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HIGHLIGHTS
A quick look about this trip!
DURATION
9 DAYS
COMFORT
STYLE
LANGUAGE
RATING
  • Encounter quaint villages and hilltop towns with narrow stone streets, inviting bistros, and energetic market squares.
  • Pedal to medieval Carpentras and its olive-oil museum, then see the château at Crillon-le-Brave.
  • In Vaison-la- Romaine, home of France’s most remarkable archaeological site, there are 4,500-year-old Roman ruins,
  • While in Avignon artworks and cultural sites will amaze you.
  • Explore the 12thcentury castle in the village of Le Barroux and enter prehistoric caves in Beaumes-de-Venise.
  • Throughout it all, you’ll savor incomparably delicious Provençal feasts and sample some of the world’s finest wines at internationally acclaimed Côtes du Rhône vineyards like Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
ACTIVITIES ON THIS TRIP
Primary: Road Cycling, Self Guided
Other: history, medieval, Local Markets, archeology
$4598USD
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Applies to Departures Between:
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TRIP MAP
See the locations you'll visit!

France: Landscapes of Provence

Biking is an ideal way to experience Provence. The pace here is leisurely, which means plenty of time to explore this region’s harmonious beauty, and sample its myriad selections of food and wine. On routes framed by lavender, sunflowers, and the stately peaks of Mont Ventoux.
Biking is an ideal way to experience Provence. The pace here is leisurely, which means plenty of time to explore this region’s harmonious beauty, and sample its myriad selections of food and wine. On routes framed by lavender, sunflowers, and the stately peaks of Mont Ventoux, you’ll encounter quaint villages and hilltop towns with narrow stone streets, inviting bistros, and energetic market squares. Pedal to medieval Carpentras and its olive-oil museum, then see the château at Crillon-le-Brave.

In Vaison-la- Romaine, home of France’s most remarkable archaeological site, there are 4,500-year-old Roman ruins, while in Avignon artworks and cultural sites will amaze you. Explore the 12thcentury castle in the village of Le Barroux and enter prehistoric caves in Beaumes-de-Venise. Throughout it all, you’ll savor incomparably delicious Provençal feasts and sample some of the world’s finest wines at internationally acclaimed Côtes du Rhône vineyards like Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
DAY 1 Arrival to St. Didier
You are met at the Avignon TGV train station, on the main high-speed train line from Paris, and transferred to your comfortable hotel, where you can unpack and perhaps stroll the grounds, or even take a dip in the swimming pool, before dinner in the hotel’s dining room.
Lodging Hôtel Les 3 Colombes
Description A welcoming family-run hotel set in expansive grounds and gardens just outside the charming village of St. Didier. Light-filled rooms are spacious and modern. On site are a swimming pool, tennis court, and a restaurant with updated Provençal cuisine, served either outdoors on the terrace or, in cooler weather, in a cozy fireside dining room. A former Roman garrison town, St. Didier has shops, cafés, a Renaissance chateau, and a decoy and truffles museum.
DAY 2 St. Didier to Beaumes-de-Venise; 22km/14mi
An easy, flat ride takes you across the Comtadine plain, with the majestic Mont Ventoux (about 6,200 feet or 1,912 meters) and the jagged limestone pinnacles of Les Dentelles de Montmirail (literally the “lace of Montmirail”) as a dramatic backdrop. During a quick stop at Mazan, you can look out for the strange church wall made up of more than 60 Roman sarcophagi, then wind your way up country lanes to your friendly family-run hotel set in a scented pine forest on the lower slopes of Mont Ventoux in the heart of the Beaumes-de-Venise vineyards. Your Provençal style guest room opens on to its own terrace and garden, and (weather permitting) meals are taken on the vine-covered terrace by the pool.
Lodging Le Grand Jardin
Description An intimate hotel, set between mountains and vineyards, comprised of Provençal-style individual bungalows, each with its own terrace and garden. Spacious rooms have classic Provençal décor and furniture. Dinner is served, weather permitting, on the terrace overlooking the swimming pool. A pleasant and bustling market town, Beaumes-de-Venise has cafés and shops in shady squares with weathered stone fountains, and a medieval quarter.
DAY 3 Layover day at Beaumes-de-Venise
A range of options are available today: Beaumes-de-Venise vineyards, the olive oil museum, the medieval city of Carpentras (with its colorful Provençal market on Fridays), or the cobbled streets of nearby picturesque Bédoin, named after the 8th-century Bedouins who settled here. You might like to make a leisurely visit to the nearby château at Crillon-le-Brave or Mormorion with its museum of “mechanical” music made on instruments such as fairground organs, pianolas, and musical boxes. Many loop walks are also available.
Lodging Le Grand Jardin
Description An intimate hotel, set between mountains and vineyards, comprised of Provençal-style individual bungalows, each with its own terrace and garden. Spacious rooms have classic Provençal décor and furniture. Dinner is served, weather permitting, on the terrace overlooking the swimming pool. A pleasant and bustling market town, Beaumes-de-Venise has cafés and shops in shady squares with weathered stone fountains, and a medieval quarter.
DAY 4 Beaumes-de-Venise to Vaison-la-Romaine; 32km/20mi
You have fabulous views of Les Dentelles this morning as you gently ascend to the pretty village of Suzette and then on to Le Barroux with its château. Your route continues through forests, vineyards, and cherry orchards, to a lunch stop at the fortified village of Malaucène (where Pope Clement V once lived). The final section is an easy-paced ride along country lanes to the Roman garrison town of Vaison-la-Romaine, where a warm welcome awaits you at a charming hotel in the heart of the town center. For dinner you walk to a nearby restaurant, which is one of the gastronomic highlights of your trip.
Lodging Hôtel Burrhus
Description Located in the historic heart of the ancient town of Vaison-la-Romaine, this recently renovated hotel reflects its owner’s love of art. Artwork is featured in each individually decorated ultramodern guest room, as well as throughout public spaces in regular art exhibitions. Known for its Roman ruins such as the 2,000-year old bridge still in use and theater, it also has Iron Age remains, and a medieval quarter of narrow winding streets.
DAY 5 Layover day at Vaison-la-Romaine
Vaison has France’s most extensive Roman remains, including a 6,000-seat theater, baths, houses, and streets. There’s a lovely 13th-century cathedral and cloisters, a castle, and fortified gateway, and squares with cool central fountains. The town straddles the River Ouvèze, which burst its banks in 1992, when 37 people lost their lives. The flood level is marked on the arched Roman bridge. There’s a market every Tuesday morning and on Sunday mornings in July and August.
Lodging Hôtel Burrhus
Description Located in the historic heart of the ancient town of Vaison-la-Romaine, this recently renovated hotel reflects its owner’s love of art. Artwork is featured in each individually decorated ultramodern guest room, as well as throughout public spaces in regular art exhibitions. Known for its Roman ruins such as the 2,000-year old bridge still in use and theater, it also has Iron Age remains, and a medieval quarter of narrow winding streets.
DAY 6 Vaison-la-Romaine to Cairanne; 29km/18mi
Today’s route takes you along via Roaix across the Ouvèze River to medieval Séguret—officially ranked among the most beautiful villages in France—whose streets climb up the slopes of the Dentelles de Montmirail. There’s a 15th-century fountain and a 14th-century belfry, a ruined feudal castle, and an orientation map explaining the glorious view across to the distant Massif Central. You can browse in the craft shops and enjoy the opportunities for wine tasting. Then you continue on through pretty little Sablet and along the River Ouvèze to your friendly hotel in Cairanne.
Lodging Auberge Castel Mireio
Description A welcoming family-run hotel just outside the village of Cairanne in the heart of the Côtes du Rhône wine country. Guestrooms are furnished with Provençal fabrics and wood furniture and overlook the swimming pool. Excellent Provençal cuisine is prepared by the chef-owner who is also an expert in the local wines. The 12th-century village has a number of easy walking routes (map available at tourist office) and a 17th-century church built outside the walls to separate plague victims from uninfected townspeople.
DAY 7 Layover day at Cairanne
The lovely town of Gigondas, famous for the ruby red wine it produces from the Grenache grape, is a short ride away—wine cellars are everywhere, and therefore a great place for wine tasting. If you feel like a walk, there are many “Grande Randonnée” routes in the Montmirail hills (part of the network of hiking and walking trails mapped throughout the entire country, and in fact, throughout Europe). Orange, a thriving regional center, is about 8 miles (12 km) away. It has two marvelous World Heritage sites—an elaborately decorated triumphal arch and a beautifully preserved Roman theater that hosts regular evening performances—a taxi transfer can be easily arranged in the evening.
Lodging Auberge Castel Mireio
Description A welcoming family-run hotel just outside the village of Cairanne in the heart of the Côtes du Rhône wine country. Guestrooms are furnished with Provençal fabrics and wood furniture and overlook the swimming pool. Excellent Provençal cuisine is prepared by the chef-owner who is also an expert in the local wines. The 12th-century village has a number of easy walking routes (map available at tourist office) and a 17th-century church built outside the walls to separate plague victims from uninfected townspeople.
DAY 8 Cairanne to St. Didier; 38km/24mi
The final day’s bike ride takes you through vineyards to two wine-producing villages. You reach Vacqueyras first. It’s a pretty place with a café and lots of tempting wine cellars offering Côtes du Rhône wine. On the outskirts, the chapel of Notre Dame d’Aubune is worth the short, steep climb. The village is tucked into the southern slopes of the Dentelles, and has a Tuesday morning market and an olive cooperative. The final stretch of the ride takes you through Aubignan and back to your first night’s hotel at St. Didier.
Lodging Hôtel Les 3 Colombes
Description A welcoming family-run hotel set in expansive grounds and gardens just outside the charming village of St. Didier. Light-filled rooms are spacious and modern. On site are a swimming pool, tennis court, and a restaurant with updated Provençal cuisine, served either outdoors on the terrace or, in cooler weather, in a cozy fireside dining room. A former Roman garrison town, St. Didier has shops, cafés, a Renaissance chateau, and a decoy and truffles museum.
DAY 9 Departure from St. Didier
A transfer is provided to the Avignon TGV train station after breakfast, where you can make connections for your onward travels.
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- Mr Woods, South Yorkshire, UK
Great hotels, friendly reps, great to be out on bikes and wonderful to enjoy the real France.
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TRIP INCLUDES
  • Continental breakfast and dinner daily (lunches and beverages are not included)
  • All accommodations (with private baths) while on tour
  • Arrival and departure transfers (valid only for established transfer times)
  • Luggage transfers between the hotels
  • Detailed route notes and maps
  • High quality bicycle with 21-speed Shimano gears (helmet not provided), tire repair kit, lock, map/route note holder, and panniers
  • Basic travel insurance coverage (see Travel Insurance section that follows)
  • The exclusive ease of a mobile phone rental with our Cellhire partnership. Receive preferred calling rates, free phone rental, and complimentary shipping of mobile phones
  • 24-hour emergency service
  • The unbeatable and cumulative experience of the Country Walkers staff
TRIP DOES NOT INCLUDE

CANCELLATIONS: 20% cancellation fee applied if cancelled 60 days prior to departure. Cancellations within 60 days are 100% non-cancelable

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