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Bordeaux to Lot Valley Cycling Holiday

4
(1 reviews)

The perfect route for cyclists with a love of nature, gastronomy, wine and culture. Cycle from Bordeaux along quiet rural lanes and green-way cycle paths to the enchanting medieval town of Cahors in the Lot Valley. You'll also enjoy a loop ride to the beautiful village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie - the jewel in the Lot Valley's crown.

This leisurely route serves up a whole pannier of visual treats along it's 319 kilometres. From Bordeaux, with its intoxicating mix of 18th century elegance, urban street food and prestigious wines, to the simple pleasure of pedalling through the dappled sunlight alongside the Canal de Garonne or admiring the charm and timeless serenity of the beautiful Lot Valley and its picturesque perched villages

Flexitreks Cycling HolidayCahors

You'll spend two nights in the beautiful medieval town of Cahors that sits on a majestic bend in the Lot river. This area (Quercy) is well known for its black truffels, Quercy lamb and Rocamadour cheese so any meal in one of the town's many restaurants is likely to be a gastronomic delight.

The final ride of the itinerary leads you along the valley to the the visually stunning medieval village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, sitting on a bluff high above the river - a fitting finale to a great cycle holiday.

The daily rides cover between 40 and 60 kilometres along mostly level cycle paths and quiet rural lanes. The last couple of days are a little more undulating but nothing to strenuous and e-bikes are an available option if you prefer.

Itinerary

Make your way from Bordeaux airport to your centrally located hotel. The rest of the day is yours to explore this exciting and intoxicating port city. Take a stroll through the atmospheric old town where you will find a giddying choice of cosy cafes, sizzling street food, elegant wine bars and creative fusion restaurants. Don’t miss the charming public gardens on the banks of the Garonne River and wine budding sommeliers will be drawn to the glittering decanter-like building that houses the audacious La Cite du Vin, an exhibition/museum/show on everything wine.

Your first day’s cycling starts with a pleasant ride alongside the Garonne River. After a while you leave the river and head eastwards, following a beautiful Voie-Verte (green-way cycle path) through ever-changing scenery ranging from expansive vineyards to cool, shady forests and open farmland. You’ll also pass through some tiny wine-villages along the way as well as the old walled-town of Creon. You’ll stop for the night in a charming guest-house near the town of Sauveterre-de-Guyenne. Dinner is included with your package this evening.

Depending on the location of your accommodation at either end of today's route you will cycle between 40 km and 60 km. Once again, you'll be a following a wonderful Voie-Verte cycle path through beautiful verdant countryside. The going is easy and level and the kilometres flick by. Shortly after joining the Canal-de-Garonne cycle path you arrive at your accommodation in or around the town of Marmande. Dinner is included with your package this evening.

This morning you enjoy a lovely ride along the Canal-de-Garonne cycle path through the dappled sunlight of the tall plane trees that line the banks. At Tonneins you leave the canal and head for Clairac where you may wish to stop to admire the Benedictine abbey before enjoying a beautiful bucolic ride past fruit orchards and tiny villages alongside the meandering Lot river. Your destination today is the charming medieval town of Villeneuve-sur-Lot where you will stop for the night.

Another very pleasant ride today along the Lot valley following a network of rural lanes. Orchards of plum trees line your route as you make your way along the wide valley. The route flirts with the banks of the Lot river and offers easy level cycling. The hilltop village of Pujols is a nice place to stop for coffee or, a little further on, the perched villages of Montsempron-Libos and Fumel will also tempt you to take a break. Your destination today is the pretty riverside village of Puy Lévêque, built on a rocky promontory overlooking the river.

More glorious cycling through the delightful countryside of the Lot valley today. The cycle route has a few more undulations now as it follows the lazy meanders of the Lot river but by now of course your legs are accustomed to the daily ritual. Vineyards begin to appear beside the fruit orchards and once more there are plenty of charming villages tempting you to take a break. The perched village of Belaye, besides being a charming little place, offers stunning views across the valley and is definitely worth the climb. The pretty village of Luzech, marooned between two of the river's meanders, is a good place to stop for lunch before pushing on along the river to historically and culturally rich town of Cahors, where you will spend the next two nights.

Your final ride is a round trip to the jewel in the Lot valley's crown, the village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. Regularly voted one the of the most beautiful villages in France, this charming little medieval hamlet is set on a rocky bluff high above a gentle curve in the river. It's hard to know which is more memorable the village itself or the view from the castle's ramparts across the valley. You then return to the medieval town of Cahors for the last night of your holiday. Along the narrow winding streets of the old town you are bound to find the perfect restaurant to celebrate completing your Lot valley cycling adventure.

After breakfast it's time to head for home or your next adventure.

Bikes

On this tour you can choose between a regular touring bike, a gravel bike or an e-bike.

The regular touring bike is an alloy framed model with 21 speeds and a comfortable, relaxed riding position, perfect for a leisure cycling holiday. These bikes come equipped with handlebar bag, rear panniers, lock and a repair kit with pump.

Keen cyclists may be tempted to opt for a gravel bike instead. The rugged, lightweight frame and drop handlebars offers a more dynamic riding position and the wider tyres are capable of handling both asphalt and gravel trails. These hi-spec, 22. speed bikes come equipped with handlebar bag, rear seat-post bag (instead of panniers), lock and a repair kit with pump.

E-bikes are a popular option on this route and ensure riders can enjoy the scenery along the way whilst not working too hard at the climbs. These bikes come equipped with handlebar bag, rear panniers, lock and a repair kit with pump.

Helmets are not provided, so you will need to bring your own.

Accommodation

Below you will find examples of the accommodations typically used on this tour. Please note that the hotels we book for you may differ slightly from those described but they will certainly be of a similar standard.

Superior: Comfortable 3 and 4 star hotels

Bordeaux: Hotel de Normandie

Camiran: La Camiranaise

Marmande: Hotel Le Capricorne

Villeneuve-sur-Lot: Hotel Le Moulin de Madame

Puy L'Evêque: Hotel La Truffière

Cahors: Hotel Divona

Getting There

Fly to Bordeaux Airport and then take the regular shuttle into Bordeaux and make your way to your centrally located hotel.

From Cahors - at the end of the trip - we recommend taking the train to Toulouse central station and then the short bus ride out to the airport (1hr 50 mins total). You could also opt to return to Bordeaux for your flight home but the journey will take longer, about 3hrs 30 mins.

Research trains in France here.

Reviews

Ian Jackson - June, 09 Jun 2023
Service
4
Flexitreks' organisation was fine. The advice given on getting from Bordeaux airport to the hotel, and from Cahors to Toulouse airport, was helpful. I was disappointed that the gpx files appear to be locked into the Ride with GPS app, so I could not export them to another app which I'm more familiar with (Beeline and Outdoor Active).
Service
4
Hotels: two hotels thought we required a double bed instead of twin beds. They thought we were husband and wife, not father and son. Some hotels had a good spread at breakfast so we could take a roll and some cheese and fruit for our lunch, but others had very little on offer. Fortunately there were shops nearby where we could buy a snack. Bicycles: I could have used a lower gear on some hills. The saddle was ok - I used padded pants on two days. Each bike came with one pannier, a handlebar box (big enough for cameras and lenses), and a water bottle holder. There was no cycle computer for measuring distances or speed. Routes: in general we had no trouble following the routes using my phone - I put it under the plastic cover of the handlebar box and plugged in a power pack to keep the display on. Sometimes the sky was reflected in the plastic so it was hard to see the screen; if I had bought the premium version of Ride with GPS we could have had spoken guidance, but I didn't know that till I got home. The route into Marmande was hazardous because the road across the bridge was busy and there is no cycle path. the Road Book implies that there is a cycle path, but there is not – you must ride on the road, and the road is busy. You can push your bike along the raised bit at the side of the road but you will be crossing road drainage channels, some of which do not have covers, so don’t ride! If you hit one of those you will come off and also bend your front wheel. Road Book: someone has put a lot of work into this but it is awful! It is too big to fit in the handlebar box cover, but it lists instructions to be followed at specific distances, and yet there is no cycle computer to show those distances! Just tell clients that they need to follow the gpx routes. The road book needs to be totally redesigned. Getting home from Cahors: It was a 7 minute walk from Hotel Divona to Cahors railway station. If you take the train from Cahors to Toulouse you need to find the airport bus when you leave Toulouse Matabieu station. These buses are orange, and the What 3 Words address they leave from is ///lately.firm.politics.
Andy - July, 25 Jul 2023
Thanks for the feedback Ian. Regarding the bridge at Marmande, it sounds like the best option would be to push the bike the 200yds across using the footpath. With the advent of gpx tracks and smartphones, the good old roadbook is fast becoming a thing of the past but some operators continue to provide these for customers who prefer them and as a back-up. We have fed your comments back to the supplier in this regard. Really appreciate the useful advice regarding the homeward journey via Toulouse and will incorporate this into our holiday information for future customers.