A véloroute is a route cycle of average or long distance, continuous (without interruption, including in the cities), marked out and made safe. The véloroutes borrow all types of protected ways of which the green lanes.

Véloroutes and green lanes are two different concepts:

• the frequentation of a véloroute increases with the proportion of green lanes
• a green lane is all the more attended by the cyclists whom it is integrated into a véloroute.

An good example of véloroute is the Véloroute of the Cornflowers to the Quebec.

Association gathering the véloroutes in France is the French Association of Véloroutes and Green lanes (AF3V). Supported by the Ministry for Town and country planning and the Environment and the Ministry for Youth and the Sports, it maintains and places at the disposal via its Internet site the list of the véloroutes of France, registered in a European network.

The national diagram véloroutes and green lanes was adopted by the Inter-ministerial committee of town and country planning of December 15th, 1998. This diagram lays down the realization of a structuring network from 7.000 to 9.000 km crossing the whole of the French areas with like objectives: job creation permanent in various sectors (leisures, tourism, services and installation), rural revitalization, interconnection between the cities and the development of the modes of nonpolluting displacements.

The development of the network was made in order to propose at least a véloroute by area, to ensure continuity with the European networks and to re-use existing infrastructures (closed down railways, service paths along channels and rivers, existing cycle ways…).

It is the National Mission Véloroutes and Green lanes (MN3V) which was charged by the interdepartmental circular of May 31st, 2001 with implementing this national diagram.

In 2006, the MN3V, the Association of the cycle departments, the Club of the cycle cities and the Fédération of the tourist countries published a chart of the evolution of the national diagram.

In Swiss, the foundation Switzerland with bicycle is in responsibility of develop and maintain the domestic network véloroutes.