Bike Tours in France: Loire, Provence, Burgundy

Provence, France Bike Tours

Active Adventure

Self-guided, guided. Many weekly departures. Alsace, Burgundy, Loire, Provence, Canal du Midi, Brittany-Normandy, Pyrenees, from leisure to alpine challenges. We represent more than 40 European bike tour companies with more than 200 routes in 30 European countries.

Typical Day

Provence and Camargue

Day 1: Journey to Orange Our journey starts in Orange, the city with Roman architectural monuments like the grandiose theater and the triumphant arches, and traditional charm.

Day 2: Orange-Uzès (approx. 56 km/34 miles) We ride by vegetable farms to the Rhône and by the hilly landscape of the Garrigue shaped by Mediterranean herbs and bushes. The vineyards of the Côte you Rhône (Lirac, Laudan) follow after St. Laurent. We ride through oak forests into the small town of Uzès with its medieval charm.

Day 3: Uzès-Pont du Gard-Frigolet Monastery (approx. 48 km/30 miles) We travel across often rolling heath country to the famous Roman aqueduct and world cultural property, the Pont du Gard. Further over Aramon (known for its bloodless bull fights) directly into the Montagnette, a small hilltop town. Riding through shady evergreen forests you reach the monastery of St. Michel de Frigolet.

Day 4: Frigolet-Avignon-St. Rémy (approx. 45 km/28 miles) In the morning, there's time to explore Avignon with its historic old town and papal palace. Then we travel along a quiet path to St. Rémy, perhaps the most beautiful and most typical of the small towns of Provence.

Day 5: St. Rémy-Les Baux-St. Rémy (approx. 30 km/19 miles) We visit the morning market of St. Rémy (Wednesdays) with its colorful chaos, splendor and abundance of herb aromas. In the afternoon, we travel to the former monastery St. Paul-de-Mausole (famous for Vincent van Gogh) as well as the excavations of the Greek-Roman settlement Glanum. It's worth the uphill effort to enjoy the super view of Les Baux, the city cut into rock.

Day 6: St. Rémy-Arles (approx. 47 km/39 miles) From St. Rémy, we ride past Tarascon to the Rhône. After Fontvielle and a small ascent, we reach the mill of Daudet with a beautiful view. We ride along a charming route into the city of Arles.

Day 7: Arles-Camargue-Arles (approx. 50 km/31 miles) Half sea landscape, half country landscape, the Camargue is an unique nature area with brackish lakes, salt steppes, wild horses and the famous pink flamingos. Passing Mejanes with its arena and small railway, we ride along auto-free nature paths after St. Maries de la Mer at the Mediterranean. We return to Arles by mini-buses.

Day 8 Return journey or extension

Other Information

Experience two of the most beautiful regions of Europe, Provence and Camargue. This land of light, colors and scents attracted the likes of Picasso, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, Cezanne, and Chagall. The tour starts in Avignon and passes typical Mediterranean villages and medieval cities and castles en route to Arles. You reach the lagoons and moors of the Camargue and cross the river Rhône by boat. Provence—the sunny country of France—with fruitful, sumptuous plains, Mediterranean coast, cultural centers of antiquity and the Middle Ages, and its rich and relaxed way of life. We bike by pictorial ravines, colorful herb meadows, vineyards and olive groves.

We spend one day in the Camargue, the nature-protected wetlands in the Rhône delta, whose landmarks are the famous pink flamingos and the white horses. And we breathe the life of Provence again and again: colorful cycling in the cities, vibrant markets, Spanish traditions, village lives under plantain trees and a breath of southern living. Daily routes of 28-39 miles lead into the different landscapes of Provence. The route from Orange to Uzès is predominantly flat with two inclines. From Uzès to Frigolet the route in the Garrigue is somewhat hilly. The day of Frigolet through Avignon to Rémy is completely flat. From St. Rémy to Les Baux there's a four-mile climb. From St. Rémy to the mill of Daudet in Arles, it's uphill. After Arles it's downhill and then flat. The Camargue is completely even.

Provence, France Bike Tours

Provence, France Bike Tours