Rhône cycle path II

Since 1998 Lyon’s old part of town is part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. Mighty churches, about 30 museums and an excellent food serving industry guarantee a delightful stay.

After just a few kilometres, the futuristic museum "des Confluences" appears, spectacularly located on an island at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. We therefore recommend a short train ride to Givors (not included). You follow the meanders of your "companion", the Rhône, and soon reach Vienne with many traces of the old Roman colony. You will be impressed by the temples of Augustus and Livia and the largest Roman theatre in Gaul. The route continues directly along the banks of the Rhône. To the left and right, the vineyards of the Côtes du Rhône rise steeply. However, you stay on the plain and soon cycle through a nature reserve with many observation posts to marvel at the flora and fauna. The route continues through shady alluvial forests.

The beautifully designed cycle path takes you South again, directly along the Rhône riverbank. World renowned grapes are grown in the surroundings of Tournon sur Rhône. We recommend you have your lunch break in one of the charming villages with their medieval village centres and sample at least one glass of the famous ‚Hermitage’. After that you will soon reach the main town of the Drôme-region called Valence. Also called the ‚Northern Gate to Provence’, it will amaze you with its vibrant town centre full of cafés and restaurants.

Effortlessly you cycle through the fertile Rhône-valley. The temptation for ‚petty larceny of food’ is especially high today, since there are peaches, apples and kiwis growing directly along the route. Nevertheless, make sure you also look up and do not miss high up a once proud castle which has sadly crumbled and turned into a ruin, but still keeps a watchful eye over the valley. In today’s Day Finish Montélimar it is all about ‚nougat’, which is produced here in special quality. Temptations from dawn to dusk...

Discover the Drôme provencal today. Marvel at dreamy "Villages perchés" (rock villages built on mountain slopes) and old Romanesque churches that blend picturesquely into the landscape against the backdrop of the Drôme mountains. You can't miss the lavender fields.

There is plenty of time to enjoy today's short cycling stage. You will change banks of the Rhône several times over impressive suspension bridges. The cycle path then leads to the former episcopal town of Viviers. Behind the 12th-century cathedral, you enjoy a magnificent view over the Rhône valley. In the riparian forests that follow, it becomes quiet, nothing can be heard except the whirring of the wheel spokes. Bourg St. Andéol is full of life again. Here, picturesque houses from the 16th to 18th centuries characterise the old town directly on the Rhône.

On the last stage, you cycle leisurely through fields of yellow sunflowers, apple and peach orchards, over fields of tomatoes and basil. Along the way is the small town of Pont St. Esprit, where a 600-year-old bridge with 25 arches stretches impressively over the Rhône. The destination, however, is the town of Orange with its famous Roman theatre and the town foundation arch, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.