Rhône cycle path (3)

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.

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 change banks of the Rhône several times over impressive suspension bridges. The cycle path then leads to the former episcopal town of Viviers. Behind the 12th century cathedral, you can enjoy a magnificent view over the Rhône valley. In the floodplain forests that follow, it becomes quiet, 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 stretches impressively over the Rhône. The destination, however, is the town of Orange with its famous Roman theatre and the town foundation arch, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

In Caderousse, whose surrounding dykes protect the Provençal hamlet from possible floods of the Rhone, the route goes along the ViaRhôna through the famous wine-growing region of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The path 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 with a visit to the Palace of the Popes, which has been declared a World Heritage Site.

On your final stage you casually cycle through glowing yellow sunflower fields, apple orchards and peach plantations, past tomato- and basil fields.