Cycling holidays ViaRhona 2: Lyon - Arles

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.

Already after just a few kilometres the futuristic museum ‚des Confluences’ appears with its spectacular location on an island at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône. There is a lot of traffic in the cities as well as Lyon. We recommend to go by train to Givor (not incl.). You follow the course of your ‚companion’, the river Rhône and soon you reach Vienne where you will stay tonight with its many remains of an ancient Roman colony. You will be impressed by the temple of Augustus and Livia and by the biggest Roman theatre in Gaul. One overnight in Saint Désirat.

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.

You cross the banks of the Rhône several times over impressive suspension bridges. The cycle route then continues to the former episcopal town of Viviers. Behind the cathedral, which dates back to the 12th century, you can enjoy a magnificent view over the Rhône valley. In the alluvial forests that follow, it becomes quiet and nothing can be heard except the whirring of the wheel spokes. In Bourg St. Andéol, picturesque houses from the 16th to 18th centuries characterise the old town directly on the Rhône. Along the way is the small town of Pont St Esprit, where a 600-year-old bridge with 25 arches impressively spans the Rhône. The destination, however, is the city of Orange with the famous Roman theatre and the city foundation arch, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

In Caderousse, whose surrounding dykes protect the small Provençal village from any flooding of the Rhone, you cycle along the ViaRhôna through the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine-growing region. The route leads through the vineyards directly along the slopes and offers beautiful viewpoints over the Rhone Valley. In Avignon, we recommend a stroll through the old town and a visit to the Palace of the Popes, which has been declared a World Heritage Site.

The route continues zigzagging through vineyards and orchards to the cycle path of the Pont du Gard bridge, which takes you traffic-free to the lively town of Beaucaire, at the crossroads between Languedoc and Provence. Past vegetable fields and orchards in this landscape criss-crossed by access roads to the old farmhouse Le Vieux Mas and irrigation canals. Roman culture and Romanesque heritage characterise the townscape and history of Arles. Arles was the second most important city of the Roman Empire, but is also the city of Vincent van Gogh.