Below we list our Top 10 cycle rides: ten of the very best days on two wheels – highlights from our wonderful selection of cycling holidays, from an easy ride through the Loire Valley, to a dramatic cycle through the mountains of Switzerland.

Azay-le-Rideau to Ussé (Châteaux of the Loire). Living up to the holiday's name, this ride gives you the opportunity to visit two of the Loire region's most beautiful châteaux: romantic, turreted Azay-le-Rideau, surrounded by a moat, and Villandry, the highlight of which is undoubtedly its astonishing ornamental gardens. You then follow the River Loire west on a picturesque country road to Ussé, whose own magnificent château inspired Perrault’s original tale of Sleeping Beauty.
 

Roccastrada to Massa Marittima (Secrets of Western Tuscany). On one of our most inspiring routes, you cycle along beautiful crested hills with great views of this lesser-known part of Tuscany called the Maremma. You then have time to admire the exquisite cathedral in Massa Marittima, once the second city of the Sienese republic, and now the finest historic town of the Maremma.

 

Loubressac to Lacave (Dordogne Valley). This features in our Top 10 cycle rides because it offers a delightful mixture of beautiful stone villages and riverside scenery. The route passes through Carennac, one of the most idyllic villages in the Dordogne, its turreted, brown-tiled manor houses clustered round the ancient priory, and then follows a quiet road alongside the river and under the cliffs.

 

Son Jordà to Sos Ferres (From The Plain to the Wild Coast). Quiet lanes meander across Es Pla, Mallorca’s delightful agricultural heart, revealing the island's true soul. You pass sleepy villages and silent hamlets, and ride through countryside of vineyards, orchards, and olive and almond groves. Travel in February or early March and you will see the almond blossom in all its glory.

 

Melk to Dürnstein (Danube Castles & Vineyards). You see the very best of the Danube Valley on this picturesque riverside route. Passing peach and apricot orchards as well as seas of vines, you catch glimpses of the onion-domed castle of Schönbühel and, as the valley continues to narrow, you pass the impressive ruins and famous rose gardens of the castle at Aggstein. If that were not enough, you can also pause at the wine-producing village of Spitz and charming Weissenkirchen, complete with a fortress-like church.
 

Roussillon to Saignon (Luberon Valleys & Villages). The hill-top villages of the Luberon are impossibly pretty, and this Top 10 bike ride takes you through some of the very best, as well as passing the St-Hilaire Abbey, the Aiguebrun Gorge and the château of Lacoste, which served as a retreat for the notorious Marquis de Sade. The wonderful Provençal landscape continues to delight all the way to beautiful Saignon.

 

Schagen circuit (Dutch Discovery). Holland is, of course, synonymous with tulips, and this special spring-time route (for the rest of the season we suggest a scenic ride through the sand dunes) does not disappoint, winding as it does through seemingly never-ending fields of colourful tulips.


 

Sepúlveda circuit (Castles & Canyons of Old Castile). Scenic tracks lead you on a thrilling ride through the lower reaches of the Duratón Canyon (a natural park in recognition of its beauty) and up to the hermitage of San Frutos. Here, atop 60-metre-high cliffs, you can enjoy breathtaking views of the river, and may even come eye-to eye with a vulture emerging from the canyon’s depths.

 

Sant Anna’Arresi to Chia (Islands, Lighthouses & Memories). We recommend that you pack a towel and swimming costume in your pannier, as the beaches on this route around the southern tip of Sardinia are hard to resist. Imposing white cliffs frame pristine expanses of white sand washed by turquoise waters.


 

Wilderswil circuit (Interlaken Valleys & Villages). The theme of this rewarding route is waterfalls: the Lauterbrunnen Valley boasts a total of 72, including the impressive Staubbach Falls, which plunge 300 metres from an overhanging rock face, and the equally magnificent Trummelbach Falls, set within the rock face.

If our Top 10 cycle rides has inspired you to get in the saddle for your next holiday, why not browse our wide range of cycling holidays?