My tips for cycling in France

[T4tomo]

Bringing an old thread back to life.

This from inrng could be of use.

Heatwave across large parts of Europe. If you're riding around France in summer and don't have a team car then https://www.eau-cyclisme.com/ website can be very useful, lists places where you can get drinking water for free

I had a look at it and it seems ok if maybe patchy coverage. And the intrusive adverts make the site a bit hard to use.

My experience from last week is that (as in the UK) any bar /cafe (of which even very smallest villages tends to have one) will fill up your bottle. In one we were directed to a delightful hand cranked water fountain in the square (which is marked on your linked map btw).

I did throw a chilli bottle in my frame bag so we had ice cold water available if we needed a refresh between cafe stops as the standard bidons soon warmed up, even though the started cold with ice cubes in them.

 

[ColinJ]

My experience from last week is that (as in the UK) any bar /cafe (of which even very smallest villages tends to have one) will fill up your bottle.

Just my bloody luck to find the one place in the UK that wouldn't, even after I offered to pay for the water!!!

I set off to do a 35 mile ride over some big nasty Pennine hills on a blazing hot summer day. I'd obviously chosen the wrong bike and the wrong route for a sedentary office worker who was 4 stone overweight. I also didn't take any food and only 0.5 litres of water with me, which soon went. I wore a sleeveless vest and a pair of bermuda shorts. I have very sensitive skin, so of course - I hadn't put any sun cream on either... 5 hours of increasingly desperate sunburned grovelling later, I fell in through the doors of a country pub at about 15:30 to the alarm of 10 hardened drinkers knocking back their pints. "We're shut mate!" grinned the barman. "Er, I only want to refill my water bottle - I'll pay you for the water!" "We're bloody shut mate - clear off!" I couldn't believe how ignorant the bugger was! I staggered back into the inferno outside, remounted and slowly weaved my way up a b*sta*d 18% climb, then (for some reason) I started to feel rather unwell. I don't remember much about what happened next, other than coming round with my face in what was left of a muddy puddle at the side of the road. I had a mouth full of silt so I'd obviously drunk the damn thing dry!

 

[Dogtrousers]

My experience from last week is that (as in the UK) any bar /cafe (of which even very smallest villages tends to have one) will fill up your bottle.

I remember going to a Costa or similar in a station and my friend asked if they'd fill up his bottle. They said no and pointed out all the bottles of water they had on sale. I thought "fair enough" but my friend was annoyed.

On the other hand I went to a similar station cafe on my own not long after and bought a coffee, then asked and they happily filled up my bottle. So there are ways of asking.

All OT and not France.

 

[T4tomo]

I remember going to a Costa or similar in a station and my friend asked if they'd fill up his bottle. They said no and pointed out all the bottles of water they had on sale. I thought "fair enough" but my friend was annoyed.

I think if you haven't bought anything than potentially fair enough, but if you'd bought a coffee/ something its pretty poor if they wont top your bottle up with tap water.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I think if you haven't bought anything than potentially fair enough, but if you'd bought a coffee/ something its pretty poor if they wont top your bottle up with tap water.

Yes I should have been clearer that in the first instance my friend had made no purchase.

In the second instance I made a purchase first, then asked.

 

[mjr]

I remember going to a Costa or similar in a station and my friend asked if they'd fill up his bottle. They said no and pointed out all the bottles of water they had on sale. I thought "fair enough" but my friend was annoyed.

Well, the station should have a water fountain if it has a cafe. There's probably no law requiring it, but it'll be a sad day for this country if we have to legislate such basic services to prevent station and cafe operators colluding to screw more money out of travellers while causing avoidable damage to the environment.

A lot of water fountains are on OpenStreetMap (viewable at .org and in many apps) with no adverts and no lock-in. Please add more if you find any not shown and can edit the map.

 

[poupou1975]

Is France safer for cycling than Italy or Spain?

 

[briantrumpet]

Is France safer for cycling than Italy or Spain?

My only observation is that when I cycled from Paris to Rome with friends 12 years ago, the driving seemed to get somewhat more 'sporty' the closer to Italy we got: nothing overtly aggressive, but tolerances were reduced (but not speed).

 

[T4tomo]

Is France safer for cycling than Italy or Spain?

Summary: Is France Safer?​

• France appears safer overall than Italy, thanks to stronger urban cycling infrastructure and lower fatality rates in cities. Rural areas in France, however, still pose risks.
• Spain tends to fall between—urban areas show improvement, but national-level safety remains questionable.
• Italy currently looks the least safe of the three, given its rising fatalities, weak infrastructure outside some areas, and widespread perception of danger among cyclists.

---

Final Thoughts​

• If you're cycling in cities, France generally offers better safety—from infrastructure to cultural acceptance.
• In rural areas, especially in France and Spain, dangers persist.
• Italy may pose the greatest risk overall at the moment, both statistically and anecdotally.

Would you like more detail on city-by-city comparisons—or regional insights like northern vs. southern cycling safety?

 

[Dogtrousers]

@T4tomo Have you just dumped an AI output into the thread without adding any personal experience or reliable references? If you have that's not particularly helpful or useful.

Or perhaps Im being harsh and you have actually ridden in those countries, and these are your thoughts. But you have a strange AI like way of expressing yourself.

 

[T4tomo]

@T4tomo Have you just dumped an AI output into the thread without adding any personal experience or reliable references? If you have that's not particularly helpful or useful.

Or perhaps Im being harsh and you have actually ridden in those countries, and these are your thoughts. But you have a strange AI like way of expressing yourself.

I have indeed. I thought it was a pretty vague question with too many variable to answer in a sensible manner...

I have cycled in all 3 countries and felt very safe (maybe slightly uneasy that time leaving a wine tasting session when we were the only people on bikes and everyone had driven there!!!)

I think choice of roads (a village sub D road vs la peripherique) and many other factors influence safety more than arbitrary geographical boundaries.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I think choice of roads (a village sub D road vs la peripherique) and many other factors influence safety more than arbitrary geographical boundaries.

Very much this.

I've cycled a fair bit in France (but not Spain or Italy) and I find it nice and un-stressful. But that's probably all down to the rural routes that I chose and the fact that I'm on holiday. I'm sure things would be different if I was riding round Paris.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I have indeed.

Please don't. There's far too much useless AI slop pushed at us already without it being pasted here. if you really think AI is the best way to go, tell them to go AI it themselves.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Is France safer for cycling than Italy or Spain?

As others have said, this probably depends more on your route than your country.

We cycled the full length of both italy and France last year.

For example, in italy, Milan was brilliant, Genoa was terrible.

Generally, I'd say both countries feel substantially safer than the UK, and no significant difference between then from a safety perspective.

Road surfaces in Italy, however, are often very poor. The worst in the whole of Europe IME, and lots of cobbles in towns too.

I've not cycled in Spain (yet..) but it has a good reputation for driver behaviour.

 

[briantrumpet]

As others have said, this probably depends more on your route than your country.

We cycled the full length of both italy and France last year.

For example, in italy, Milan was brilliant, Genoa was terrible.

Generally, I'd say both countries feel substantially safer than the UK, and no significant difference between then from a safety perspective.

Road surfaces in Italy, however, are often very poor. The worst in the whole of Europe IME, and lots of cobbles in towns too.

I've not cycled in Spain (yet..) but it has a good reputation for driver behaviour.

Haha, in Genoa by mistake we ended up on the famous raised road that bypasses the worst of the traffic and cuts right across the city, and ironically the driving up there was better.