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Provence

Provence cycling around Orange at the foot of the Mont Ventoux

Provence bike tour starting in Orange. Discover lavendel and olive fields, Roman ruins and beautiful landscape at the foot of the Mont Ventoux

Reviews (7) :
4.86 / 5
Reference P0701
  • Loop trip
  • 8 days
  • Moderate
  • from March to November
  • Minimum age 12 years
GPSGPS-app available
1039€ / pers.
  • Itinerary
  • Starting in Orange in the middle of the Provence you will discover the old city of Orange with its Roman theater, its small shaded streets before cycling through the lavender fields and olive groves in the idyllic Provencal countryside. After crossing charming little villages like Suze-la-Rousse you arrive at Grignan. Do not miss the beautiful walled town of Grignan. A little further take the time to stroll in Vaison-la-Romaine amongst the Roman ruins as well as in the small town of Nyons. The area is well-known for its oil mills and lavender distilleries.
    Charming villages surrounded by olive groves, vineyards and lavender mark out your way. You also cross many world famous wineries as Seguret, Sablet or Gigondas.
    A beautiful leisure cycling trip the Provence at the foot of the Mont Ventoux!

    Day 1

     
     

    Orange

    Enjoy Orange and its charming lively streets. The ocher hues of the city will immerse you immediately into the Provence atmosphere. Do not miss a visit to the very well preserved antique theater.

    Day 2

     
     

    Orange - Suze-la-Rousse

    Bike
    25km
    As soon as you leave Orange, you ride on a plain lined with vineyards with the Mont Ventoux in the background. From village to village, you cross the garigue before reaching the University of Wine located in the castle of Suze-la-Rousse.

    Day 3

     
     

    Suze-la-Rousse - Grignan

    Bike
    25/32km
    You leave Suze-la-Rousse and ride through beautiful stretches of lavender and olive trees. On your way you can make a small detour (+ 7kms) to visit the village of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, which is famous for its truffles and its magnificient cathedral. Your arrival in Grignan gives you a wonderful view on the medieval village dominated by the castle of the Marquise de Sévigné.

    Day 4

     
     

    Grignan - Nyons

    Bike
    32km
    Ride through the countryside to the charming village of Taullignan where you will find a nice silk museum. You leave Taullignan towards the "Enclave des Papes". You will wind through wineyards until reaching Venterol, a beautiful village overlooking the valley of the Eygues. You ride gently down through the olive trees to Nyons, famous for its Provencal know-how (olive oil, lavender, soaps, scourtins, etc.).

    Day 5

     
     

    Nyons - Séguret

    Bike
    33km
    Shortly after leaving Nyons, when passing over the river Eygues, enjoy the beautiful view of the old town. You will then ride up the olive groves and admire the magnificent panorama over the valley. After the village of Mirabel aux Baronnies, the circuit winds through vineyards surrounded by mountains up to Vaison la Romaine. After visiting the Roman ruins, continue to the village of Séguret, ranked "most beautiful villages in France".

    Day 6

     
     

    Round-trip around Séguret

    Altitude
    ±300m
    Bike
    34km
    You can either quietly enjoy the day at the pool and walk to the cute villages around or take the bike tour, which takes you up among the rocks of the "dentelles de Montmirail". This impressive rock towers over you as you cross the mountain to Beaume-de-Venise, the capital of Muscat wine. You will also explore the vineyards of world famous wines of Gigondas.

    Day 7

     
     

    Séguret - Orange

    Bike
    25/48km
    You ride along the very intriguing rock formation called "Laces of Montmirail" and enjoy the traditional knowledge of winemakers who work on the worldwide known Sablet or Gigondas land. You cross again the plain of Orange before reaching the historic city center.

    The long option leads you to the salted pond of Courthézon. A bit further, Chateauneuf-du-Pape welcomes you! Do not miss the visit of the ruins and the paved streets of the village. Then, you reach back Orange and its famous arenas.

    Day 8

     
     

    Departure from Orange

    You leave after a last walk in the old city center of Orange
  • Accommodation
  • Category A

    You'll enjoy staying in these clean and cozy 2-3 Star hotels that give you a pleasant rest after your day biking. Breakfast is included when you spend the night in these friendly and family-run hotels.
    One night is spent in a typical provincial wine estate where the owner will be glad to show you around and have you sample the wines.
    * Example of the type of accommodation

    Category B

    You’ll get a good night’s sleep when you stay in these 3-4Star hotels of Bed and Breakfasts. All properties have been selected for their cleanliness, style and friendliness of the staff. A hearty breakfast is included! One night is spent in a typical provincial wine estate with a swimming-pool. The owner will be glad to show you around and have you sample the wines.
    * Example of the type of accommodation
  • Bikes, luggage and documents
  • Bikes

    On your arrival day, we provide you with:

    • a touring bike adjusted to your size or a tandem
    • equipped : front rack pack with an integrated file compartment, saddlebag, helmet (on demand), reflective vest, repairing toolkit with patches etc.

    We also provide you with the appropriate equipment for your children : baby seat, bike trailer or trailer bike depending on their age and size.

    Electric bikes are also available for adults (+1m55).

    You can of course also bring your own bikes, in this case a reduction will be applied (see the Tarif tab)


    Luggage

    Our services include luggage transport in order to let you enjoy your trip comfortably and without stress :
    • We transport your luggage from one accommodation to the next using a private vehicle.
    • Your luggage is directly delivered in your accommodation before you arrive.
    • We provide a saddlebag for the things you shall need during the day.

    Our word of advice : as we know from experience, we strongly recommend you to avoid wearing a backpack during your cycling trip.
    If you expect to arrive at the next accommodation before 5 p.m., we recommend that you take an extra set of clothes with you in your bicycle bag.


    Travel documents

    A cycling holiday is the best way to explore a region and discover its culture, landscapes and local traditions.

    Your tour is self-guided to give you the freedom to ride at your own pace. You will be provided all the information you need to enjoy the itinerary and its points of interests.

    We can provide you with travel documents in paper format (for a supplement of €15 for printing and postage), which include:
    • a roadbook with maps that we drew at the easiest scale to follow on a bike
    • a roadbook with step-by-step description giving the direction to follow at each intersection and highlighting the points of interest

    Example of a map and of a step-by-step description


    Our GPS App

    For this trip, you can also use our smartphone app featuring GPS guidance (without extra fee).

    You will find in the app all the information given in the map and step-by-step roadbooks. You will be located on the itinerary with the GPS device of your phone. The route and directions to follow will be both viewable on the screen of your phone and announced aloud. As you ride along the itinerary, you will be given information about visits, restaurants, services and useful alerts on the way.

    -> You need to have a smartphone and download Le Velo Voyageur app on your Apple or Android store before the trip. All details concerning the downloading and the use of the application will be given after we have confirmed the booking and the balance is paid. Once the trip is downloaded, the GPS guidance can be used off-line.
  • Practical information
  • To get to departure point:

    • By plane: flight for Avignon, Marseille Provence or Nîmes
    • By train: TGV trains from Paris/ Gare de Lyon station to Orange (direct or 1 connection). The duration of the trip is between 4h and 4h30. Regional trains from Lyon/ Part Dieu station. The duration of the trip is between 2h and 2h30. To plan your trip, www.raileurope.com.


    Parking:

    If you drive to Orange, there are several options for parking:

    - if you are accommodated in category A: you can park your car in the closed car park of the hotel (8€/day, on reservation) or in a public secured car park in the city center (decreasing daily rate of 8€/24h). There are also many places where you can park your car for free (not secured). You will find the details of the different options in your travel documents.

    - if you are accommodated in category B: you are accommodated in a bed&breakfast in the outskirts of Orange. You can park your car there for free (subject to availability, to be confirmed at booking).


    Meeting time:


    The first day is an arrival day without cycling. You arrive whenever you want depending on from where you come. Please note that rooms are usually available in the middle of the afternoon depending on your accommodation. We thank you to advise us if you plan to arrive late.


  • Reviews
  • 7 bike travelers reviews 4.86 / 5

    viva le Velo in Provence

    On the 2023-08-15 by Mark
    Absolutely fabulous trip. Great cycling, great route, great food, great accommodation and best company made a wonderful holiday. Thanks le Velo for making another wonderful experience for us.

    Eine wunderschöne Reise durch Lavendelfelder

    On the 2023-07-14 by Jörg
    Wir sind mittlerweile zum dritten Mal mit Velo Voyageur verreist und wurde nie enttäuscht. Diese Reise führt durch den nördlichen Teil der Provence. Die Routen führen fast ausschliesslich über Wirtschaftswegem mit wenig Autoverkehr und können mit normalen Tourenfahrrädern befahren werden. Die Hotels sind sehr gut ausgewählt und der Gepäcktransport klappt immer super. Man sollte allerdings nicht den Mistral Wind von Norden unterschätzen.

    Superreis in de Provence

    On the 2020-08-03 by Caroline
    Een supervakantie, fantastische (heldere) routes, precies lang genoeg, heerlijk chambre d'hotes/hotelletjes met zwembad (categorie B geboekt),waanzinnig mooie omgeving en hele goeie gehuurde fietsen (waaronder een ebike). Wij gaan weer, het is verslavend leuk en zeer goed georganiseerd.

    Provence we love you

    On the 2018-12-06 by Nick
    We spent a month cycling in France. One of the trips, our trip through the Orange area in Provence was arranged by Velo Voyageur. Provence was definitely the highlight of our trip, the scenery is beautiful, lavender fields (just, end of season), harvest time for the grapes. The chateaux at Grignon is not to be missed and some of the other small towns we ambled through were just charming. Velo Voyageur were great to deal with, we changed my wife's booked bike to an eBike about a week before the trip, no problem. We had some issues first up with the brakes on my wife's eBike, again no problem a mechanic turned up and fixed them in the morning. Later on we decided to swap an extra night at the end of the trip in Orange for an extra night at the lovely vineyard of Domaine de Cabasse (and the lovely lady in reception, pay her extra Mr vineyard owner, she's worth every Euro), again the support was wonderful, no problem. Don't miss the optional ride through the Dentelles, it's worth the effort, and to be fair the steep climb is only short and pretty much un-rideable. The hotels we stayed at were better than expected, on an earlier trip with another company (to be fair a different and probably more expensive area) we always seemed to have the smallest room at the top of the last flight of stairs. On this trip the hotels were very good and low key, friendly. Often a km or two from the closest town but we loved that and anyway a km or two by bike is nothing. So all in all a wonderful trip organised by a really good company. We would love to do another trip sometime when we have saved enough leave and $ to head back over from New Zealand. Yes we did get lost a few times, mainly at the end of the day when we weren't concentrating on the distances and instructions. But on the whole the back roads keep you well away from traffic which is great. Anyway French drivers are much more courteous than NZ drivers, in NZ they would rather kill you at 100kph than wait 10 seconds behind you (although it has improved a bit from a few years ago). Oh and I forgot to say how many wonderful French people we met during our trip. Take the effort to learn a little French and the payback will be well worth it. Best job in the world? I think it would have to be a cycle trip planner and reviewer for Velo Voyaguer!

    Entre vignes et lavande

    On the 2015-10-11 by Ronald
    C'était notre second voyage avec Le Vélo Voyageur et le vélo est tout indiqué pour parcourir la Provence. Le trajet proposé offre de superbes panoramas à travers châteaux et vignobles. C'est une excellente façon d'approfondir nos connaissances sur les vins de la région du Cote du Rhône. Les hôteliers sur le parcours sont charmants. Merci au Vélo Voyageur.

    Provence a velo

    On the 2015-07-06 by umberto
    La Provence pendant la floraison de lavande est magnifiquee, c'est un peu chaud si vous n'etes pas habitue mais la campagne et les petites villes sont inoubliables!

    Genieten met de vélo in de Provence

    On the 2014-07-29 by Peter en Ann
    Uitstekende organisatie, die je het mogelijk maakt om ten volle te genieten van de trip..
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