Arrival to Pernes-les-Fontain

You are met at the Avignon TGV train station, on the main high-speed train line from Paris, and transferred to your comfortable hotel, where you can unpack and perhaps stroll the grounds, or even take a dip in the swimming pool, before dinner in the hotel’s dining room.

Pernes les Fontaines to Beaumes-de-Venise; 29km/18mi

An easy, flat ride takes you across the Comtadine plain, with the majestic Mont Ventoux (about 6,200 feet or 1,912 meters) and the jagged limestone pinnacles of Les Dentelles de Montmirail (literally the “lace of Montmirail”) as a dramatic backdrop. During a quick stop at Mazan, you can look out for the strange church wall made up of more than 60 Roman sarcophagi, then wind your way up country lanes to your friendly family-run hotel set in a scented pine forest on the lower slopes of Mont Ventoux in the heart of the Beaumes-de-Venise vineyards. Your Provençal style guest room opens on to its own terrace and garden, and (weather permitting) meals are taken on the vine-covered terrace by the pool.

Layover day at Beaumes-de-Venise

A range of options are available today: Beaumes-de-Venise vineyards, the olive oil museum, the medieval city of Carpentras (with its colorful Provençal market on Fridays), or the cobbled streets of nearby picturesque Bédoin, named after the 8th-century Bedouins who settled here. You might like to make a leisurely visit to the nearby château at Crillon-le-Brave or Mormorion with its museum of “mechanical” music made on instruments such as fairground organs, pianolas, and musical boxes. Many loop walks are also available.

Beaumes-de-Venise to Vaison-la-Romaine; 32km/20mi

You have fabulous views of Les Dentelles this morning as you gently ascend to the pretty village of Suzette and then on to Le Barroux with its château. Your route continues through forests, vineyards, and cherry orchards, to a lunch stop at the fortified village of Malaucène (where Pope Clement V once lived). The final section is an easy-paced ride along country lanes to the Roman garrison town of Vaison-la-Romaine, where a warm welcome awaits you at a charming hotel in the heart of the town center. For dinner you walk to a nearby restaurant, which is one of the gastronomic highlights of your trip.

Layover day at Vaison-la-Romaine

Vaison has France’s most extensive Roman remains, including a 6,000-seat theater, baths, houses, and streets. There’s a lovely 13th-century cathedral and cloisters, a castle, and fortified gateway, and squares with cool central fountains. The town straddles the River Ouvèze, which burst its banks in 1992, when 37 people lost their lives. The flood level is marked on the arched Roman bridge. There’s a market every Tuesday morning and on Sunday mornings in July and August.

Vaison-la-Romaine to Cairanne; 29km/18mi

Today’s route takes you along via Roaix across the Ouvèze River to medieval Séguret—officially ranked among the most beautiful villages in France—whose streets climb up the slopes of the Dentelles de Montmirail. There’s a 15th-century fountain and a 14th-century belfry, a ruined feudal castle, and an orientation map explaining the glorious view across to the distant Massif Central. You can browse in the craft shops and enjoy the opportunities for wine tasting. Then you continue on through pretty little Sablet and along the River Ouvèze to your friendly hotel in Cairanne.

Layover day at Cairanne. Optional ride to Orange; 29km/18mi

The lovely town of Gigondas, famous for the ruby red wine it produces from the Grenache grape, is a short ride away—wine cellars are everywhere, and therefore a great place for wine tasting. If you feel like a walk, there are many “Grande Randonnée” routes in the Montmirail hills (part of the network of hiking and walking trails mapped throughout the entire country, and in fact, throughout Europe). Another option is a ride to the thriving regional center of Orange. It has two marvelous World Heritage sites—an elaborately decorated triumphal arch and a beautifully preserved Roman theater that hosts regular evening performances.

Cairanne to Pernes-les-Fontaines; 40km/25mi

The final day’s bike ride takes you through vineyards to two wine-producing villages. You reach Vacqueyras first. It’s a pretty place with a café and lots of tempting wine cellars offering Côtes du Rhône wine. On the outskirts, the chapel of Notre Dame d’Aubune is worth the short, steep climb. The village is tucked into the southern slopes of the Dentelles, and has a Tuesday morning market and an olive cooperative. The final stretch of the ride takes you through Aubignan and back to your first night’s hotel at Pernes-les-Fontaines.

Departure from Pernes-les-Fontaines

A transfer is provided to the Avignon TGV train station after breakfast, where you can make connections for your onward travels.