Bike tour France

Bike tours France

Bicycle tours in France: Provence, Normandy and much more

When someone talks about bicycle tours in France, some people immediately think about the Provence. And there are some good reasons for it. At last there is almost no sight lovelier than blossoming Provençal lavender fields. Furthermore the Provence stands for Mediterranean fruit farms with almonds, apricots and melons, for excellent wines and famous buildings like the Papal Palace in Avignon or the Roman Theatre in Orange. It stands for bright colours, the Camargue horses and flamingos and some beautiful towns at the Mediterranean Sea.

Guides tours in the Provence take you to a France, which couldn't be much richer in variety. Because of that people sometimes forget that in France not only the Provence is a good choice for beautiful bike tours. France offers much more great landscapes: for example the Normandy at the French Atlantic coast, where the land and the ocean is rougher than the regions near the Mediterranean Sea. Or the landscape around the Canal du Midi, which is surrounded by a huge number of trees and runs from Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea. You see: There is a lot to explore in France. So explore it! It will be worthwhile.

Bike tours France

Travel like god in France

On cycle tours through France you can see a lot of culture and splendid landscapes. You will have some chances for bathing in the ocean in summer and a lot of culinary pleasures all-year. We want to give you some insights into regions like the Provence, the Normandy with towns like Bordeaux and Rouen and the landscapes around the Canal du Midi.

Bike tours through the Provence

Bike holiday France

Deep in the south-east of France you reach the Provence. Its landscapes are not least famous for their special lighting conditions and they have attracted many artists over the centuries. Great painters like Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin loved the region.

One part of the Provence is the little mountain range of the Alpilles, which is said to be the heart of the region. Rough and sparely vegetated are the mountain peaks here, which are up to 500 metres high, whereas the valleys are full of plantations with olives and grapes.

Mountains and rocks characterize some other Provence landscapes too. For example they shape the landscape of the Luberon like lavender fields and vineyards do. And they shape the region around Mont Ventoux (mountain). If you choose cycle tours in this region, you will see a wealthy nature with a lot of bird and plant species. A region, which is partly totally different from other Provence landscapes, is the Camargue with its numerous lakes and marshes. The region is at least famous for the white Camargue horses, many pink flamingos and black bulls. 

With départements like Var and Bouches-du-Rhône the Provence abuts on the Mediterranean Sea. During cycle tours you will have an occasion here from time to time for a wonderful bath day on beautiful sand beaches. Parts of the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur are towns like Marseilles, Nice and Cannes, which is among other things famous for the film festival. The high society shapes a part of the region too.

Provencal towns and village

Many small alleys run through the historic districts of typical Provence towns. There are always some nice little cafés and restaurants and virtually every settlement with a specific size has one of the famous Provençal markets, where you can buy wine, herbs, spices, fruits, cheese and other delicious things. Many of the towns  and villages in the Provence have a Mediterranean flair. But Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is regarded as an especially typical Provence town. It is located about 20 kilometres away from Avignon and was the birth place of the prophet Nostradamus.  

Marks of the Roman colonisation you can see on bike tours through the Provence for example in Arles, where a lot of historic Roman buildings are located. One highlight of the Roman architecture in the Provence is the 275 metres long and up to 49 metres high Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard, which is one of the best preserved Roman bridges worldwide. Another highlight: In Orange you can see the well-preserved Roman Theatre of Orange, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. It is worth seeing. Younger but not less interesting is the UNESCO World Heritage of Avignon with buildings like the Gothic Papal Palace, the Rocher-des-Doms (cathedral) and the bridge Pont St. Bénézet.

Individual or guided tours through the Provence take cyclists maybe to Châteauneuf-du-Pape too. This settlement is very famous for wine-growing and great wines. And with that... we come to the topics wine and food culture now.

Savoury things from the Provence

Bike tours through the Provence are not at least a culinary pleasure. An important reason for it are the wines, because the Provence provides the world with some excellent rosé and red wines. Furthermore the cuisine of the region profits by the wealth of nature. The vegetable stew „Ratatouille“ is as well a delicious part of the Provençal cuisine as the Marseilles Bouillabaisse (fish soup) and more fish dishes. The vegetables of the region are often garnishes for meat dishes, which are often done with lamb. White nougat and confection made of almonds are two typical desserts of the Provence. It sounds delicious? It is delicious.

The highlights of the Provence

Especially for people, who decide for the first time to enjoy one of the possible cycle tours in the region, we recommend guided tours through the Provence like our “Highlights of the Provence“. This journey starts and ends in Orange and gives travellers the chance to enjoy many facets of the Provence on daily bicycle tours. Your way leads you for example to Arles and Avignon, to St. Remy and Châteauneuf-du-Pape as well as into the Camargue. Experience the most beautiful parts of a wonderful region.

Cycle Holidays France

The thousands of trees and a waterway to the ocean

Certainly the Provence is not the only French region which is a good option for cycle tours. Another interesting region is the landscape around the Canal du Midi. The canal was finished in 1681. It leads from Toulouse with a length of 240 kilometres to the Mediterranean Sea and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1996. Combined with additional waterways from Toulouse to the Atlantic the Canal du Midi is a connection between the two oceans.

A speciality of the Canal du Midi are several tens of thousands trees, which were planted at the canal. The trees surrounding the water are a beautiful sight. Bike tours alongside the Canal du Midi combine a lot of the properties of a real good journey in France. If you start it in Sète at the Mediterranean Sea you maybe enjoy a bath day at the beach first. On your way afterwards you will reach towns like Narbonne and Carcassonne with fascinating buildings like the incomplete cathedral Saint Just et Saint Pasteur and the Palace of the Archbishops in Narbonne or the buildings in the historic district of Carcassonne, which is said to be one of the best preserved fortresses in Europe.

 

Not at least bike tours at the Canal du Midi are a culinary experience too. Restaurants offer among great wines for example oysters, mussels and local specialities like Cassoulet, a bean stew with sausages and bacon. But maybe you prefer to buy some food on one of the markets to enjoy a picnic at the water? Toulouse is the endpoint of many bike tours at the Canal du Midi, which start in Sète. And in Toulouse France shows you again a lot of cultural treasures which are worth seeing, for example the Basilica St-Sernin de Toulouse as a landmark of the town and the Capitol, which was built in the 18th century and is used today as the town hall.

Have fun at the Atlantic French coast

Compared with the Provence the Normandy is located virtually at the other end of France, deep in the north at the Atlantic coast. But although the ocean is rougher than in the south and although the same is valid for the landscape, bike tours in the Normandy and the Provence have something in common. Both combine pleasure in the nature with a lot of culture, which contains not at least a very good cuisine.

You can see the advantages of the Normandy for example on cycle tours like a Normandy journey from Bayeux to Rouen. Here you come across beautiful bathing places at the flower Coast. You can see outstanding culture like the famous medieval Carpet of Bayeux, which shows the Battle of Hastings in 1066. And you can see marks of a more modern history like the Landing of the allies during the Second World War. You will see Rouen, the town of the 100 church towers, and Honfleur at the Seine mouth, which is said to be one of the most attractive towns of the Normandy, not at least because of its picturesque harbour.

Culinary the journey “Normandy: Bayeux-Rouen“ convinces among others with alcoholic specialities like Calvados and cider, but with the excellent Norman cuisine too, which includes meals with seafood and tasty kinds of cheese.

 

Come to France

Now we have suggested some bicycle tours in France and a combined tour through France and Great Britain to you. But still we have shown you only a fraction of that, what bike tours through France can show you. There is more. Much more. Maybe you take a look on the France cycle tours, Rückenwind Reisen offers to you? It is quite possibly that there will be a tour, which fits perfect to your idea of a wonderful holiday. And maybe we can welcome you on one of our bike tours through France one day? We look forward to do it.