ViaRhôna - From Lyon to the Mediterranean

Itinerary

Day 1: Lyon

Arrival in the green and dynamic city of Lyon - also famous for being a culinary highlight in France. Depending on your arrival time, you can check into your hotel room and go directly on a city discovery tour, or follow one of our 5 bike-tours, which you will be able to follow via our app.

Overnight stay at the hotel. Dinner at leisure in the city.

Day 2 : Lyon - Vienne - Serrières

We recommend you take the train from Lyon to Vienne, as this route passes through an industrial area. Vienne, on the other hand, is well worth a visit for its Gallo-Roman heritage. If you hire bicycles through us, they will be taken to Vienne station. You will then ride past St. Romain en Gal via the "Voie verte" to the picturesque town of Les Sablons until your arrival in Serrières.

Places of interest en route:

• Lyon and its UNESCO World Heritage city centre.
• the Archaeological museum in St. Romain en Gal
• the Ile du Beurre nature reserve, the Côte-Rôtie wine region and the orchards of the Rhône valley
• the Musée des Mariniers (sailors' museum) in Serrières

Overnight stay and dinner at leisure.

Stage length: 34 km

Day 3 - Serrières - Valence

This stage of the ViaRhôna through the Ardèche region offers a very diverse landscape, from vineyards to orchards. After a break in Saint Vallier, you will reach Tournon. You will then set off for the fishing village of La Roche-de-Glun, which stands out for its traditional architecture. Arrival in the city of Valence, famous for its colourful markets, gardens and lively pedestrian streets... welcome to Provence!

Places of interest en route:

• Castle-Museum in Tournon
• the oldest suspension bridge still in operation in Tournon
• Cité du Chocolat Valrhôna, Chocolate museum in Tain-l'Hermitage

Overnight stay in a hotel. Dinner at leisure in the town.

Stage length: 61 km

Day 4: Valence - Montélimar

First you will explore the charming town of Valence. After a stop at the port of l'Epervière, the ViaRhôna takes you into the Ardèche, to the city of Soyons. You will then continue to the villages of Beauchastel and La Voulte-sur-Rhône and soon reach the mouth of the two rivers Drôme and Rhône. Via the commune of Le Pouzin, you will continue to Rochemaure. Finally, you will leave the ViaRhôna and arrive at your destination for the day, the town of Montélimar.

Places of interest en route:

• Valence with its historic heritage including numerous parks and canals.
• prehistoric caves in Soyons
• the castle of La Voulte-sur-Rhône
• the Printegarde nature reserve
• the historic village of Cruas and its abbey

Overnight stay in a hotel. Dinner at leisure in the town.

Stage length: 65 km

Day 5: Montélimar - Orange

Visit of Montélimar. After Châteauneuf du Rhône, you will take a short detour to explore Viviers. The following part of the tour will delight both nature and history lovers. Small roads will lead you to Bourg-Saint-Andéol. From there, you will reach the first lavender regions: Drôme, Gard, Vaucluse, passing through the towns of Saint-Esprit, Mondragon and Mornas. Arrival in Orange, on the ViaRhôna.

Places of interest en route:

• Montélimar with its Château des Adhémar as well as the Nougathèque and the Palais des bonbons for all gourmets.
• the medieval town of Viviers
• lavender fields and the Côtes-du-Rhône vineyards

Overnight stay in a hotel. Dinner at leisure in the town.

Stage length: 79 km (It is also possible to cover this stage by regional train).

Day 6: Orange - Avignon

Today's stage will be short in order to give you enough time to enjoy the athmosphere of Orange. From there you will head towards Châteauneuf du Pape and reach Avignon, the city of the popes.

Places of interest en route:

• Orange and its UNESCO World Heritage monuments.
• the world-famous vineyards of Châteauneuf du Pape
• UNESCO World Heritage city of Avignon with its Palais des Papes

Overnight stay in a hotel. Dinner at leisure in the city.

Stage length : 32 km

Day 7: Avignon - Arles

On this day, the ViaRhôna takes you over the famous Pont du Gard to the town of Beaucaire. Afterwards, a short detour will take you to Tarascon. Arrival in the Roman town of Arles, the home of Vincent Van Gogh for a time.

Sightseeing:

• Artistic and historical heritage of the town of Beaucaire
• Château du Roi René, the church of Sainte Marthe and the Cordeliers monastery in Tarascon
• Saint Michel de Frigolet Abbey around Tarascon
• Arles and its Roman buildings

Overnight stay in a hotel. Dinner at leisure in town.

Stage length : 59 km

Day 8: Arles - Grau du roi

After leaving Arles, you will follow the Petit Rhône towards Saint-Gilles. Between Saint-Gilles and Gallician, the route crosses the unique Camargue Gardoise Regional Nature Park. You will ride along the Rhône-Sète canal and cross the marshes before reaching the fortified town of Aigues-Mortes. Arrival in Grau-du-Roi by the sea.

Points of interest:

• exceptional flora and fauna in the Camargue
• the town of Aigues-Mortes surrounded by marshland, vineyards and salt marshes
• View from the Tour Carbonnière in Aigues-Mortes

Overnight stay in a hotel. Dinner at leisure in town.

Stage length : 59 km

Day 9 - Grau du Roi - Sète

The ViaRhôna will take you along the Gulf of Aigues-Mortes to La Grande Motte and then along the sea to Palavas-les-Flots, near Montpellier. Arrival at the port of Sète, which concludes this beautiful adventure.

Things to see on the way:

• the architecture of La Grande Motte, classified as "20th century heritage".
• the lighthouse in Palavas-les-Flots
• the cathedral of Maguelone
• mussel and Muscat de Frontignan tasting in Sète

Overnight stay in a hotel. Dinner at leisure in town.

Stage length : 57 km

Day 10 : Departure OR extension of the trip to the Canal du Midi or Spain.

After breakfast, your stay will come to an end.

If you have rented the bikes through us, you will be taken to the station with your luggage.

Travel dates

Indicated pricing per person in double room occupancy (min. 2 persons)

The trip is available from April to end of October.

Please indicate the desired travel dates and the number of participants in our enquiry form.

Services

Prices include:

9 nights in double rooms in specially selected guesthouses or 3*** hotels with breakfast, luggage transport, visitor's tax and detailed itinerary with our GPS app Mhikes for smartphones

Optional:

Cancellation insurance with supplementary Covid 19 insurance.
Bike rental: 169 € / Touring bike - 290 €/ E- Bike plus delivery and return.

Number of participants

Bookable from 2 people
Not suitable for people with reduced mobility.

Accommodation

Accommodation in the city centre with bicycle facilities.

Double room in guesthouses or good three-stars hotels, subject to availability.

Catering

This stay is a perfect experience for all the gastronomically curious and gourmets : from AOC wines to local specialities, sweet delicacies and seafood, you will have the opportunity to enjoy a different restaurant every day.

Level of difficulty: easy to medium

No particular difficulties.
A certain level of physical fitness is nevertheless a prerequisite. Average stage length: 30 to 40 km per day (optionally up to 50 km on day 4) with a few climbs. Not suitable for speed bikes.
Luggage transport: You will only need to carry the essentials for the day and your picnic. Your luggage will be brought to the corresponding accommodation every evening.

How to get there?

We recommend an environmentally friendly journey by taking the train to the SNCF station in Lyon or Vienne.

It is possible to bring bikes on the train. For more information, visit the Vélo SNCF website.

About ViaRhôna

The ViaRhôna is a 815km long French section of EuroVelo 17, an international long-distance cycle route with a total length of 1,050km. It follows the course of the Rhône from Andermatt in Switzerland, to the shores of the Mediterranean in southern France.

Most of this "Rhône Route" is in France and covers 8 departments (Rhône, Isère, Drôme, Ardèche, Vaucluse, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône and Hérault) and 3 regions (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur).

The route itself was inaugurated in 2020 after two decades of construction. The route is well indicated with numerous EuroVelo signs and ViaRhôna logos. Please beware that, as it alternates between safe cycling routes ( 60%) and secundary roads shared with motorised vehicles (40%).

Do you want to know more? Read our article about the 10 long distance cycle routes, EuroVelo.

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