Cycling and walking tour in France by rail
| country: | France |
| trip type: | Introductory cycling holidays |
| departures: | 2010: 21 Aug, 18 Sep 2011: 20 Aug, 17 Sep |
| price: | From £899 - £941 (8 days) including flights from the UK, from £630 - £660 excluding flights. Single supplement £196. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Cycling and walking tour in France by rail
From the Languedoc to Roussillon
We start in the historic town of Narbonne, formerly the capital of Rome's first settlement in Gaul. Today its restored medieval quarter and dominating cathedral makes it an interesting place to soak up something of the atmosphere of its halcyon days and learn a little of the fascinating history of this region. We walk through wooded hillsides to the Abbey of Fontfroide, a beautifully restored 12th century Romanesque structure, before taking to our bikes with a route that passes the lakes of Bages and Peyriac where there is an abundance of wildlife including, on occasion, flamingos.
Along the Canal du Midi
We cycle from Narbonne to Beziers, through a quintessential rural landscape of farms and traditional villages, to the Canal du Midi, a feat of engineering that links the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. One of the highlights of the entire canal system is the famous nine locks at Fonseranes, near Beziers, one of the most popular attractions in the entire Languedoc-Roussillon region. After a walking tour of Beziers, we travel by train to our overnight stop, Avignon.
To Beautiful Provence & Cevennes
Magnificent buildings like the Pope's Palace in Avignon and the Roman theatres of Orange and Nimes give way to wonderful rural France at its best! Walking in the vine covered hillsides and along the herb scented tracks of the Dentelles de Montmirail, we reach the wine producing villages of Seguret and Gigondas for outstanding views and a chance to enjoy their Grenache wines. We then travel by train to Nimes and on to Arles where we discover this historic city on foot. Continuing our journey, we walk in the stunning scenery of the Cevennes and the south-eastern defences of the Massif Central. It is here we find St Jean du Gard. The area was the centre of Protestant resistance during the Camisard wars (1702-04) and journeys end for Robert Louis Stevenson's "Travels with a Donkey".
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Train from London to Narbonne via Paris and Lyon. |
| Day 2: | AM walk to Abbey de Fontfroide; PM cycle to Narbonne. |
| Day 3: | Cycle to Beziers alongside Canal du Midi; PM walking tour of town; train to Avignon. |
| Day 4: | AM visit to Pope's Palace and Pont Benezet; PM train to Orange. |
| Day 5: | AM walk to Gigondas, wine tasting; PM cycle to Orange. |
| Day 6: | Transfer to Ales by train, via Nimes with walking tour. |
| Day 7: | Transfer to St Jean du Gard; circular walk; return to Ales. |
| Day 8: | Train from Ales to London via Nimes and Paris. |
award winner
This tourism business won an Award in our 2008 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market, Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society and BBC World News.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. how this holiday makes a difference
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Environment
Through all the debate over the relative environmental merits of different forms of transport, it is generally accepted that rail travel is a lower carbon option than flying. Conscious of our impact on the environment, our rail tour eliminates flights completely from the itinerary. Furthermore, by opting to travel on public trains and accomplishing most of our sightseeing and exploring on foot and bicycle we are drastically reducing the reliance on privately chartered transport within our tour. All travel has impacts. We are confident this tour keeps those to a minimum. We also aim to minimise our impact on the environment through our tour operation by trying to get out on foot or bike as much as possible. We and our suppliers work to the strict environmental guidelines laid out in our Responsible Tourism policy, governing how we deal with waste and operate walks to minimise our impacts. All leaders are trained in responsible tourism matters too and take the lead in this key area. Community Train travel is a great way to meet local people at get a more personal experience of travel in their country. This is an excellent opportunity to get chatting, so we do encourage you to try a few words of French! Though you will need to drink plenty on this tour, we encourage you not to buy bottled water due to the waste this generates. Tap water is perfectly drinkable in this area so bring your own water bottle. Ensuring that local people benefit from tourism is core to our philosophy and relevant to all countries, regardless of the level of development. We use locally owned transport and hotels and try to spread our custom to a variety of local restaurants. It’s not just good for the local communities; we believe you get a better experience as a result. As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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