Haute Dordogne Guided Road Cycling Holiday

Itinerary Details

1. Day 1Arrival: Bergerac Airport / Gare de Sarlat

   The small city of Bergerac in the heart of the Dordogne has many flight options available. On arrival you will be met by your team for the short 90-minute transfer to the perfectly preserved Sarlat. Sarlat is a bustling medieval town, its unique architecture is amongst the best preserved in France as it was the first town to attain World Heritage status. Narrow twisting alley ways open up into small secluded courtyards and at the centre, a large open square is often filled with musicians and entertainers. It is a great place to relax with an ice-cream or stretch your legs in its meandering streets.

   In the evening you will meet your fellow bike tourers over some local cuisine and to perhaps sample some of the wares produced in the local vineyards that surround the town and chat about the week ahead.

   • Local Accommodation
   • Dinner
2. Day 2Sarlat to Cahors

   Following a homely French breakfast, your guides will make sure everyone is set up and comfortable on their bikes and ready for your journey.

   You will start your ride along a delightful cycle path, sheltered by trees. You will cross the Dordogne river for the first time on the old railway bridge and a short time later cross on to some peaceful lanes that allow you to keep pace with the river and admire the small villages and walnut trees that line the route.

   The afternoon ride is tranquil as you follow the meandering vineyard laden valley of the River Lot past the dramatically perched church at Albas and the small town of Luzech, with its ancient keep, squeezed between the neck of a meander. Near the end of the day, you will arrive into Cahors over the 14th century Pont Valentre, one of the best-preserved medieval bridges in France. Its three immaculately preserved towers were once guarded by portcullises, making the town a near-impenetrable fortress. Thankfully today the town has a much more relaxed atmosphere. You will make your way to your riverside hotel before an evening stroll in the old town for dinner and perhaps to sample some of the local ‘vin rouge’ for which Cahors is famous.

   • 54.7 miles
   • 2,605 ft
     2,605 ft
   • Local Accommodation
   • Breakfast and Lunch
3. Day 3Cahors to Figeac

   Cahors is the capital of the old province of Quercy and is almost surrounded by the River Lot. The best way to appreciate the dramatic nature of the town's location is to get your legs turning to the top of Mont St Cyr. At only 266m/872ft above sea level, it is a very modest mountain and the reward is a dramatic bird’s eye perspective of Cahors.

   You will take a coffee break is in the beautiful village of Saint-Cirque-Lapopie, one of France’s Plus Beaux Village, precariously perched on a steep rock plinth 100m/328ft above the river. From the terrace of a café, you will be able to get the best view of this spectacularly well-preserved village.

   Today’s route features rural riverside riding at its best. You will spend the next 10km/6.2mi winding upstream with the River Lot below before entering the little known Parc Natural Regional de Quercy, a land of ancient gorges and forests where you will spend most of the day.

   In the afternoon you will join the Vallée du Célé, where the road is squeezed between dramatic cliffs riddled with medieval fortified caves and the Célé River. Traffic is virtually non-existent as you wind along this peaceful valley through the beautiful village of St Suplice, guarded by its 12th-century castle, the most photographed village on the Célé. Your destination for the night is Figeac on the banks of the Célé river where you will head out for a meal in the remarkably unchanged medieval centre of this bustling market town.

   • 54.7 miles
   • 4,101 ft
     4,101 ft
   • Local Accommodation
   • Breakfast and Lunch
4. Day 4Figeac to Lac des Graves

   Today the vineyard-clad valleys give way to rolling hills and the sound of cow bells. Your morning begins by hugging the banks of the Célé to avoid the increasingly hilly terrain around. You will pass Bagnac-sur-Célé with its perfectly preserved medieval bridge, almost ‘de rigueur’ in this region but eventually, you can avoid the hills no longer and just after the small town of Maurs you will begin to climb. The gentle climb is a real pleasure as you wind your way through the woods alongside a lively stream.

   You will reach the high point of this morning at Roannes Saint Mary before descending into the busy town of Aurillac, where you will begin the steady climb up the Jordanne river valley heading deeper into the rural Auvergne. Cows gaze at you from the road side; a reminder that this area is responsible for some of France’s finest cheeses such as Cantal.

   The cowbells cheer you along the last stretch through small villages and you will end the day at the Lac des Graves, an incredibly peaceful spot with stunning views across the lake to the mountains behind. Here, at the end of the valley, you are in a great position to conquer the challenge of the Puy Mary in the morning!

   • 51 miles
   • 4,101 ft
     4,101 ft
   • Local Accommodation
   • Breakfast and Lunch
5. Day 5Lac des Graves to St Privat

   You will start the day with a gradual warm up along the valley floor before the ascent of the Puy Mary. You will tackle this famous Tour de France col from its easier side and today’s distance has been kept shorter to enable you to take in the majesty of the surroundings and give your legs time to warm up.

   The Puy Mary has featured many times in the Tour de France. The Puy Mary is often referred to as the name of the climb, but is correctly known as the Pas de Peyrol (1,588m/5209ft). The Puy Mary refers to the volcano’s conical shape which rears its head dramatically above us at 1,783m/5849ft.

   The 12km (7.5mi) of ascent is gentle, with sweeping bends and vistas of extinct volcanic mounds. The three greatest of these puys are Plomb du Cantal (1,855m/6085ft), Puy Mary (1,787m/5862ft) and Puy de Peyre-Arse (1,688m/5538ft) with deep cut wooded valleys radiating out like spokes. With the col tackled in the morning, you are free to enjoy a coffee at the top before winding your way down past the Roc du Merle (1,647m/5403ft) and enjoy a sweeping descent into the La Marron valley and lunch at St Martin Valmeroux.

   Be sure to leave a little in the legs for the afternoon as the climbing is not over yet! You still need to make your way upwards through the village of St Eulalie following the Route de Fromage! You will dip in and out of picturesque valleys to cross small streams and through the excellently preserved small town of Pleaux, complete with boulangeries and cafés, still the cornerstone of a every village.
   Your resting place for the night, St Privat, sits in the Upper Dordogne area, a little-visited corner of the Dordogne but with villages and scenery that more than rival other areas of the region.

   • 52.2 miles
   • 5,019.7 ft
     5,019.7 ft
   • Local Accommodation
   • Breakfast and Lunch
6. Day 6St Privat to Souillac

   If day 5 took you mostly up then as they say what goes up must come down! Day 6 takes you out of the Upper Dordogne region towards the Dordogne River as you roll 18km (11mi), mostly downwards, towards the small medieval town of Argentat, which is split in two by the Dordogne River.
   
   You will follow the Dordogne on its eastern side on quiet roads as you wind 20km (12.4mi) along the Vallée de Dordogne to ‘Beaulieu sur Dordogne’, which lives up to its literal translation of ‘beautiful place on the Dordogne‘. You will spend the majority of the rest of the day journeying alongside the river. The valley is interspersed by dramatically perched châteaux, positioned imposingly yet majestically above the river, such as the Château de Castelnau and the ancient village of Lubresac.
   
   The route continues alongside the southern banks of the Dordogne until crossing the river for a short section north of the river before arriving into Souillac, where you can relax and wander into the old town. It’s an interesting small town with a pretty medieval centre, site of the weekly market selling many of the cheeses from the Route du Fromage you cycled earlier in the trip.
   

   • 58.4 miles
   • 2,952.8 ft
     2,952.8 ft
   • Local Accommodation
   • Breakfast and Lunch
7. Day 7Souillac to Sarlat

   A slightly shorter final day allows you time to more thoroughly explore the medieval streets of Sarlat, but first you have the climb of Rocamadour to conquer. It is well worth the climb, as the village sits dramatically perched on the cliff side of an abrupt canyon wall, a truly outstanding and audacious location for a village. Since medieval times Rocmadour has been a key site for pilgrims drawn by the apparent healing powers of Rocmadour’s Black Madonna. If you are still feeling energetic, you can climb up the 223 steps to visit her (though perhaps not on your knees as the pilgrims would!).

   You will complete the journey alongside the Dordogne river, through the Route de Noix, a reference to the many Walnut trees and pause for a final picnic. You will return to Sarlat via the picturesque and peaceful cycle path.

   • 49.1 miles
   • 3,444.9 ft
     3,444.9 ft
   • Local Accommodation
   • Breakfast and Lunch
8. Day 8Departure: Bergerac Airport / Gare de Sarlat

   After a leisurely breakfast, you will transfer (90 minutes approx) to Bergerac Dordogne Périgord Airport (BGC) or the Gare de Sarlat for onwards journeys. Or maybe you may wish to stay and explore some more of the region and sample a few more glasses of its famous wines?
   

   • Breakfast