Charlotte shares her Ventoux cycling tour, from Châteauneuf-du-Pape to the villages of Vaucluse. For 6 days, she follows small roads through vineyards, the Dentelles de Montmirail, the Nesque Gorges and the Sault plateau. Her story recounts the stages as she experienced them: the landscapes, the breaks and the pleasure of finding her luggage at the hotel. A practical way to discover this circuit before setting off on your own.
Day 1: Arrival in Châteauneuf-du-Pape
First there is the light… the light of Provence, intense and gentle at once, then there is Châteauneuf-du-Pape. At the mere mention of this name, my taste buds race for the velvet of nectar, at once powerful and unique, like the Avignon Popes of the 14th century who built a secondary residence here and above all one of the most beautiful vineyards of the Côtes du Rhône.
Perched on its hill, overlooking the Rhône valley, at the foot of the old fortress, Châteauneuf is a charming village. We are captivated.
Day 2: from Châteauneuf-du-Pape to Vaison la Romaine (45 km)
This morning, adventure awaits us, it’s the big departure for our first stage: 45 km cycling to Vaison la Romaine.
Our bikes are ready, handling them is surprisingly easy, we fill our saddlebags with the essentials and leave our suitcases at reception, we will find them in Vaison la Romaine at the end of our stage.
The first metres on the bike are wonderful, no need to pedal even. Nose in the air, one eye on the road, the other on the landscape, the holidays begin!
The vineyard is atypical, covered in large pebbles, the brown and ochre soil promises exceptional terroir, that is the entire singularity of Châteauneuf.
The small roads are really beautiful, through the vineyards, we begin to see the village of Gigondas, with the Dentelles de Montmirail as a backdrop. From afar one imagines small milk teeth of porcelain enamel planted above the verdant massif. The white limestone catches the sunlight in a striking way.
Gigondas © Charlotte Laventureux
The village of Gigondas is really beautiful, we decide to take a short tasting break there, yes, there is no time limit for exceptional wines. Then we resume our journey through the vineyard, in the shadow of the Dentelles de Montmirail.
Around a bend, a “wow” comes out of my mouth at the sight of Sablet. Perched on the hill, with its stone houses, the village is absolutely beautiful!
Village of Sablet © AdobeStock
Then it’s Séguret’s turn to impress us, this charming little town clinging to the mountainside seems to be levitating, so much beauty… We decide to find ourselves a quiet little corner, with a view of this sublime panorama to eat our picnic. The view is so beautiful that it deserves to take the time to appreciate it at its true worth.
The small roads leading us to Vaison are calm and really pleasant, the sun in this early afternoon becomes more intense and we begin to feel the effects of the effort. Vaison is not much farther now, we are living the last kilometres of this stage in joy, admiring the beauty of olive trees with their silvery-green foliage, in this June, we can already observe the tiny olives that will become fleshy soon, thanks to the summer sun… My mind is already drifting towards the well-deserved aperitif at the end of the day…
Vaison la Romaine © Charlotte Laventureux
Day 3: from Vaison la Romaine to Aurel (41 km)
This morning, it’s market day in Vaison la Romaine, and we take the opportunity to fill our saddle bags with local delicacies for our lunch break. We also buy some gifts and postcards. It’s a true pleasure, that of travel… the strawberries have a delicious fragrance, and we eat them like sweets, the apricots are juicy and sweet. We set off laden with our purchases with much enthusiasm for this new day beginning.
The road is magnificent through the Toulourenc Gorges, we gain some height on the Veaux Pass, the beauty of the road and the landscapes unfolding before our eyes make us forget the effort for a moment.
Toulourenc Gorges © Charlotte Laventureux
Here we are at the summit, we take a few minutes to admire the landscape and breathe in the scent of boxwood and scrubland. All around us rise verdant peaks and, in our sights, majestic Mont Ventoux.
We encounter far more bicycles than cars, which makes the road particularly pleasant.
I love the climbs because they are always the promise of beautiful and long descents, the Veaux Pass climb is no exception, we coast downhill to the bottom of the valley as far as Saint Léger du Ventoux. The branches of cherry trees are sagging under the weight of ripe fruit. We stop by the roadside, in front of Jean’s little ephemeral shop, to enjoy his beautiful juicy and sweet cherries. This gives us a little boost for the rest of the route.
Following the water, we trace the bed of the Toulourenc admiring the stone villages overlooking our lovely road.
Already Aurel is taking shape before us: we are arriving on the lavender lands of the Sault plateau.
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Day 4: from Aurel to the Sault plateau (30 to 40 km)
Always this extraordinary light. I woke up before the sun, just to be able to admire the fiery orb ablaze the sky with its first incandescent rays. The day fulfilled its promises, we rode in a full dream, lavender fields as far as the eye can see, the subtle fragrance of flowers mixed with pine, thyme and wild rosemary.
Lavender field on the road © Charlotte Laventureux
Lavender is one of the characteristic crops of the Sault plateau. We had lunch at a restaurant and tasted a lavender crème brûlée.
The road is magnificent, ‘the giant of Provence’, Mont Ventoux is omnipresent with its imposing stature and its bare summit, recognisable among all.
The giant of Provence in the distance © Charlotte Laventureux
There are few words capable of describing the joy of riding among the lavender fields in this open landscape.
The visit to the lavender distillery is a beautiful discovery; we understood the delicacy of the flowers and all the care that must be given to them at each stage of the extraction process of the various active principles that compose them. A small cultural and sensory break that we greatly appreciated.
This day was perfect in many ways; the weather, colours, and scents of this landscape filled us with joy!
Day 5: from Aurel to Venasque (45 km)
We leave Aurel behind us and follow the lavender fields to Sault, perched facing Mount Ventoux. The village serves as the starting point for one of the cycling climbs to the summit. We encounter many cyclists preparing their long climb. For our part, we head down into the Nesque Gorges.
Nesque Gorges © AdobeStock
The landscape is spectacular. The viewpoints are impressive over the enclosed valley and the watercourse that we can make out at the base of the limestone cliffs. We barely pedal, with our noses in the air we enjoy the beauty of the setting and the gentle slope of the road that winds along the cliff face.
Mount Ventoux gradually recedes but its imposing silhouette is always present, reassuring; we have been able to admire each of its facets over the last few days.
We leave the lavenders and enter the AOC Ventoux vineyard.
AOC Ventoux Vineyard © Charlotte Laventureux
The heat of this June afternoon in Provence is pleasant; we take a little “sunscreen” break in front of a tasting cellar door. We decide to enter to taste the wines and come out with 2 bottles of wine that we carefully wedge into our saddlebags.
Venasque is worth earning; we didn’t know it, nestled on a rocky promontory at 600 m altitude, the last hairpin turns weighted down by our wine bottles are our challenge of the day. But what joy and what satisfaction once we arrive at the top; the view is unobstructed over the valley revealing a thousand shades, from the silvery green of the olive trees to the dark green of the pines. Once again, the light of Provence illuminates our hearts while our heart rate comes down.
Venasque has the very particular charm of fortified squares in Provence, proudly standing on rocky peaks; the houses with golden stones and artists' studios invite wandering. The night will be gentle and calm up there.
Day 6: from Venasque to Châteauneuf du Pape (38 to 40 km)
Our Ventoux bottles are in our luggage; they will be transported to Châteauneuf du Pape where we will find them this evening. In the meantime, we happily resume our bikes for a final stage. We begin our day with a delicious descent. The road, lined with vines, olives, cherry trees and other fruit trees, leads us serenely towards the Rhône valley.
Fruit trees along the road © Charlotte Laventureux
Upon our arrival in Pernes les Fontaines, we quickly decide to explore the town and let ourselves be guided by the tourist route, like a little treasure hunt, or rather, a hunt for fountains. The heat of the midday sun is bearable amid all these lovely fountains, as beautiful as they are refreshing. We take advantage of a final lunch on the terrace to enjoy a glass of Ventoux rosé and a dish with Provençal flavors. There we are, ready for our final cycling stage. Beautiful Provence keeps its promises to the very end, with abundant nature and charm in every village. Having arrived in Bédarrides, somewhat worn down by the heat, we rest our panniers in a village café. We are not the only cyclists: it is amusing to see so many helmets on the tables next to fresh beers, and the ungainly gaits imposed by the metal cleats under the shoes of experienced cyclists.
Refreshed and invigorated by our break, we set off on our final kilometres to reach the summit of Châteauneuf du Pape. This evening we will savour our final dinner, accompanied no doubt by the delicate wines of Châteauneuf du Pape.
Cycling holidays have this wonderful quality – you feel alive on a bike and it always gives you a great appetite.
Already, we are thinking of future destinations to discover in this way…
Prepare your Ventoux bike tour
Grand Angle offers you this independent stay if you wish to discover the Ventoux tour of the “Giant of Provence” from every angle, with a package of 7 days and short, accessible stages of approximately 40km each.
If you wish to discover other Provençal regions by bike, the Luberon tour or the Provençal Drôme on their scenic roads are other options available to you.
Text and photo credit © Charlotte Laventureux
