Van Gogh in Provence France: Guided Biking Bike through cypress forests, olive groves, vineyards, and the scenic hills of colorful, fragrant Provence. You will be guided personally through this stunning region by Emma, VGT's owner, to discover famous sites and lesser known treasures. You'll visit the Pont du Gard, a unique and well-preserved Roman aqueduct and bridge, the famous hospital St-Paul-de-Mausole where Vincent van Gogh resided for a year, and impressive historical monuments. No tour is complete without tasting the world-renown regional wines, and you'll be able to explore the local produce of the open-air market in St. Rémy and enjoy a Michelin Guide three-star "must try" in Arles that features in Van Gogh's famous Night Café. You'll visit Les Baux, one of the most beautiful villages in France, and the charming Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and have the opportunity to speak with locals at a private wild bull and horse farm in the Camargue. Your nights will be spent in wonderful and unique hotels, each located in city centres. In Avignon you'll stay in a former cloister, now a luxury hotel with a small rooftop swimming pool; in St. Rémy you'll enjoy the welcoming atmosphere of a family-run hotel; and you'll also be able to enjoy a relaxing swim at your small hotel in lovely Arles. Throughout your stay you'll enjoy exquisite fresh Provencal food. This tour is led by Emma, so you ll be travelling with someone who really know the local area and can give you the best service VGT has to offer! Included 6 nights' lodging in three- and four-star hotels 4 dinners, 2 lunches and 6 breakfasts 24-speed hybrid bike rental Entrance fee to the Grande Expo-du-Pont-du-Gard Entrance fee to the St Paul de Mausole Psychiatric Hospital Guided city tour in Arles to follow in Van Gogh s footsteps Outstanding, personalized leadership by VGT s owner Support van Daily route directions Baggage handling All taxes and gratuities for the hotel and restaurant portions of the tour
Daily Itinerary Day 1: Avignon Isle de Barthelasse warm-up ride 8 miles (14 km) We ll welcome you at the Avignon TGV station around 2 p.m. and transfer you to our unique 4-star hotel (a superbly restored cloister) in the center of town. However, we highly recommend coming a day early to see historical and beautiful Avignon! (In this case, we'd meet you at the hotel around 2.30 p.m..) Avignon, City of Art, was the center of Christianity in the 14th century and has been recently classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here you ll see the 12th century St-Bénézet-Bridge of the famous children s song Sur le Pont d Avignon, the remarkable Palais des Papes, one of the largest buildings created in the Middle Ages, plus the city's beautiful town hall, impressive churches, city walls, and intimate squares. After a short orientation meeting and coffee in a nearby cafe, we'll leave for our warm-up ride on Barthelasse, an island in the River Rhône and recreation area for the residents of Avignon. The island offers delightfully flat and peaceful cycling. We ll bike back to Avignon, crossing the river over a bridge with great views on the Palais des Papes. On arrival at our hotel you ll have some time to admire the courtyard with massive, centuriesold plane trees, before our first scrumptious Provencal dinner in the hotel restaurant. Day 2: Avignon - Pont du Gard - Avignon 41 mile (66 km) Today we ll pedal to the Pont du Gard, a beautifully preserved Roman aqueduct, one of the Wonders of the Ancient World and a definite must see in Provence. We ll leave Avignon in the direction of Villeneuve, crossing the River Rhône, and soon will be biking through the surrounding vineyards with pleasant rural views. We ll pass by the picturesque village Rochefort-du-Gard, with its steep little streets and small shaded squares, before we continue on to medieval Saze, where time seems to stand still. Before lunch we ll reach the River Gard (or Gardon) and the incredible 2000-year-old bridge, part of a Roman aqueduct that long ago provided Nimes with water from a source in Uzès. We ll climb to the top for a superb view and some photo opportunities. After lunch we ll spend some time in the brand new Grande-Expo-du-Pont-du-Gard, an extremely well-produced multimedia exposition. Tonight dinner will be on your own. We recommend taking the time to walk around beautiful Avignon, making sure to leave time to visit the Palais des Papes and think back to the time when the world was confused by the existence of two competing Popes! Day 3: Avignon Isle-sur-la-Sorgue St-Rémy-de-Provence 36 miles (58 km) We ll follow a quiet bicycle route from Avignon and soon will be out in the peaceful countryside on our way to Le Thor, a center for growing vegetables and trees. Its bridge over the River Sorgue, church with a clock tower, and charming little square make for an interesting short visit in Le Thor. Next we ll reach L Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, another lovely town lined with dappled plane trees on the River Sorgue. All the small streets and alleys in the old center lead to the Baroque 17th century Notre Dame des Anges Church with its ornate, gilded decorations. Also interesting are the myriad of fine antique shops, and the old watermills in the river that once provided the town with all the energy for its paper industry. Through a green oasis of nurseries and apple orchards we'll leave this charming city and continue on to Caumont, where we'll cross the River Durance on our way to St-Rémy de- Provence. This immensely popular town with its charming squares, fountains, galleries, and shops seems to distil the essence of Provence. This evening we ll sample more Provencal cuisine in a terrific local restaurant. After dinner you have a chance to stroll through the old town center with its charming squares filled with plane trees, fountains, galleries, and shops.
Day 4: St. Rémy - Graveson St-Michel-de-Frigolet St. Rémy 19 or 31 miles (30 or 50 km) In the morning we ll walk from our hotel to the ancient Monastère de St-Paul-de-Mausole, the 12th century monastery that was converted to a sanitarium where Vincent van Gogh voluntarily admitted himself for a year and created some of his most famous paintings, including Starry Night. St-Paul-de-Mausole is still a sanitarium today and it's a moving experience to visit the peaceful space where the great artist tried unsuccessfully to rid himself of his demons. Nearby, we ll visit Les Antiques where we ll find two extraordinary Roman monuments, the Triumphal Arch dating from 20 A.D. and a particularly wellpreserved funerary monument dating from 30-20 B.C. Afterwards you might decide to spend time in the Roman town of Glanum, still being excavated today, and visit the museum or the Roman ruins. In St. Rémy you might also visit the well-conceived Centre d Art in the beautiful 18th century mansion Hotel Estrine, where an audiovisual display and thematic exhibitions illustrate Van Gogh s work and the time he spent at St. Rémy. After lunch, there will be an optional bike ride to the nearby attractive town of Graveson and then on to the Abbey de St-Michel-de- Frigolet, founded in the 10th century by monks of close by Montmajour. The abbey is in a lovely location, surrounded by cypress, pine, and olive trees. From here we ll cruise back to St. Rémy where dinner this evening will on your own in one of several very fine local restaurants. Day 5: St. Rémy les Baux Arles 21 miles (34 km) We ll leave St. Rémy and slowly climb up into the Alpilles with terrific views over our surroundings. Almost on top, we ll be able to recognize Les Baux. This village, rightly classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France, is a bare rock spur with dramatic vertical cliffs and a ruined castle at its peak. In the Middle Ages, the lords of Baux, whose motto was warriors all vassals never, ruled with an iron fist. You ll learn more about their history when you visit the chateau on the upper level of the village, from where on a clear day the Mediterranean Sea is visible! In the village below we ll find well-preserved Renaissance houses, cobblestone streets, delightful boutiques, shops, and cafes. After lunch we ll glide downhill on our way to Arles, passing by the Abbey of Montmajour which was founded by Benedictine monks in 948. From here we'll continue on to Arles where we ll find our antique-filled, 4-star hotel on the Place du Forum inside the old city walls and across the square from Van Gogh s famous Night Café. Before dinner there will be a guided walking tour in the exciting city center of Arles, a city important as a Roman capital in the time of Julius Caesar and as a major religious center in the Middle Ages. We'll explore the quite wellpreserved Roman Amphitheatre, dating from the end of the first century, and the unfortunately more damaged Roman Theatre. We'll also visit many spots where Van Gogh himself sat and painted!
Day 6: Arles Camargue Arles 48 miles (77 km) Today there will be a fascinating, optional bike ride. In the morning we ll bike to the Camargue, an unusual nature park in the totally unspoiled area in the Rhône Delta, where we ll spot wild white horses and grazing black bulls. The Camargue is a paradise for bird lovers (although the best bird watching is really very early in the morning) and if conditions are right we ll see flocks of flamingos feeding in the shallow estuaries. Bring your small binoculars or opera glasses to get a better view! We ll visit a ranch where we ll have a chance to see the bulls and flamingoes up close and learn about the importance of the less brutal, Provencal style of bullfighting in the southern part of France. In the afternoon we ll bike back to Arles for our farewell dinner and toast our cycling accomplishments and new friends with another wonderful glass of Côtes du Rhône vintage! Day 7: Tour Ends Your tour ends today with individual departure after breakfast to catch a train back to Paris for your trip home or the next leg of your European vacation. Starting Point We'll meet in the early afternoon in the high-speed TGV train station in Avignon. You can easily reach Avignon from Paris by TGV train (about three hours). For last minute train schedules visit the website of the French Railways, www.sncf.com. We ll meet at the Meeting Point in the north side of the TGV station, just outside of Avignon. Exact meeting time will be provided in your final information letter. Ending Point The tour concludes in the morning of day 7 after breakfast. It s a 5 minute cab ride from the hotel to the train station in Arles. Level of Difficulty This tour is rated "moderate to difficult." Daily biking distance is between 25 and 46 miles per day on mostly flat terrain with light rolling terrain on day 2 and 3 and a steeper hill on day 5. Cycling experience is needed to deal with up and down hills and periodic car traffic. Remember that the van is usually very close by and you can join the lonely driver if you need a break from riding! Bicycles 24-speed hybrid specialized bikes are included on the tour. Bicycles come equipped with grip shifters, handlebar bag, bell, cage and water bottle, optional toe clips, optional rear view mirror, and rear pannier. It's also possible to replace our pedals with your own clip on pedals. Helmets are not included, so please bring your own helmet! We do have a few helmets available for rent for $20 for the week. If you wish to rent one, please let us know ahead of time. If you're considering bringing your own bike please note that bicycles can be transported on local trains but not the TGV trains!
Meals Daily buffet breakfast, 2 coffee breaks, 2 lunches and 4 dinners are included in the tour price. For the buffet breakfasts there's an assortment of cold meats and cheeses, eggs, bread, croissants, jam, cereal, yogurt, fruit, coffee, and tea. For the two included lunches we'll stop together in a local restaurant. For the other lunches we'll be in a town with lots of choices of simple to extravagant restaurants. Dinners are 3-courses with either a set menu or a choice of 2 or 3 options. On the two nights when you are on your own for dinner, you can choose one of many delicious restaurant options within easy walking distance from our hotel. We can accommodate many types of dietary restrictions including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy free. Please indicate these requests at the time of booking. Accommodation 6 nights' accommodation are included in 3- and 4-star hotels with private facilities. In Avignon you'll stay in a luxury hotel with a rooftop swimming pool, once a cloister. In St. Rémy you'll stay in a lovely, welcoming family-run hotel. In Arles, you'll stay in a small hotel with a swimming pool. WiFi WiFi is available on a limited basis in hotels. Don't expect to have a perfect internet connection for your entire stay. Usually during the busiest hours when many people are online the speed gets slower, and some people may have trouble connecting. Not included Airfare Alcoholic and bar beverages Two dinners 4 lunches Independent sightseeing Transportation other than scheduled VGT transfers Other items of a personal nature