Day 1: Arrive Villeneuve-les-Avignon
Meet your cycling guide and group in Villeneuve-les-Avignon, across the Rhone from Avignon. Bike fitting and orientation ride (10km) through the quiet streets and along the riverbank with views of the Palais des Papes. Welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight Villeneuve-les-Avignon.
Day 2: Orange & Chateauneuf-du-Pape — Roman Grandeur and Papal Wine (45km)
Morning ride to Orange, home to one of the best-preserved Roman theaters in the world. The Theatre Antique d’Orange (UNESCO) still hosts performances today — its 103-meter facade and 37-meter-high stage wall are breathtaking, and the statue of Emperor Augustus still dominates the central niche. Continue cycling through the vineyards of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, where large round stones (galets roules) radiate the day’s heat to the Grenache vines at night. Wine tasting at a family domaine. Return loop through vineyards and cypress-lined lanes. Overnight Villeneuve.
Day 3: Gigondas & Vacqueyras — Dentelles de Montmirail (50km)
Today’s ride takes you into the Dentelles de Montmirail — a dramatic chain of limestone teeth (dentelles = ‘little teeth’) rising from the Rhone Valley. Cycle through the prestigious Gigondas and Vacqueyras appellations, tasting powerful red wines crafted at high altitude on terraced slopes. The roads wind past vineyards, olive groves, and hilltop villages. Lunch at a winery restaurant beneath the Dentelles. Return via the Ouvèze River valley. Overnight Villeneuve.
Day 4: Carpentras & Luberon Foothills (55km)
Transfer to Carpentras to begin the ride. Pedal through the foothills of Mont Ventoux — the ‘Giant of Provence’ (1,912m), whose bald limestone summit has been a legendary Tour de France climb since 1951. Your route skirts the mountain rather than conquering it. The landscape transitions to the Luberon: cherry and apricot orchards, lavender fields, and ochre-colored villages. Arrive in the heart of the Luberon Valley. Overnight Luberon area.
Day 5: Gordes, Roussillon & Senanque Abbey (40km)
The most scenic ride of the tour. Cycle to Gordes — one of France’s ‘Plus Beaux Villages’ — its honey-colored stone houses clinging to a hillside. Continue to Senanque Abbey, the 12th-century Cistercian monastery whose lavender fields (blooming mid-June to mid-July) frame the austere Romanesque architecture in purple. Taste the monks’ honey and lavender products. Afternoon: Roussillon, perched on massive ochre cliffs — the village glows in shades of red, orange, and gold. Walk the Sentier des Ocres through surreal colored canyons. Evening: dinner in a Luberon auberge. Overnight Luberon.
Day 6: Cavaillon to Saint-Remy — Van Gogh Country (50km)
Ride through the agricultural heart of Provence — Cavaillon, the melon capital of France, through orchards and market gardens. Afternoon: enter the Alpilles mountains and Saint-Remy-de-Provence. This is Van Gogh country — the artist created over 150 paintings, including ‘Starry Night’ and ‘Irises,’ during his year at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum just outside town. Visit the monastery where he painted and walk the trail lined with reproductions of his works at the exact locations they were created. Overnight Saint-Remy.
Day 7: Les Baux de Provence & Return (35km)
Final cycling day. Ascend gently to Les Baux de Provence — a clifftop fortress with 360° views to the Mediterranean. Visit the Carrieres de Lumieres, where masterpieces are projected across the towering stone walls of abandoned limestone quarries. Afternoon: ride back through olive groves and vineyards to Villeneuve-les-Avignon. Celebration dinner with the group — recounting 8 days of pedaling through lavender and vineyards. Overnight Villeneuve.
Day 8: Departure
Final breakfast with the group. Transfer to Avignon TGV station or onward. Depart with stronger legs and a heart full of Provence.
