1. Leesburg. Where better to begin exploring Virginia's French side than dining at the Eiffel Tower Cafe ( 107 Loudoun St. SW ), which serves such fare as fricassee of escargots. Afterward, stroll to Creme de la Creme ( 101 King St. ), a store selling Valdrome linens and painted Caillard guinea hens. Then it's off to the W&OD Trail to start the tour on its flattest leg, a 12-mile jaunt to Purcellville.

Tip: Park at Leesburg's Town Municipal Garage (King and Loudoun streets, $5 a day) and pick up the W&OD Trail two blocks south of Loudoun Street on King Street .

2. PURCELLVILLE. Check your brakes and grab your final McDonald's french fries: No more fast-food joints or bike shops en route to Paris. Check out the French relics at Irene Mary Antiques (21st and Main streets), or sample some French Champagne at Magnolias at the Mill restaurant ( 198 N. 21st St .).

Tip: Prepare yourself. The trail ends here, and the hills begin on two-lane roads.

3 LINCOLN . Before you start to twist and turn amid the hills, dawdle in this Quaker hamlet with its fieldstone and log buildings from the 1700s and 1800s. It's one of the 10 most endangered places in Virginia , says Andrea Gaines of the Lincoln Preservation Foundation (703-727-5576, http://www.lincolnpreservation.org). It even has a French connection: In a shared art studio ( 18187 Lincoln Rd. ), Catherine Hillis sells her watercolor paintings of Provence  

4. PHILOMONT. The route veers onto the Snickersville Turnpike by Hibbs Bridge , a nearly two-century-old stone arch structure closed for repairs. That means fewer cars to battle on this two-lane country road. It's not too rural to find French goodies: The Philomont General Store ( 36550 Jeb Stuart Rd. ) sells honey from Provence . Just up the road, the first McMansion development will sprout at Fieldstone Farm; there are plans to post a sign there identifying Bacon Fort from the French and Indian War.

5. BLUEMONT. What's a trip to "France" without fresh farm veggies and sunflowers? Try Great Country Farms ( 18780 Foggy Bottom Rd. ). But watch out: An uber-switchback lies at the end of this otherwise placid pike and a mountain pass beyond.

Tip: Anywhere from here on would be a good place to bunk. Expert cyclists can consider Bears Den Trail Center hostel ( 18393 Blue Ridge Mountain Rd. , 540-554-8708, http://www.bearsdencenter.org; from $18 a night), which bills itself as "an enchanting stone lodge reminiscent of a European castle." Very French, oui?

6. BERRYVILLE. Cross over the Shenandoah River before climbing to Holy Cross Abbey, a Trappist monastery ( 901 Cool Spring Lane , 540-955-4383, http://www.hcava.org; overnight retreats from a suggested $100). The monks concoct fruitcakes atop a hill. Afterward, head to Veramar Vineyard ( 905 Quarry Rd. , 540-955-5510, http://www.veramar.com) for red wine and baguettes.

Berryville is a tiny town with a French feel: Frenchman Jean François Martin ( 1 E. Main St. ) bakes homemade croissants at Bon Matin Bakery and Cafe ( 1 E. Main St. ), while artisans at the Old Farm Table Co. ( 104 First St. ) craft French country tables and ladder-back chairs. Duck into the Battletown Inn ( 102 W. Main St. , 540-955-4100, http://www.thebattletowninn.com; rooms from $79) for its French onion soup and Pouilly-Fuisse wine.

Tip: Have free-range eggs for breakfast and watch out for the goats at the Smithfield Farm B&B ( 568 Smithfield Lane , 540-955-4389, http://www.smithfieldfarm.com; from $175).

7. BOYCE. Slow down for a waft of lavender at Emile Borel's General Store Antiques ( 104 E. Main St ). This 75-year-old newlywed from Avignon imports French and Spanish stone urns and other antiquities, and son Alain operates the nearby L'Auberge Provençale, an acclaimed French country inn and restaurant.

Just down Route 50, French lavender thrives at the sprawling State Arboretum ( 400 Blandy Farm Lane ) at Blandy Experimental Farm. T'ai H. Roulston, Blandy's associate director, says cyclists can negotiate a back road into the garden on Tuleyries Lane to bypass the highway entrance. When the site's Tuleyries estate was built in 1833, it seemed so impressive that owner Joseph Tuley Jr. "was moved to have its name be a play not only on his own but on the French royal palace of the Tuileries," according to the National Register of Historic Places.

Tip: L'Auberge Provençale ( 13630 Lord Fairfax Hwy. and 692 Old Winchester Rd. , 540-837-1375, http://www.laubergeprovencale.com) has a $325 "Summer Night's Dream Package"; price includes a room, breakfast and dinner for two.

8. WHITE POST. This area's roads, which feature a mountainous backdrop and fisheye vistas, roll past the original site of Lord Fairfax's manor, Greenway Court , the centerpiece of his 5-million-acre land grant from King Charles II. A white post in the middle of town points there. You'll spot his former pastures on your right after you turn from White Post Road left onto Carters Line Road (Route 627). Look for White Post Restorations ( 1 Old Car Dr. ), where moguls ship their classic cars for extreme makeovers.

9. MILLWOOD. French wine, goat cheese and other fit-for-France food awaits at Locke Store ( 2049 Millwood Rd. ), a revamped 1836 general store. Across the street is Burwell Morgan Mill ( 15 Tannery Lane ), a working 1785 gristmill and art gallery, while Long Branch ( 830 Long Branch Lane , 540-837-1856, http://historiclongbranch.com; tours $8), an estate and horse ranch, is across the highway. Relax on the pastoral hills here.

Good news: The final sprint along Route 50 is about to begin.

10. PARIS . The finish line! But instead of parading eight laps around the Champs-Elysees, cruise over to the Ashby Inn (692 Federal St., 540-592-3900, http://www.ashbyinn.com; rooms from $155) to taste local morel mushrooms, venison or other French favorites in Ashby's restaurant. If you overnight, you might prefer the School House annex's fancier rooms with bright Provence colors.

Tip: For the return to Leesburg, expert cyclists can grind their way from Paris (814 feet) up Blue Ridge Mountain Road to Paris Heights (1,450 feet) and famous Mount Weather , a nuclear-era legend with underground bunkers. No public facilities exist along this roughly 10-mile stretch. Or you can meander along less hilly Mount Carmel Road, which slides by the soothing Shenandoah River .