Normandy's Cider Route is a 40km loop ride taking in more than 20 cider farms in the area east of Caen.
Distance: 40km
Difficulty: Easy
Normandy's Cider Route covers around 40km or 25 miles and – it's a loop ride that can be completed in a day or spread over two days with a stop halfway. It's on shared roads with cars but predominantly quieter rural roads.
It's east of Caen – handy if you're coming from a ferry port in the south of England, or by train from Paris. It's a signposted route across the Pays d’Auge area in the Calvados and Orne departments.
The route connects the villages of Beuvron-en-Auge (officially recognised as one of the most beautiful villages in France), Cambremer, Bonnebosq and Beaufour-Druval. There are more than 20 cider farms on the Normandy Cider Route (or just off it) – look for farms and producers signposted with "Cru de Cambremer", the local cider classification.
Visits and tastings are possible – and welcome – but note that most of the farms are small local operations, so try and call or email ahead to make a rendez-vous so the farmer can fit you into their day (especially off-season or during harvest).
This makes a lovely add-on or fixed base ride if you're cycling La Velo Francette, which links La Rochelle to Caen, or the Euro Velo 4 Velomaritime route across the northern coast. The D-Day beaches route and their link route to Mont Saint-Michel are also within reach from here, meaning you can enjoy this loop ride before or after a ride on the Veloscenie to/from Paris as well.
There are maps and brochures to download from the official site.
Download the route as a GPX file for your cycling computer.
Here is a map and a list of producers (click here or on the image for a better-quality PDF to download) – make sure you check ahead to make sure the ones you want to visit are still in operation.
