GRAND S CAUSSES AND AUBR AC

Transcription

1 GRAND S CAUSSES AND AUBR AC +++ flying to the city of students +++ cycling through deep river canyons and the mountains of the Grands Causses +++ the blades of Languiole cut sharper than the swords of the Templars +++ living myths and hot aligot +++ Cantal, Pérail, Thérondel, Bleu de Caussee, Roquefort How should I reign a country where there are more types of cheese than there are days in the year? (Charles de Gaulle) +++ magical manors and archaic villages +++ a memorable tour in a small group to the displays of nature in the Grands Causses and the Aubrac +++ Our tour across the Grands Causses and the Aubrac in 7 days, up to 10 persons. 3 double overnight stays. Clermont Ferrand Laguiole St Urcize Hotels Gastronomy Culture Nature CAUSSE DE SAUVETERRE ***** **** *** *****! AUBRAC Travel dates 2017 FGA1: Saturday, 10-jun-2017 to Saturday, 17-jun-2017 FGA2: Saturday, 17-jun-2017 to Saturday, 24-jun-2017 FGA3: Saturday, 26-aug-2017 to Saturday, 02-sep-2017 La Canorgue Ste Enemie CAUSSE MEJEAN Tarn Le Rozier Jonte Millau Roquefort Traveling price Price per person in the DR for 7 nights with half-board, ebike, entrance free, transfers, guided tours: 1820 Single-room surcharge: 460 Does not include lunch, drinks and your personal expenses as well as travelling there and back. by ebike by bus Ste La Couvertoirade Eulalie Le Cros Cirque de Navacelles LARZAC Montpellier 20 km 1

2 Flight Target airport Montpellier from/to Düsseldorf (as available): 370 Flights from other German airports as well as from other countries on request. Train From Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart, you can reach Montpelier by train in 9 to 12 hours with one transfer, in 12 hours from Hamburg and Berlin, two transfers cannot be avoided. Car Continuous motorway connections to Montpellier. You may keep your car in a public parking garage near the hotel during the bicycle trip (approx. 70 /week). Participation conditions The arrangement contains the above services. Our terms and conditions apply. With your booking confirmation, you will receive the pedelon travel information, which contains useful notes on travelling to Montpellier and other advice around your trip. 2

3 GRANDS CAUSSES AND AUBRAC A trip by ebike through great landscapes with memorable wide views and narrow river canyons, on deserted paths and to picturesque villages. Living in comfortable manors and haunted castles, travelling in a small group along a still untouched region in South-Western France. The number of guests for this tour is limited to 10 because of the special hotel situation. In Montpelier, the charming hotel Le Guilhem will be waiting for the pedelon guests. The small town hotel in a former town palace has tastefully designed rooms. a walk across the pretty town with is small alleys and places, you will continue along the Cernon downriver towards Roquefort sur Solzon. The famous sheep s milk cheese has been produced in the labyrinthine caves here for a long time. During the tour of a Roquefort cheese production, you will learn lots about how this elaborate cheese is made. Late in the afternoon, after a small interim transfer, you will reach the Château du Cros, a picturesque place where you will spend the next two days. At 7 PM, you will meet in the hotel hall for an evening s town tour through the pulsating city of Montpelier. Past the cathedral Saint Pierre, the famous botanic garden Jardin des Plantes and the aqueduct de Saint-Clément, the tour will end in a popular evening restaurant in the old town. 1st day, Sunday: Montpellier Le Cros, 52 km In the morning, the bus will take you to the Causse de Larzac in a bit more than an hour. The transfer will end in La Couvertoirade, a Templars village from the 12th century. This medieval jewel is special because of its closed architecture. After this visit, you will receive your ebikes and comfortably get used to them on the mostly flat path to Ste Eulalie de Cernon. This picturesque place once housed the Commanderie of the Knights Templar, from where they managed their possessions on the Larzac. After The five comfortable rooms of the defensive castle have been tastefully furnished with antique as well as modern furniture. In the evening, the castle s mistress, Madame de Lourtioux, will cook on the fireplace of the knights hall of the former fortress. 2nd day, Monday: Le Cros Cirque de Navacelle Le Cros, 40 km After breakfast, you will start on your round trip on the Larzac, the Southern-most lime plateau of the Grands Causses, a UNESCO world cultural heritage since It is between 650 and 1,200 meters above sea level and is limited in the North by the nearly 500 meters deep Tarn gorge, and in the East by the Dourbie gorge and the Cevennes. The cycling section will lead you through a scarce, dry and nearly abandoned landscape, with juniper and holm oak as your constant companions. Now and then, you will find picturesque small settlements and villages that offer a unique language of forms thanks to their regional styles. Suddenly, the 3

4 bicycle route passes a grandiose nature event: the Cirque de Navacelle. The huge valley was shaped by the small river Vis, which passed through a pressure meander here and shortened its run in a waterfall. Because of its picturesque and often gorge-like valleys and popularity for bathing, the canyon is much visited. On silent paths where there are only few cars, you will return to Château du Cros, where Madame will once again offer a great dinner to her guests in the evening. If the weather is good, the dinner will be served on the terrace with a view of the castle park. 3rd day, Tuesday: Le Cros St Urzice, 52 km In the morning, the bus will take you across the famous Viaduct of Millau. Designed by Norman Foster, it is the world s largest cable-stayed bridge at a length of 2.5 km and a maximum pillar height of 365 m. After a photo stop, you will reach the Aubrac a little later. This nearly treeless, slightly wavy plateau is reminiscent of a prairie and rather unusual for France. The Aubrac is thinly settled and only used for cattle breeding. Apart from the village of the same name, there are nearly only individual farms and former herdsmen s cottages, now abandoned. After a few kilometers by ebike, the powerful Château de la Baume will appear by the side of the road. Built at an elevation of 1200 meters, it is France s highest castle. The slightly strict but impressive building dates from the 17th century and is known as the Versailles of Gévaudan. In the early evening, Fred Remise will be waiting for his guests in his carefully restored manor house in St. Urzice, in the middle of the Aubrac. His luxurious guest house has five tasteful rooms, all of them with large bathrooms. Fred is known well in the Aubrac. He takes care of his region with great commitment. Before a dinner typical for the country, he will offer a small guided tour of the beautiful village church from the 13th century. 4th day, Wednesday: St Urzice Laguiole St Urzice, 51 km After breakfast in historical walls, you will cycle to Laguiole along lonesome paths with wonderful views of the wide-spread Aubrac. This vibrant area has been made famous by its traditional knife manufactures, which have been producing pocket knives here since the 18th century. A bee decorates the back of the knife as a trademark. The individual decorations of the spring back and a cross of small nails are also typical, however. It is said that the herdsmen stick the knives into the ground to pray before these crosses to this day. A tour of the forge Honoré Durand is particularly interesting. You can learn about the secrets of smoothing in one of the most traditional family-owned operations here. Just after leaving busy Laguioles, you will return to wildly romantic, lonesome paths towards St Urzice. In the town of Aubrac, you will take an interim stop with Germaine to enjoy the best cake of the region and have a look at the beautiful village church Notre-Dame-des-Pauvres from the 12th century. Late in the evening, you will return to the inn of Monsieur Remise. You will have dinner in a popular specialties restaurant in the neighboring town. 5th day, Thursday: St Urzice Roziers, 49 km In the morning, a long downhill ride from the high plateau of the Aubrac will take you to Canourgue. The picturesque village core invites you to stay before the accompanying bus and a taxi will take the cyclists to approx. 900 m lake height, to the Causse de Sauveterre. It is one of the four high plateaus of the Grands Causse and differs from the others due to its inhospitable roughness. Bizarre rock formations and seemingly unending stone fields are your companions until you reach the magnificent view of the Canyon des Tarns. The landscape changes increasingly as you start the long downhill ride to the valley. Fertile meadows and floodplains more and more replace the scarce landscapes; breath-taking rock walls determine the view now. Even the architecture grows richer and more playful. Houses are no longer rare. Many villages line the valley s bottom. In the afternoon, you will reach Ste Énemie, which has been named France s most beautiful vil- lage several times. From here, there are another 20 kilometers to the day s destination Le Rozier at the confluence of the Jonte and 4

5 Tarn. The modern Grandhotel de la Muse et du Rozier is a fourstar-hotel with every comfort (pool) and a fine hotel restaurant. and several hundred sculptures. Since its reopening in 2007, the permanent exhibition has been showing approx. 800 objects. 6th day, Friday: Rozier Causse de Méjean Roziers, 65 km After breakfast, you will reach the Causse de Méjean after an hour by bus. Abandoned side streets and paths take you to Nîmes le Vieux, a bizarre rock sea the silhouette of which reminds you of the Southern French metropolis in the evening twilight. At least the Royal troops during the religious wars supposedly mistook this place for Nîmes. Across the wasteland and along seemingly unending dry rock walls, the segment will stop at the wonderfully retained Ferme Caussenarde. The small museum will illustratively present the hard life on the Causse de Méjean. If the schedule permits, you can visit one of the best cheese productions of the Causse de Méjean before returning back to Rozier. The Fromagerie de Hyelzas produces five different types of cheese with an outstanding reputation beyond the region. Late in the evening, you will return from the Causse de Méjean down to the wildly romantic Jonte valley by ebike. You will reach the Grandhotel de la Muse et du Rozier after a downhill ride of nearly 20 km, Among others, they are works by Gustave Courbet, Frédéric Bazill and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. interrupted only briefly by a rise halfway down, early in the evening. Meet for the final dinner in Rozier in a family-run restaurant, highly frequented by locals. Here we will celebrate the conclusion of a trip full of outstanding impressions with a top menu with regional specialties. 7th day, Saturday: Roziers Montpellier In the morning, a bus will return you to Montpellier to the airport or the parking place, if guests arrived in their own cars. If the departure times permit, you may leave your suitcases in the starting hotel and explore this interesting town until you have to leave for your plane. You can also check in your suitcases and take the shuttle and tram back to the center. It is only 11 kilometers to and from the Montpelier airport. The taxi can take you to town or back to the airport in approx. 20 minutes. Visiting the Musée Fabre is perfect to bridge the time. It was founded in 1825 by painter François-Xavier Fabre. This museum houses approx. 1,800 paintings, 4,000 drawings, 1,500 graphics 5