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France Provence and Camargue
A kingdom for the senses
Beratung & Buchung
Kristof Halasz
France
Inclusive services
7 nights incl. breakfast
6 multi-course dinners
All entry fees as mentioned in the tour description
All visitors and tourist taxes
Additional (city-) guides in Aix, Avignon and Arles
Visit of the ochre cliffs
All interim shuttels as mentioned in the tour description (bus)
Rotalis guide during the whole tour
Rotalis service bus during the whole tour
Rotalis luggage service
Rotalis touring bike (excluded electric bikes)
Tagesablauf
Arrival: Saturday
From the airport of Marseille regularly operating shuttle busses take you in 35 minutes to Aix en Provence
where your room will be ready at the Hotel Cézanne at 2 p.m., a comfortable and centrally located hotel
near the railway station (overnight and breakfast included in your travel arrangement). At 4.30 p.m. your
tour guide awaits you in the reception hall for a sightseeing tour through the historic center.
1st Day Sunday: Aix-en-Provence – Fontaine de Vaucluse (46 km / 29 miles)
A day full of scenic highlights awaits you. After a one hour bus ride into the minor Lubéron, we start our bike
tour on a road barred for public traffic with fantastic views over the plains. Then we descend into the
Durance valley. Along agricultural fields and fruit groves we reach Fontaine de Vaucluse, where we will be
accommodated at the Hotel du Poète, a nicely renovated water mill at the Sorgue riverbank (swimming
pool). It takes 20 minutes by foot to one of the world’s largest karstic springs. Our restaurant is located only
a few minutes from the Hotel near the river.
2nd Day Monday: Fontaine de Vaucluse – Cabrières d’Avignon (68 km / 42 miles)
In about one hour a bus takes us on top of Mount Ventoux, offering a terrific view, an everlasting
impression on a clear day. About 19 miles of gentle descent with only three ascending legs lie ahead of us
until we reach today’s destination. Near Sault we reach the Plateau de Vaucluse, a thinly populated karst
landscape with rambling flocks of sheep and large fields of lavender. Again our bicycles roll down the hill
until we reach Gordes, a jewel among Provencal villages due to its exposed position and mediterranen
Flair. Only a few Kilometers separate us from our Hotel, the Bastide de Voulonne. Monsieur and Madame
Hemery made their dream come true in a skillful manner, added by an excellent cuisine.
3rd Day Tuesday: Roundtrip through Luberon (41 km / 25 miles)
Apart from one longer climb, our cycle route leads along quiet roads into the heart of the red rocks.
Surrounded by steep faces in various ochreous shades lies Roussillon, its houses picturesquely matching
the ochery ground. Very imposing are the distinct colours and forms created by wind and rain in an open
ocre cavity. Somewhat below Ménerbes a particularly nice spot invites for a picnic, offering a panoramic
view onto the heights of the Luberon and the Vaucluse. Along our route back to our hotel we visit an
interesting museum where we gain insight into the history of lavender and its processing. We spend our
second night at the Bastide de Voulonne.
4th Day Wednesday: Cabrières d’Avignon – Arles (30 km / 19 miles)
In the morning a bus takes us during a two hour ride to Les Baux de Provence. There the counts of Les
Baux built one of the biggest fortresses of France in the Middle Ages. After visiting this former stronghold of
the Troubadoure, a visit of the neighbouring Carrières de Lumières is worthwile – a fomer stone quarry
where there is every year a unique light show presenting the big names of art history. In Les Baux we
saddle our bikes and cycle just a few kilometers to Maussane, secret capital of olive cultivation of France.
In the afternoon our today?½s stage leads through the Crau, the last connected stone steppe of Europe, to
Arles, the probably most beautiful city at the Rhone. We lodge at the Grand Hôtel Nord Pinus (double
overnight stay), a legendary four-star-house at the most beautiful place of the city, which has already
inspired Van Gogh who was living there for two years, for his famous Café de Nuit. On our way to our
restaurant we will show you on an extended city guide the most beautiful and important sights.
5th Day Donnerstag: Round tour Camargue (40 km / 25 miles)
Surrounded by the delta distributary of the Rhone river, the Camargue stretches from the city limits of Arles
to the sea. We circle this huge natural reserve on quiet, completely flat paths, mostly reserved for hikers
and bikers. The northern part, today Europe’s the largest rice growing area, has preserved its nativeness,
regardless of its touristic attraction. In these wetlands at the mouth of the Rhone around 400 varieties of
birds have been counted, which feel at home in the brackish water ponds. The salt-water lakes attract
flocks of flamingos. One often sees herds of half-wild white Camargue ponies or black bulls called
"manades". In the afternoon, we will reach Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a famous pilgrimage site with a
Romanesque defensive church. The bus will bring us back to Arles for our second night at the Grand Hôtel
Nord Pinus.
6th Da Friday: Arles – Avignon (42 km / 26 miles)
Today our bike trip leads us from Arles through the Rhone Valley crossing Middle-aged castle buildings to
Avignon, the city of Popes. Our morning bike stage takes us to Tarascon and its giant castle. Famous and
well-known for its legendary dragon, which is said to have devoured the travelling people. At the foot of the
mountain range of Montagnette, we cycle on lonesome paths past Boulbon through the typical provencal
landscape to Avignon. Yet in the early afternoon we reach the city of Popes, which was the focus of the
world history process in the 14th century. Our domicile is the Hôtel Cloitre Saint Louis, a luxury
four-star-house built on historical walls (swimming pool). We enjoy our farewell dinner in an especially good
restaurant in the city.
7th Day Saturday: Avignon
In the morning, on a thorough tour of Arles we visit the Pope’s Palace, one of the most important secular
buildings of Gothic architecture, as well as the Cathedral Notre-Dame-des-Doms. Once again enjoy the
Provencal ambience in this the picturesque town. There are hourly trains to the airport of Marseille (about
50 minutes).
Dates and prices
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