Bastides and Gorges of Aveyron by bike

Day 1: Arrival in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, in the heart of the Grand Site Occitanie Bastides and Gorges de l'Aveyron

Villefranche-de-Rouergue

How to get here

You can choose to arrive by car or by train at Villefranche de Rouergue SNCF station.

To start your stay, you drop off your luggage at your first accommodation, in the heart of Villefranche de Rouergue. If you arrive early enough, you can stroll through the streets of the Bastide discovering the beautiful squares and houses of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Night and breakfast in a guesthouse or hotel depending on availability.

Day 2: Villefranche-de-Rouergue / Villeneuve d'Aveyron / Prehistoric cave of Foissac / Cajarc

Direction Cajarc for this second day of your cycling holiday. Along your itinerary, we recommend that you visit several unmissable sites in the Bastides and Gorges de l'Aveyron destination.

Take a first break in the charming village of Villeneuve d'Aveyron. Founded in the middle of the XNUMXth century around a monastery and successively saved, county bastide, then royal bastide at the end of the XNUMXth century, Villeneuve is endowed with a remarkable heritage to contemplate without moderation. Its church combining Romanesque and Gothic architecture, conceals mural paintings from the beginning of the XNUMXth century. These represent in particular the legend of the hanged man/depended in reference to the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

Lunch break or picnic possible in the village.

Second stop of the day: lhe prehistoric caves of Foissac, natural jewel of Aveyron. Then go to Montsalès where you can visit the La Tour art gallery. Then, overlook the cliffs of the “Jump of the Mounine”  for a superb view of the Lot River.

Your stage for the day will end in the Lot valley at Cajarc, labeled “Site Remarquable du Goût” for its production of Quercy Saffron. Opportunity to visit the Georges and Claude Pompidou House of Arts, center for contemporary art.

Dinner, night and breakfast in a hotel or bed and breakfast.

Elevation of the stage: + 772m / – 877m.

Day 3: Cajarc / Cistercian Abbey of Loc Dieu / Loze / Caylus

After breakfast, departure for the Causse de Limogne. It is a very beautiful stage which will make you discover the Vaucluse resurgence of the Gouffre de Lantouy, a surprising place full of legends. Then venture on the trail of dolmens of Martiel to discover megaliths over 4000 years old.

Lunch break or picnic possible at Bannac Lake, a beautiful quiet and relaxing place.

After this well-deserved break, other remarkable sites await you: the former fortified Cistercian abbey of Loc-Dieu and its park, Laramière and its former priory, the house-apiary of Promilhanes, the Bosse windmill, Beauregard and its old hall with a solid frame covered in slate to get to Saint-Projet where the castle of Queen Margot.

In the afternoon, crossing the Bonette valley, typical villages and picturesque landscapes: Loze, Lacapelle Livron which was created around a Commandery of Templars, the chapel of Notre Dame de Grâce, the petrifying waterfall and Our Lady of Livron sanctuary nestled in a circle of greenery, before reaching the village of Caylus for the evening...

Dinner, night and breakfast in a guest room.

Elevation of the stage: + 950m / – 900m.

Day 4: Caylus / Cas Castle / Bosc Cave / Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val

After breakfast, take the time to visit Caylus and its rich heritage: the house of wolves and its "gargoyles", the church and the Christ of Zadkine...

Then depart for Saint Antonin Noble Val ! On the way to the Aveyron gorges, you can visit cas castle and discover the family history of the Counts of Lastic.

A detour to Espinas will allow you to visit the Bosc caves before descending towards Saint Antonin Noble Val enjoying a superb view of the village.

Arrived at the medieval village of Saint Antonin Noble Val, stroll through the alleys of the emblematic heart of the Grand Site Occitanie Bastides and Gorges of Aveyron. Contemplate the old houses tangled along narrow streets, with their twin or mullioned windows, their Gothic or Romanesque arches, covered hall, old town hall from the XNUMXth century...

In the afternoon, take advantage of being at the heart of the open-air center " Gorges of the Aveyron by going down in a canoe-kayak or swimming.

Night and breakfast in a guest room in the heart of the village. Depending on the day, dinner at the table d'hôtes or in a restaurant in the village.

Elevation of the stage: + 310m / – 408m.

Day 5: Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val / Beaulieu Abbey / Deanery of Varen / Najac

For this 5th stage of your cycling holiday, head to Najac ! A delightful bastide perched on a peak, Najac overlooks the gorges of the Aveyron. Built by the Counts of Toulouse on an old XNUMXth century fortified castle, its fortress remains a witness to the military architectural genius of the Middle Ages.

Along the way, possibility to visit Notre-Dame de Beaulieu abbey in Rouergue, a former Cistercian abbey belonging to the center of national monuments and a venue for contemporary art exhibitions, the certified Quercy gardens “remarkable gardens” in Verfeil sur Seye and the deanery of Varen, former residence of the dean of the priory, characteristic of the defensive architecture of the end of the Middle Ages in Rouergue.
Here you will have the opportunity to have lunch in the old mill of the village or to picnic on the banks of the Aveyron, where you can swim.
Arrival in the afternoon at the medieval village of Najac, in the heart of the Grand Site Occitanie Bastides and Gorges of Aveyron.

Dinner, night and breakfast in a hotel or bed and breakfast.

Elevation of the stage: + 913m / – 715m.

Day 6: Najac / Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Before getting on your bikes, take the time to visit the village and the royal fortress from Najac if you wish, then departure to Monteils where you will discover a XNUMXth century church, an old wash house but also and above all a must-see in the Rouergat region: the carles farm. On site, exhibition of old brass instruments and possibility of meals at “The Peasant Table”. The cooking is done in the old-fashioned copper cauldron and on a wood fire, excellent!! In the afternoon, return to Villefranche-de-Rouergue.

Night and breakfast in a guesthouse or hotel depending on availability.

Elevation of the stage: + 640m / – 717m.

Day 7: Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Thursday is an ideal day to take advantage of Villefranche-de-Rouergue. Indeed, it is the day of Brive market, one of the most beautiful in the region! Make the most of the city and its monuments:

• la Chapel of the Black Penitents and its impressive Baroque decor;
• la Notre Dame Collegiate Church, its historiated stalls and its imposing bell tower-porch 58 meters high;
• the monastery of Charterhouse of Saint-Sauveur, its small cloister decorated with sculpted decorations and its large cloister of surprising dimensions.

Night and breakfast in a guesthouse or hotel depending on availability.