Cycling in Provence - Avignon, Uzès & Pont du Gard

The trip begins right in the heart of Avignon, the medieval town on the banks of the mighty Rhône. Within the still-intact 14th-century city walls await the Papal Palace, the famous 12th-century bridge, and a range of museums and churches. Let yourself be swept into the maze of cobblestone streets and settle down at a café in one of the open squares, in the shade of the plane trees. Your French life for the coming days has begun!

The day begins by crossing the island of Barthelasse, where the Rhône's two river branches frame a small paradise of country roads and orchards of all kinds. Then you reach Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the village behind some of the Rhône Valley's most esteemed wines, before the route turns west towards Tavel – France's rosé capital. Gradually, the vineyards thin out and give way to a sparse forest of evergreen oaks. The destination is Uzès, where France's first dukes resided. The town centre is full of stately monuments, with the Ducal Palace at the forefront, and the cobblestone streets are lined with grand stone houses from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Feel free to add an extra night in Uzès for a bike ride to the pottery village of Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie:
A peaceful loop through the small villages in the countryside around Uzès. The Domaine de Malaïgue vineyard makes organic wines that are worth a tasting. Clockwise, the loop leads to Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie and its local potters – a perfect lunch stop with several restaurants to choose from, with most of the day's cycling already behind you. A pleasant downhill stretch then takes you back to Uzès.

Extra cycling: 33 km, 250 m up, 250 m down

To the south awaits the Gardon River and Pont du Gard, part of the aqueduct that the Romans built 2,000 years ago. That it still stands almost intact after two millennia is remarkable enough – but how did they lift blocks weighing six to eight tonnes nearly 50 metres above the river? Even harder to grasp is how the water was channelled from the source near Uzès to Nîmes, a distance of 50 kilometres with a drop of just 17 metres. With those questions in mind, you continue south to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, the artists' town where Vincent van Gogh spent one of his final years.

Today's route follows the contours of the Alpilles mountain range and first passes the beautiful Romanesque chapel of Saint-Gabriel. Shortly after, the trip's longest climb begins: four kilometres straight through the heart of the mountain up to the cliffside village of Les Baux-de-Provence, one of the most striking in Provence. Besides the village itself, the reward is a long descent down towards the plain, past the remains of a 2,000-year-old aqueduct, before you roll into the charming small town of Arles with its Roman amphitheatre.

After breakfast, the trip comes to an end. If you have time to spare, you can wander around Arles' large market, held on Saturdays, before taking the train back to Avignon or onward to Marseille Airport.

Optional: Extend the trip and cycle to the Mediterranean
If you want the full Provence experience, we suggest cycling today through the Camargue nature park and adding an extra night in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. The stage is as flat as a crêpe (pancake) and runs straight south through vast rice fields and wetlands. The lagoons stretch as far as the eye can see, and you might be joined by flamingos and white horses along the way. Via the sea wall, you reach the church tower and whitewashed houses of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, which awaits with a seaside feel and swimming from the sandy beach.

Extra cycling: 54 km, 50 m up, 100 m down