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Home > Upper Provence, Ventoux, and Luberon

Upper Provence, Ventoux, and Luberon

A vélo, découvrez les petits villages du Luberon 6
Climbing Ventoux is optional. For those who can, this is one of the highlights of this tour Instead of cycling up Mont Ventoux, you can choose to ride the Gorges de la Nesque to Sault Riding through the Upper Provence, Ventoux, and Luberon Cycling through sun-flower in Provence, with your family or friends Peaceful village of Fontaine de Vaucluse You'll be transfered from Avignon to the foot of Mont-Ventoux to start riding around the Dentelles de Montmirail

Cyclomundo offers guided and self-guided cycling trips in Provence, click here to see the Provence regional page.

 

  • Self-guided trip: Starts any Sunday from April through mid-October 2024*
  • 5 nights/6 days 
  • Daily mileage: from 37 km (23 miles, short option) to 80 km (50 miles, long option)
  • Starts from Bédoin or Mazan at the foot of Ventoux. Transfer from Avignon to Ventoux is included. Avignon is serviced by train from Paris and Lyon
  • Accommodation in 2- and 3-star properties (Option A) or 3-, 4- and 5-star properties (Option A+)
  • Level 3/4 (Moderate/Difficult. Ventoux is CHALLENGING)

*Starting on another weekday possible - except Saturdays - for groups (must be 4 or more at time of booking and departure) or with a supplement of 85 euros per person starting from 2 people.

A vélo, découvrez les petits villages du Luberon

Upper Provence, Ventoux, and Luberon

  • Level
  • PriceFrom 995 euros
  • DAY5 nights / 6 days

More info: Receive detailed hotel list, bike specs, and route description

More infos BOOK NOW !

Description

This six-day, self-guided bike tour allows you to explore the heart of Provence at your own pace. Beginning in Bédoin or Mazan and ending in Roussillon or Gargas, this bicycle tour features relatively short daily rides, allowing you to fully experience Provence rather than just see it as you pass by.

Highlights include visits to some of Provence’s most acclaimed wine-making towns — Vacqueyras, Gigondas, Beaumes de Venise — stops in several of France’s “most beautiful villages — Séguret, Gordes, Roussillon — and options to climb legendary Mont Ventoux, or snake through the Gorges de la Nesque. In between, you’ll lodge in timeless villages and enjoy local cuisine.

One needs a fairly good fitness level to fully enjoy this extraordinary trip: Although challenging Ventoux can be skipped, some sections involve some climbing. 

This trip starts any Sunday from April through October. Starting on another weekday possible - except Saturdays - for groups (must be 4 or more at time of booking and departure) or with a supplement of 85 euros per person starting from 2 people.

As we offer a wide selection of bicycle tours in Provence, keep in mind that other (easier) trips cover this area as well, such as our Vineyards of Cotes-du-Rhone and our Luberon, Alpilles, and Cotes-du-Rhone.

For a lavender-themed tour, we recommend our Cycling through Lavender.

Customized bike tours in this area can be organized for groups of 6 and more. 

Itinerary

D1Sunday: Arrival in Avignon

 

Upon check-in at your hotel, you’ll be given your whole kit of information. We recommend taking advantage of your free time to explore this ancient city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 
Architectural landmarks abound, highlighted by the Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d’Avignon, one of France’s 85 designated national monuments.

D2Monday: Transfer from Avignon to Bedoin (Bike shop) or Mazan (Hotel). Loop or ride to Mazan. 2 options: Via Dentelles without Suzette Mileage: 67 km / 41 miles Total Climb: 560 m / 1,835 ft or Via Dentelles with Suzette Mileage: 80 km / 50 miles Total Climb: 1,000 m / 3,280 ft

 

Our taxi partner will transfer you to Bédoin where you´ll be outfitted with your rental bike. If you have the time and inclination, you may ride a loop around the fabulous Dentelles de Montmirail (a vertebrae of dramatically jagged mountains). Your toast-giving skills may come into play during today’s loop. You’ll wheel through some of the most noted wine-making villages in Provence, starting with Beaumes-de-Venise. From a scenic spot at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail, this old-world village is home to Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, one of the planet’s most applauded wines. Vacqueyras is next, followed by Gigondas and then Séguret, which lives up to its hype as one of France’s “most beautiful villages.” 

As your loop begins to bend around, you’ll pedal into Vaison-la-Romaine. Divided by the Ouvéze River, Vaison-la-Romaine’s lower half features a trove of Gallo-Roman ruins, making it one of Europe’s largest archaeological sites, while the upper half, perched atop a knuckle of rock, rates as a monument to medieval architecture. Before reaching Mazan, you’ll have the option to ride up to the tiny village of Suzette (1,080 m/3,540 ft), a modest ascent that, if you so choose, will add 20 km (12 miles) to the day’s ride. If you arrive too late or don’t feel like doing the loop, you have the option of riding the 10 km from Bédoin to Mazan.

D3Tuesday: Mazan — Sault via Mont Ventoux or via the Gorges de la Nesque Via Mont Ventoux: Mileage: 59 km / 35 miles; Total Climb: 1,880 m / 6,170 ft; Via the Gorges de la Nesque: Mileage: 39 km / 25 miles; Total Climb: 870 m / 2,855 ft

 

Depending on preference, you’ll have the option to climb Mont Ventoux, the “Giant of Provence,” or a more leg-friendly route through Gorges de la Nesque. The first option allows you to climb Mont Ventoux, which touches the sky at 1,912 meters (6,273 feet). This barren peak enjoys all-star status with riders, having appeared in the Tour de France 15 times since 1951.

The second option, which corkscrews along the floor of the Gorges de la Nesque, averages, by our count, 11 picture-stops per mile (14 if you visit the Chapelle Saint-Michel, a tiny, 12th-century chapel tucked under an overhanging cliff). You’ll lodge at night in Sault, a tiny village that’s as historic as it is beautiful. Sault’s surrounding fields of purple lavender resemble an unframed Monet painting in 3-D.

D4Wednesday: Sault — Fontaine-de-Vaucluse 58 km/36 miles, 610 meters/2,000 ft of climbing

 

Today’s ride allows you to experience Provence at its rural best. You’ll wheel across green, rolling hills and through timeless villages hemmed with vineyards and fruit orchards, the type of decaffeinated setting that causes sound-minded people to ponder quitting their jobs, moving to Provence and spending their remaining years standing in sun-drenched fields applying oil paints to canvas. The village of Venasque, designated as one of France’s “most beautiful villages,” highlights the ride. Fontaine-de- Vaucluse will be your home for the night. Huddled along the foot of the Vaucluse Mountains, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse features the fifth largest underground spring in the world.

Against a backdrop of craggy cliffs and draping foliage, the spring’s emerging turquoise-colored waters are extremely camera-worthy.

D5Thursday: Fontaine-de-Vaucluse — Roussillon (Opt A) or Gargas (Opt A+) 2 options: via Menerbes, Bonnieux: 37 km/23 miles, 720 meters/2,360 ft of climbing or via Gordes, Menerbes, Bonnieux: 53 km/33 miles, 1,020 meters/3,345 ft of climbing

 

It won’t take long for the day’s wow-factor to kick in when you ride into Gordes. Perched atop a hillside, it is one of France’s 144 “most beautiful villages.” Ancient stone buildings line its many narrow cobbled alleyways and arcades, all of which lead to the Chateau de Gordes, the village’s iconic landmark. Nearby Sénanque Abbey, located below Gordes, is worth visiting as well. From here you’ll bicycle through a chain of scenic, hillside villages — Menerbes, Lacoste and Bonnieux — before reaching Roussillon, yet another of France’s “most beautiful villages,” which once served as home for writer Samuel Beckett.

At night, you’ll be able to upload all of the day’s photos to Facebook from your hotel in Gargas

D6Friday: Transfer to Avignon and departure

 

After breakfast, we’ll transfer you to Avignon for your departure of choice.

Booking & Prices

  • Option A
  • 3 nights in 3-star properties and 2 nights in 2-star properties

  • 995 euros per person in April and October. Single supplement is 355 euros
  • 1,035 euros per person in May, June and September. Single supplement is 375 euros
  • 1,075 euros per person in July and August. Single supplement is 395 euros
  • Option A+
  • 1 night in a 5-star hotel, 2 nights in 4-star properties and 2 nights in 3-star properties

  • 1,305 euros per person in April and October. Single supplement is 655 euros
  • 1,355 euros per person in May, June and September. Single supplement is 695 euros
  • 1,395 euros per person in July and August. Single supplement is 735 euros

These prices include:

  • 5 nights' accommodation as described above
  • Daily breakfast
  • 1 dinner (drinks are not included)
  • Luggage transfers
  • Transfer from Avignon to Mazan or Bedoin (the bike shop) on Day 2
  • Transfer from Roussillon (Opt. A) or Gargas (Opt. A+) to Avignon on Day 6
  • Marked maps and/or roadbook (paper and/or app)
  • Pre-loaded GPS unit (subject to availability) or navigation app
  • Assistance if necessary (you will be provided with our local rep’s mobile number)
  • All tax and service charges

These prices do not include:

  • Expenses of a personal nature
  • Travel insurance
  • Bicycle rentals. Full-carbon bikes are available at the rate of 185 euros per bike. Hybrid bikes are available at the rate of 140 euros per bike. Electric bikes are available at the rate of 225 euros per bike. These prices include the drop-off fee for the bikes’ return.

 

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