Roman Roads of France & Italy

Roman Roads of France & Italy - 4 weeks
Southern France (Bordeaux & the Dordogne, the Cévennes, Provence)
& Italy (Tuscany)

On this page, you'll find...
Our Trips
Overview Map
of all of our routes

Departure Calendar
of our regular trips
What's Included
in the Trip Cost
Additional Services
you can add to the bike trip.

Everybody’s dream, it seems: biking in vineyards first planted by Romans, through soft hills, by Mediterranean shores. The smell of lavender, characteristic lines of dark cypress on white limestone hills....

Communities organized 2,000 years ago still operate on their original city charters. Battles fought in the 16th century prevent today’s marriages between adjoining valleys. Arrow-straight roads laid out by legionnaires are now farm lanes and cycle paths. Time lines are different in this part of the world. Things here feel as if they have always been, and will always be.

Southwestern France is dotted with castles that are the relics of religious wars fought into the 18th century. Today they offer some of the most beautiful cycling in Europe, married to one of her great cuisines.

On to Provence, where climate and terrain soften, tomatoes and rosemary appear in the sauces. A kingdom once located between France and Italy, and which joined the former, reveals colors, styles (and politics) which we associate with the latter.

Finally to Tuscany: Pisa, Siena, and the definition of a soft landscape everywhere between. Olive groves, fortified hill towns, and hearty chiantis lead us to Florence, where the ghosts of the Medici accompany bikeless ramblings. . . .
Roman Roads of France & Italy
2008 Dates
Baggage Services Offered*
(optional)
Trip Prices
May 4 - May 31
Trip Full

Half
Lite
$6,075, US or C

3,950€

Prices in $ and € do not include precisely the same things. Click here for details, and for prices of optional extras (private single rooms, baggage services, “Access Packages”).
May 17 - June 14

Daily
Half
Lite
August 31 - Sept. 26
(This departure visits Tuscany, the Dordogne the Cévennes, and Provence, in that order)
Daily
Half
Lite
Sept. 6 - Oct. 4

Daily
Half
Lite

* At least 4 riders must subscribe to a given baggage service for it to operate (except for Lite, which always operates on this trip). Services already confirmed to be operating appear in bold. If the “Daily” service is confirmed, the “Half” service may no longer be offered to future sign-ups, though it will be provided to those who have previously selected it. See here for a discussion of our baggage services.


Sample Thumbnail Trip Itinerary
For details within each region, click on the name under “Region Visited.”
Please note: some departures may visit the different regions in a different order, as noted.
Days
Days of the Week
Region Visited
 Details
1
Sa
Meet in Libourne
Our Access Packages offer options for reaching the trip start.
August 31 trip meets in Pisa on Sunday, and starts riding in Tuscany.
1 - 8
Sa - Mo
 Pomerol, St.-Emilion
Mo - We
 The Dordogne Valley
We - Sa
 Hilltowns, Cro-Magnon Caves of the Perigord
8 - 15
Sa & Su
 The Upper Dordogne, Rocamadour
Su - Tu
 The Lot Valley
Tu - Sa
 Gorgeous Biking (yuk, yuk)
16 - 21
Su & Mo
 Nimes & Arles
Mo & Tu
 The Alpilles, Melons
We - Fr
 The Luberon
22
Sa
Italian Riviera train to Pisa
23 - 29
Su - Tu
 San Gimignano, the Elsa Valley
Tu - Th
 Siena, Colline Sienese
Fr & Sa
 Chianti, to Florence
Trip disbands Sa, upon arrival in Florence.
Access Package includes a Sa night hotel and Su ongoing travel.
Aug. 31 trip disbands in Aix-en-Provence, at the end of a riding day on Friday.
30
Su
Travel Date