vertes and Véloroutes and provides an opportunity to discover Southern Bourgogne’s local and cultural life and artistic crafts.

Saône-et-Loire General Council’s Véloroutes / Voies Vertes Development Program is currently under way, and is expected to offer a 400 km cycling circuit in the years to come.