The route leaves Orléans along the Loire levee, a historic flood-defence dyke, offering a clear view over the river and its many sandbanks, home to nesting terns and little ringed plovers in spring.
Meung-sur-Loire, with its château and watermills on the Mauve, then Beaugency, a small medieval town with a remarkable fortified bridge, punctuate the stage with heritage stops without ever straying far from the river.
Arriving in Blois, overlooked by its royal château showing four superimposed architectural styles (from Gothic to Renaissance), makes for a good first stage to settle into the rhythm of the route.
Indicative distance for this stretch.