The “Ardenne Cyclo” project aims to create two cross-border tourist cycle routes through the Ardennes massif.

The project is capitalizing on the growth of European cycling consumers to create high-quality bicycle tourism opportunities based on two major European routes: EuroVelo 5 and EuroVelo 19 (the River Meuse by bicycle). The project is concentrating the investment resources on the development of sections, gaps and crossings which currently disrupt the routes well as on the installation of information, service and metering fixtures.

A set of marketing tools and promotional actions will be carried out, on the one hand in cooperation with the Eurocyclo project, and on the other hand together with the Ardenne Marketing project.

In practice, 28 tourism players – in Belgium and France – have joined forces to develop this project. A programme that contributes to the creation of a new tourist experience on high-quality bicycle routes through the countryside and the forests of the Ardennes. The total project budget is € 4,340,000, and is being financed for 55% by European Interreg V funds and 45% by regional and local funds.

The EUROCYCLO project capitalizes on the rise of bicycle tourism in Europe to create a high-quality tourist offer based on EuroVelo 3, 4 and 5, which are three major European cross-border routes, the Somme (V30) and the Lys. While Flanders is fully networked with cycle routes, junction networks have been in full development in Wallonia for three years. France, too, is continuing to invest in developing its cycle routes, cycle loops and junction networks.

EUROCYCLO will make it possible to create a loop for exploring the Euroregion by opening up missing sections of routes or through the cross-border extension of cycling junction networks. This global project will create a tourist experience on bicycle routes that give riders an up-close experience of diverse environments: sea, countryside, city, lakes and canals.

The total budget of the Eurocyclo project is 14.5 million euros, financed for 50% by Interreg V funds and 50% by regional and local funds. Led by IDETA, the project brings together 30 partners; launched in January 2018, it will be operational by January 2023.