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 begin 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 from 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.

Make your first stop in the charming village of Villeneuve d'Aveyron . Founded in the mid-11th century around a monastery and successively a fortified village, a county town, and then a royal stronghold at the end of the 13th century, Villeneuve boasts a remarkable heritage to be admired at leisure. Its church, blending Romanesque and Gothic architecture, contains murals from the early 14th century. These notably depict the legend of the hanged man/man freed from his duties, a 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 "Mounine Leap"  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, depart for the Limogne plateau. This is a beautiful stage that will allow you to discover the Vauclusian resurgence of the Lantouy chasm, a surprising place steeped in legends. Then venture onto the Martiel dolmen trail to discover megaliths over 4000 years old.

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

After this well-deserved break, other remarkable sites await you: the old fortified Cistercian abbey of Loc-Dieu and its park , Laramière and its old priory, the beehive house of Promilhanes , the windmill of La Bosse, Beauregard and its old market hall with a solid timber frame covered in slates, before arriving at Saint-Projet where Queen Margot's castle is located .

In the afternoon, we crossed the Bonette valley, passing through typical villages and picturesque landscapes: Loze, Lacapelle Livron, which grew up around a Templar Commandery, the chapel of Notre Dame de Grâce, the petrifying waterfall and the Notre Dame de Livron sanctuary nestled in a green cirque, 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 heritage treasures: the house of wolves and its "gargoyles", the church and the Zadkine Christ…

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 trip, head towards Najac ! A charming bastide town perched on a rocky outcrop, Najac overlooks the Aveyron gorges. Built by the Counts of Toulouse on the site of a former 12th-century fortified castle, its fortress remains a testament 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 late 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 hopping on your bikes, take some time to visit the village and the royal fortress of Najac if you wish, then head towards Monteils where you'll discover a 16th-century church, an old wash house, and above all, a must-see of the Rouergue region: the Carles farm . There, you'll find an exhibition of antique copperware and the option of a meal at "La Table Paysanne" (The Peasant Table) . The food is cooked in a traditional copper cauldron over 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 the perfect day to enjoy Villefranche-de-Rouergue . It's market day , and the market is one of the best in the region! Make the most of the town 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.