Bicycling Provence to the Pyrenees Plus!

We kick off our tour in the ancient Roman city of Nîmes. Here, we'll explore the Arena of Nîmes, the best-preserved Roman amphitheater in France, and the Maison Carrée, a perfectly preserved Roman temple dating back to 16 BC. After fitting our bicycles, we'll take a warm-up ride around the city. In the evening, we'll gather for a welcome dinner.

We'll pedal through the foothills of the Cévennes Mountains, enjoying spectacular views and exploring medieval villages that seem frozen in time. We'll have lunch in Alès, a town known for its role in the Protestant fight for religious freedom and home to famous personalities like Alphonse Daudet and Louis Pasteur.

Today's route is one of the most picturesque, with traffic-free roads and charming local outdoor markets. We'll leave the Cévennes mountains behind and glide downhill through the gorge of the Herault River to St-Guilhem-le-Désert, a solitary village nestled in the heart of nature.

We'll start the day by exploring more of St. Guilhem's medieval atmosphere. Here, you can visit 'The Cloisters' portion of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was moved from the local monastery to Manhattan in the 1930s. After a leisurely stroll and coffee, we'll head to the delightful seaside town of Sète, passing by the famous oyster and mussel beds of the Etang de Thau.

Today, we'll cycle through vineyards and farmland to the ancient Roman city of Narbonne. Built along the Via Domitia, the Roman road that connected Italy with Spain, Narbonne was and continues to be a major transportation corridor on the great coastal plain of Languedoc. We'll bypass the busy city of Beziers and ride along the famous Canal du Midi.

Our ride today takes us across the flat plains of Languedoc to the perfectly preserved late Medieval town of Carcassonne. This corridor between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean has been an important transportation route since pre-Roman times. Before dinner, we'll explore Carcassonne's narrow ancient alleyways with a local guide.

Today, we'll take a loop ride north of Carcassonne towards the 'Montagne Noire'. As we venture further, we'll witness the transition zone where Mediterranean vegetation begins to give way to a wetter, more Atlantic vegetation zone. The day's ride will leave you plenty of time to wander the Medieval streets of Carcassonne.

We'll ride through the wine region of Limoux, south of Carcassonne, as we enter the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. Today's ride features meandering river valleys, steep-sided gorges, and perched Cathar castles. Our destination is the small town of Cucugnan.

Our tour ends today in Perpignan. You can choose to extend your travels to the exotic island of Mallorca, once the capital of the Kingdom of Mallorca, or cross the border to Barcelona. Whatever you choose, we wish you a 'bon voyage' or as they say in Catalan, 'bon viatge!'