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Cycling the best of Provence and Mont Ventoux in 5 days
    • France - Provence
    • 5 days
    • Cycling
    • Self-guided
      • From March to November
    • 2 - 10 travellers
      • Simple
      • Comfort
      • Charming
      • Superior
      • Trip code : A1208
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About the Cycling the best of Provence and Mont Ventoux in 5 days trip

About the trip in Provence

Your self guided Provence cycling holiday: This cycling trips combines the BEST cycling routes of Provence, with both the Van Gogh's Alpilles and the Luberon mountain ranges.
Then comes the Mont Ventoux climb, made far famous by the Tour de France cycling race.  From Bedoin, the summit is 1 km and a half higher in the sky, with an average grade of 7.5%. The Mont Ventoux climb is known worldwide as the « Everest of the cyclist », and made far famous by the Tour de France cycling race. Experience cycling Provence Mont Ventoux is a must ..!

A full exploration of Provence with a great challenge ! 

We recommend :
. If you have time for an extra warm up day : go for an extra cycling day in the lavender region to the pretty village of Sault !

Highlights of the trip

  • Full circle cycling around the Alpilles - Luberon - Ventoux mountains 
  • The most beautiful perched villages : Baux, Gordes, Roussillon, Bonnieux
  • Cycling Mont ventoux, the Giant of Provence: Everest of the cyclists !
  • Free-wheeling down the Nesque Gorge
  • The Roman town of Arles, and the artists' town of Saint Rémy
  • The antiques capital of Isle sur la Sorgue
  • Optional extra day : complete circumnavigation of Mont Ventoux to Sault


    Go Private or go guided ! Customize your holidays with a local specialist here 

From the blog

Cycling the best of Provence and Mt Ventoux in 5 days: Day by day

Day 1 - Your cycling in Provence starts in Roman Arles

arles the rome of provence in the heart of provence gypsy and roman amphitheater

  • Your biking adventure begins in the heart of Arles, the Provence "Rome". Take the time to discover the roman town of Arles, gateway to the Camargue, a lively town whose streets are set around a 2000 year-old Roman coliseum.
  • Night in Arles

  • Market on Wednesday & saturday (big one) morning in Arles

  • We recommend:
    . Enjoy a half-day safari in Camargue ! Pick up in Arles at 9am or 2pm 
    4 hours excursion in a 4x4 car through the Camargue with an english-speaking guide. You drive through the flat lands of the Camargue and observe wild horses, native bulls, pink flamingoes and birds.  You stop in a "manade" (a typical bull farm), and have a  free half hour in Saintes Maries de la mer. Saintes Maries is a charming little town located by the Med sea, with whitewashed homes, a beautiful fortified church, and is renowned in the  gypsy community with the yearly pilgrimage. See all details in the Book - Extension section

  • Access : regular train line sfrom Avignon - Marseille - Paris > Arles on the SNCF website

Day 2 - From Van Gogh Alpilles Mountains to the Luberon

cycling in Van gogh landscape to st remy and les baux perched medieval village in the olives groves

  • Ride - Arles > Les Baux > Saint Rémy > Cavaillon > L'Isle sur la Sorgue 
    66 km / 41 miles - Ascent: +500 m / Descent: -450 m
  • Leaving Arles, you head northward, passing the very spot where Van Gogh painted his "Starry Night over the Rhône". You ar riding towards a first chain of mountains - Les Alpilles - a jagged limestone massif heading east-west. Cycling up into the heart of the mountains, you reach the perched medieval village of Les Baux, hanging defiantly on its rocky crag, overlooking its prized olive groves. A freewheling descent takes you down the north face of the Alpilles and to the artists' village of St. Rémy. Van Gogh spent the last year of his life here, from where he did his most prolific and acclaimed work. Heading eastward you then cross the Durance Valley. You follow small country lanes across the fertile plains, lined with fruit orchards, to reach the town of l'Isle sur la Sorgue.
  • Night in l'Isle sur la Sorgue
  • MEALS included: Breakfast

  • Market on Wednesday & Saturday morning (big one) in Arles 
  • Great market on Wednesday & Saturday morning in St Remy de Provence
  • Market on Monday morning in Cavaillon

Day 3 - The famous perched villages of the Luberon

famous perched village in the heart of luberon and peter mayle

  • Ride - Isle sur la Sorgue > Gordes > Roussillon > Bonnieux > Isle sur la Sorgue
    73 km / 45.4 miles - Ascent: +1000 m / Descent: -1000 m
  • Today's loop ride takes you to visit the most beautiful of the region's perched villages! And they call them the "perched" villages of Provence for a reason: high above the plains, and sometimes set dizzyingly above the rock upon which they were built, the high vantage-points offered better protection from enemies. With each climb under your belt the beauty of each village is unveiled: Gordes and its rings of homes sweeping upwards towards its castle, Roussillon and its village homes painted in a palette of colour from pale yellow to deep red, Bonnieux and its labyrinth of winding streets to its Romanesque church, huddled below majestic cedars, and the village of Lacoste, crowned by the ruins of Sade's castle.
  • Night in L'Isle sur la Sorgue
  • MEALS included: Breakfast

  • Market on Thursday & Sunday ( big famous one) in Isle sur la Sorgue
  • Market on Thursday in Roussillon

Day 4 - Cycling the spectacular Nesque gorges and lavender fields

on the way to bedoin and the mont ventoux the nesque gorge

  • Ride - Isle sur la Sorgue > Monieux > Nesque Gorge > Bedoin 
    81 km / 50.3 miles - Ascent: +1300 m / Descent: -1100 m
  • On most trips, we simply follow the arc of Ventoux's plains, and towards Bedoin. But that's not enough of a challenge: in the sleepy village of Méthamis, you take a seldom-used road winding eastward and upward, gaining 500m in elevation to the St. Hubert farm. With an overhead view of the vast lavender fields, you reach the village of Monieux. Then the real fun begins: arguably the most spectacular cycling road Provence has to offer:les Gorges de La Nesque. Set above a spectacular canyon, a slow and winding 20km descent twists through limestone arches, at times the gradient barely discernible if not for your roaring speeds. Exhilarating...
    You touch down in the village of Villes sur Auzon, back in the plains. With the summit of Mont Ventoux staring at its closest, you defiantly head closer to its base, to the village of Bedoin.
  • Night in Bedoin
  • MEALS included: Breakfast 

  • Market on Thursday & Sunday ( big famous one) in Isle sur la Sorgue

Day 5 - The famous Mont Ventoux climb !

cycling and riding the summit of the famous mont ventoux giant of provence famous with the tour de france

  • Ride - Bedoin > Mont Ventoux - several options > Bedoin > Avignon 
    56 km / 34.8 miles - Ascent: +1800 m / Descent: -1800 m
  • No beating around the bush. You're at 300 meters, and the the summit soars a km and a half higher in the sky. From Med brush to a moonscape above the tree line, with an average grade of 7.5%, and without a single moment of reprieve : you're facing 22km of pure uphill. Often touted as the hardest climb in France, Ventoux is a true test for your climbing legs, attracting amateur cyclists from all over the world. The first 5km are the easiest, a gradual uphill through the orchards and vines, passing the hamlet of Sainte Colombe. But then as you climb through the oak, cedar and then beech forests the slopes are at their most severe.
  • By the time you reach the Chalet Reynard, with only 6km left to go, the gradient is more forgiving, but through a bare rock whose landscapes are often fiercely swept by the Mistral. The final hairpin turn towards the summit stands before you like a wall, but with the goal in view you find the energy to surge over the top... There are several options to return to Bedoin, but it's all downhill from here. Or mostly...
  • Back to your hotel, transfer back to Avignon by taxi, at the end of the day.
  • End of your trip in Avignon .. Bye bye Provence
  • MEALS included: Breakfast

  • Market on Monday morning in Bédoin

- OPTIONAL: extra cycling in the lavender fields!

mont ventoux lavender fields

  • Extra cycling option - Bedoin > Sault > Bedoin (4h)
    67km / 41miles - Ascent: +1130 m / Descent: -1130 m
  • The lavender blooming season is between mid June and mid July
  • It’s a beautiful ride to the lavender region of Provence. You cycle up the seldom-used Gabelle road, climbing up from the sleepy village of Flassan. You reach Sault and admire the vast expanse of lavender fields. Ride back to Bedoin
  • Lavender blooming is roughly between mid June and mid july .. and of course depends on years
  • Night in Bedoin

  • If you are interested : please contact us
    ( 1 extra bike rental, 1 extra night BB, 1  extra ride with roadbook notes & map)

More Provence cycling holidays

Mont Ventoux cycling Shortbreak
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  •   Accommodation choice :

      • Simple
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    • Highlights of the trip

    • Cycling Mont Ventoux, the giant of Provence 
    • Road bike included 
    • Free-wheeling down the Nesque Gorge
    • The charming cyclists' village of Bedoin
    • Extra day : in the lavender fields region and the charming village of Sault


      Go Private or go guided ! Customize your holidays with a local specialist here 

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    Cycling the best of Provence and Mont Ventoux in 5 days
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      • Simple
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    • Highlights of the trip

    • Full circle cycling around the Alpilles - Luberon - Ventoux mountains 
    • The most beautiful perched villages : Baux, Gordes, Roussillon, Bonnieux
    • Cycling Mont ventoux, the Giant of Provence: Everest of the cyclists !
    • Free-wheeling down the Nesque Gorge
    • The Roman town of Arles, and the artists' town of Saint Rémy
    • The antiques capital of Isle sur la Sorgue
    • Optional extra day : complete circumnavigation of Mont Ventoux to Sault


      Go Private or go guided ! Customize your holidays with a local specialist here 

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    • Highlights of the trip

    • Easy cycling in the heart of the countryside through Van Gogh landscapes
    • The vast olive groves of the perched medieval village of Les Baux
    • The Roman city of Arles
    • Small charming villages of Eygalières and Maussane
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    • Highlights of the trip

    • Easy cycling in the heart of the Van Gogh countryside and landscapes 
    • The vast olive groves at the foot of the perched medieval village of Les Baux
    • The charming small villages of Maillane, Maussane and Graveson
    • The Roman city of Arles
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      Go Private or go guided ! Customize your holidays with a local specialist here 

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    • Highlights of the trip

    • Easy cycling in the heart of the countryside through Van Gogh landscapes
    • The vast olive groves of the perched medieval village of Les Baux
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    • Untamed wilderness under the flight of flamingoes
    • The very special atmosphere of the gypsy Saintes Maries de la Mer  
    • The wild sandy beaches in Saintes Maries de la Mer 



      Go Private or go guided ! Customize your holidays with a local specialist here 

    From 800 € / pers
    Trip details
    Cycling the best of Provence and Mont Ventoux in 5 days
        • France - Provence
        • 2 adults (2x900€)
        • 0 children (0x900€)
      • 5 days
      • Simple
    Total 1800€
    Deposit 600€
    Book now !