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9 Day Self-Guided Cycling Tour from Bordeaux to Rocamadour in France
Hotel De Normandie Bordeaux Center, 9 Cr du 30 Juillet 7, Bordeaux, Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
France Cycling Tour
Evazio invites you to come to France to discover the pleasure of a biking adventure along the Dordogne Valley, from Bordeaux to Rocamadour via Sarlat and Souillac.
Key information
- Trip type: Self-guided
- Lodging: Point to Point
- Terrain: Mostly hilly or unpaved and flat terrain sometimes
- Starts in: Bordeaux
- Ends in: Souillac
- Difficulty level: Moderate (Cyclist needs to have a good level of fitness, 31-45 miles per day)
- Total Distance: 193 Miles / 310 Kilometers
- Type of bike: Touring or gravel bike (not included)
- E-bike: 350 EUR
Highlights
- 7 cycling days
- Bike through Sarlat La Canéda and Rocamadour
- Visit the vineyard and the medieval city of Saint-Emilion
- Immerse in prehistoric times in the Vézère Valley
- Explore the greenways on the banks of the Dordogne River
- 8 nights accommodation
- Daily breakfast
- Luggage transfer
Skill level
- Intermediate
7 days with instruction in English
The organizer also speaks: French
Accommodation
Check-in Time:
17:00
Check-out Time:
10:00
You will be welcome every night in three or four-star hotels. This tour is available in a “superior” version which means that the circuit mainly presents hotels classified as three and four stars (or equivalent) and charming guest rooms.
- Night 1 in Bordeaux: Hôtel de Normandie
- Night 2 in St-Emilion: Auberge de la Commanderie
- Night 3 in St-Foy-La-Grande: Le Grand Hôtel
- Night 4 in Bergerac: Hôtel de Bordeaux
- Night 5 in Les Eyzies: Hostellerie Le Passeur
- Night 6 in Sarlat-La-Caneda: Hotel le Compostelle
- Nights 7 and 8 in Souillac: Hôtel le Pavillon St-Martin
Program
Daily itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Bordeaux
You will receive your bike, documentation on the region, and a route booklet indicating your route. Bordeaux, the ancient Roman “Burdigala”, indissociable from its vineyards, shines brightly in its stone finery to dispense with artifice. The Garonne River, the heart of the city, welcomes strollers on its banks or for boat trips. Everyone can make the quays their own, in the hope of witnessing the stopover of a cruise liner, the “astonishing spectacle” of a giant of the seas right in the heart of the city. Overnight in a four-star hotel in the heart of Bordeaux.
Day 2: Bordeaux - Saint-Emilion
- Distance: 50 kilometers / 31 miles
- Elevation: 260 meters / 853 feet
You will leave Bordeaux via the majestic Place de la Bourse, skirting the quays, then crossing the Pont de Pierre before joining the Roger Lapébie cycle path. This itinerary allows you to discover the Entre-Deux-Mers region on 50 kilometers of trails or greenways and small roads. A real treat. You will enjoy an ideal route for a bike ride, in the heart of natural landscapes.
You will follow this pleasant trail with its easy-to-ride surface, and discover Créon, the region’s typical fortified village. An unspoiled natural heritage with varied, rolling landscapes accessible to all, and a rich architectural heritage of medieval towns, bastides, abbeys, and Romanesque churches. Overnight in a bed and breakfast (two- or three-star equivalent) in Saint-Emilion.
Day 3: Saint-Emilion - Sainte-Foy-la-Grande
- Distance: 41 kilometers / 26 miles
- Elevation: 70 meters / 230 feet
On this new cycling stage, you will discover the prestigious Saint Emilion vineyard and its 5,000 hectares of vines, the first vineyard to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a “cultural landscape”. You will then reach Castillon-la-Bataille, a land of history, before continuing along the Dordogne to the bastide town of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande. At the gateway to Périgord, the oldest bastide town in Gironde was founded in 1255.
Prosperous thanks to the wine trade, it still boasts a square surrounded by covered marketplaces, and its old houses - stone-built in the 13th century, and timber-framed and carved in the 16th century - are particularly remarkable. Overnight in a two-star hotel in Sainte-Foy la Grande.
Day 4: Sainte-Foy-la-Grande - Bergerac
- Distance: 37 kilometers / 23 miles
- Elevation: 200 meters / 657 feet
The little roads of the Pays Foyen will take you to Monbazillac and its château, at the heart of the prestigious vineyard bearing its name. Perched on a pretty hill, Monbazillac proudly dominates the Dordogne Valley and is a real “jewel” of a wine village. You will end the day in Bergerac, a town of art and history on the banks of the Dordogne, where you can stroll along the quays and through the old town, admiring its half-timbered houses and 15th and 16th-century mansions, before sampling the famous local produce, an integral part of the Périgord heritage. Overnight in a three-star hotel in Bergerac.
Day 5: Bergerac - Les Eyzies
- Distance: 63 kilometers / 40 miles
- Elevation: 380 meters / 1247 feet
Leaving Bergerac, the itinerary follows the Lalinde canal on a dedicated track, taking you through charming little villages. Lalinde, the first English bastide in Périgord, was built on the banks of the Dordogne and has preserved vestiges of its medieval past. You will continue this stage by following the tributary of the Dordogne: the Vézère, which will immerse you in the Périgord Noir and lead you to the world capital of prehistory: Les Eyzies.
Les Eyzies is the place where Cro-Magnon Man was discovered, and where you will find the world’s finest examples of cave art. Discover an exceptional concentration of prehistoric sites, most of them UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Overnight accommodation in a three-star hotel in Les Eyzies.
Day 6: Les Eyzies - Sarlat (direct or via the Lascaux caves)
- Distance: 25 - 47 kilometers / 16 - 30 miles
- Elevation: 400 - 650 meters / 1313 - 2133 feet
Hop on your bike and ride south to Lacanau Océan. Here, the velodyssey continues on a bike path through the pines, between lakes and oceans. Nearby, take a break in Hourtin, home to France’s largest lake. Lacanau-Océan, where cycling is a way of life, is appreciated for its long ocean beaches sheltered by dunes and forests, its lakes, and unspoiled natural areas. The resort is also renowned for its surf spots. Villas built in the early 20th century bear witness to a rich past. Overnight in a three-star hotel.
Day 7: Sarlat - Souillac
- Distance: 30 kilometers / 19 miles
- Elevation: 200 meters / 657 feet
You will leave Sarlat gently on a “voie verte” (greenway) laid out on an old railroad line, along the Dordogne Valley, leading you to Cazoulès, just a few kilometers from Souillac. This easy, safe route offers a varied landscape, in the shadow of cliffs, between forests, small villages on the banks of the Dordogne, and the countryside. Overnight in a three-star hotel in Souillac.
Day 8: Souillac loop - Rocamadour - Souillac
- Distance: 42 kilometers / 26 miles
- Elevation: 640 meters / 2100 feet
This day-long loop takes you to the small village of Lacave, on the banks of the Dordogne, before reaching the sacred city of Rocamadour. The world-famous medieval town, clinging to the cliffside in an overlay of houses and chapels, dominates the Alziou Canyon from a height of 120 meters. A major pilgrimage site on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, Rocamadour is also famous for its Basilica of Saint-Sauveur and the Crypt of Saint-Amadour, both UNESCO World Heritage sites, as well as the Chapel of Notre-Dame, home to the Black Madonna. Overnight in a three-star hotel in Souillac.
Day 9: Departure
After breakfast.
About the tour
On this bike tour from Bordeaux to Rocamadour, you will cross the Gironde, Dordogne, and Lot, three leading departments in the southwest of France, with their own distinctive identities, thanks to their prestigious vineyards: Saint-Emilion, Monbazillac, and Bergerac, and their cultural heritage, including Bordeaux, Sarlat and Rocamadour, “Unesco World Heritage Cities”. The Bordeaux and Périgord regions, both rich in vestiges and history, are also regions that cannot be mentioned without mentioning their renowned gourmet cuisines, which will delight your taste buds.
After crossing the Bordeaux region on small country roads between vineyards and wine-growing châteaux and along the Dordogne River, you will enter Périgord Pourpre, the color of the wine, before discovering Périgord Noir, the most emblematic of the region and the cradle of prehistory, and finally the rolling, wooded landscapes of the Lot. This bike tour from Bordeaux to Rocamadour offers a remarkable diversity of landscapes and a rare wealth of history between the Dordogne and Vézère valleys.
In the evenings, you will be able to stroll through remarkable towns and villages such as Saint-émilion, Bergerac, Les Eyzies, and, of course, Sarlat, the jewel of Périgord, and finally Souillac, home to the remarkable Saint-Marie abbey church. An optional “must”: a visit to the Lascaux caves (Lascaux II or Lascaux IV) after half a day’s cycling along the Vézère. Your tour ends in Souillac in the Lot department, the starting point for a final cycling loop to Rocamadour, the sacred city clinging to the cliffs and a major pilgrimage site. Surrounded by greenery, the sacred city’s cascade of houses and chapels is crowned by a castle.
You will enjoy
- The vineyards and medieval town of Saint-Emilion
- Greenways on the banks of the Dordogne River
- A trip back to prehistoric times in the Vézère valley (Les Eyzies de Tayac, Lascaux, etc.)
- Sarlat La Canéda, the jewel of the Périgord and Rocamadour, the sacred city of the Lot
Luggage
Evazio takes care of transporting your luggage every time you change accommodation, so you can travel light and enjoy your day’s hiking. Leave your luggage at the reception desk of your accommodation before departure. At the end of the afternoon, you will meet them at the reception desk of your new accommodation or directly in your room. Luggage accepted per person: one suitcase or travel bag (maximum 23 kilograms) and one carry-on.
Documents
Your travel record corresponds to the documents or files you receive before your trip (usually a month before) and upon arrival at the first accommodation. It includes a welcome letter with the main practical information:
- Baggage transport times
- Details of delivery and collection of rental bikes if required
- Your local contact and emergency telephone number(s)
- Any additional information
- Travel logbook including a map with a route (at the appropriate scale) and directional, tourist, and practical information
- Any necessary vouchers to be given to the service provider(s)
On request and depending on the tour:
- Download the “Evazio” application onto your smartphone for GPS navigation with visual (reading the route on your smartphone screen) and/or spoken guidance. The application also contains practical and tourist information. Once the trip has been downloaded, no Internet connection is required.
- Loan of a GPS device with pre-recorded tracks
- Send GPX tracks of each stage for use with your own navigation device
Bikes
On this tour, they can provide you with a choice of the following, upon reservation:
- A VTC touring bike adapted to the ride and the route: 195 EUR
- An VAE electric bike adapted to the route: 350 EUR
- A gravel bike adapted to the course: 325 EUR
With equipment
- One rear bag
- One handlebar bag
- One repair kit
- One helmet (on request)
- One anti-theft device
- One charger (for electric bike)
For younger children, depending on age and size, Evazio can offer
- A child’s bike
- A baby seat
- A trailer
- A follower bike
The bike is adjusted to your size and delivered to the first accommodation. At the end of the tour, the bike must be left at the last accommodation with its equipment. They will take care of collecting them.
Location
After the biking tour between the vineyards and chateaux of Bordeaux, you will come to the Purple Perigord. This area owes its name to the color of the vine leaves in autumn. Through the river valley of the Dordogne. You will see some people canoeing. The next step will be the Black Perigord’s Discovery at the border of Limousin, the cradle of prehistory, and heart of the Hundred Years war, the most emblematic of the region. Black Perigord offers a diversity of remarkable landscapes between the Dordogne River and the Vézère Valley.
You will stay in Les Eyzies and can decide to enjoy the Cave of Lascaux ( one of the most famous cave paintings). You will eventually end your tour in Sarlat, the jewel of Perigord. A feature of the Dordogne is that the buildings are “olde-worlde” and tend to be stone-built. Whereas the richer, original occupants used stone shingled roofs (which require bigger timbers to support the weight), the less well-off used thatch or clay tile roofing material, which has equal charm.
You will then reach the site of Rocamadour. This is one of the greatest French areas in Aquitaine. A particularly fascinating medieval village is the ancient pilgrim town of Rocamadour, which sits over the Dordogne border in the Lot. Built into a cliff, it is one of the most visited attractions in France for tourists. It’s also the perfect stop-over point, and at sunrise, early risers who make it across the valley in time are rewarded with amazing photo opportunities. An extra memory card is recommended just for this.
Food
Daily breakfast is included in the price.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
What's included
- 7 cycling days
- 8 nights accommodation
- Daily breakfast
- Road book (with map and directions)
- 1 GPS smartphone application
- Luggage transfer at each stage
- 24/7 technical assistance
What's not included
- Airfare
- Airport transfers
- Bike rental
- Other meals
- Personal expenses
- Additional activities
How to get there
Recommended Airports
BOD
Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport
11 km
Transfer not provided
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 30% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through Tripaneer.com. All major credit cards supported.
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