info@french-biketours.com
Highlights:
You individually travel to Sarlat. If there's some time left take a walk around the town. Sarlat is a medieval town that developed around a large Benedictine abbey of Carolingian origin. The medieval Sarlat Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Sacerdos. Because modern history has largely passed it by, Sarlat has remained preserved and one of the towns most representative of 14th century France. A bustling market in Sarlat takes place on Saturday and Wednesday.
Enjoy your evening in Sarlat, which is actually the nice time of the day to visit this famous mediaeval town. The hive and the heat of the day is gone, and all monuments are beautifully lite.
For your first cycling day on the bike, the distance will be short because there are so many sites to visit.
The village of Beynac with its imposing château, the château of Castelnaud, the gardens of Marqueyssac, the village of Roque Gageac “glued” against the rocky sides or the Dordogne river etc etc . Make your pick and enjoy the day full of cultural heritage.
Challenge: 42 km, 831m ascent, 889m descent
(or plan an extra day with a leisurely canoë trip on the Dordogne, which we highly recommend!)
Today you are heading for Monpazier. A well-deserved leisurely afternoon is waiting for you around the pool. Maybe a visit to Chateau Les Millandes in the morning? This Castle, once owned by the famous singer / entertainer Josephine Baker, now houses a very interesting retrospective on her life. Monpazier is a little mediaeval town, which did hardly change over the last 700 years……. Built in 1284 on the orders of King Edward I as a “bastide”, a fortified town, one can still see houses out of that period. The mediaeval central market square is a gem and often used as a set for historic movie shoots. Monpazier is member of the “plus beaux villages de France”, an organization of “most beautiful villages of France”, your base for tonight.
Challenge: 48 km, 765m ascent, 659m descent
(or you can add an extra day in Monpazier, wher we can add a cycling roundtrip from Monpazier to the Castle of Biron - 40km)
After breakfast you might want to take another stroll through Monpazier before heading off to Trémolat. After 15 km you will find yourself in the small village of St. Avit Seigneur with its impressive abbey. Then head out to Molières, a medieval Bastide town which was never finished. Also, the Cloister of Cadouin, your next village, is worth a visit. Some centuries ago this cloister was a pilgrimage destination with thousands and thousands of visitors. Maybe you want to have lunch here before continuing your trip. First with a nice stretch through the woods and then via tiny hamlets crossing the Dordogne to the village of Limeuil another member of “les plus beaux villages de France” and rightfully so. This village of 350 residents is at the confluent of the Dordogne and the Vézère rivers. A lovely spot for a break!
Challenge: 49 km, 626m ascent, 738m descent
Leaving Limeuil you continue peacefully on new greenway along the Vézère river to the livelier town of Le Bugue (you might want to have lunch stop here), you are heading to Les Eyzies de Tayac, the center of the Prehistoric sites in the area, with its National Prehistoric museum. A great detour of a few km is possible to discover on the other side of the Vézère the troglodyte preshistoric village of La Madeleine in Tursac.
Challenge: 43,50 km, 636m ascent, 685m descent
Today is dedicated to all the prehistoric heritage in the Dordogne area. You will follow the Vézère river upstream till the charming village of Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère before you reach in Montignac with its world-famous Lascaux caves. Cycling distance are bit shorter today to give you ample opportunity to visit.
Challenge: 35,50 km, 696m ascent, 692m descent
Today you are returning to the beautiful town of Sarlat.
Cycling over the backroads of the typical French countryside to Sarlat via the magnificent gardens of the Château Eyrignac. These are a must visit: typical French gardens. Enjoy your evening in Sarlat, which is actually the nice time of the day to visit this famous mediaeval town. The hive and the heat of the day is gone, and all monuments are beautifully lite.
Challenge: 46,50 km, 611m ascent, 546m descent
End of your trip after breakfast. We advise you to extend your stay in order to take the time to visit the beautiful city of Sarlat.
All accommodations are carefully selected for their location, atmosphere and/or unique services.
We choose comfortable 3*/4* hotels or B&Bs where all rooms have private en-suite bathrooms and every morning breakfasts are included.
If you would like to find out more about the star rating system in France, please check out this page.
If you don’t bring your own, you can rent a bicycle (hybrid or ebike) from us. You will find your rental bikes waiting for you at your first hotel. The hotel reception staff will give you the keys for your bikes and direct you to the bicycle shed. All bikes are provided with chain locks. The frame and saddle height are set to your height, although you might want to adjust your saddle to be in the most comfortable position. We also recommend doing a first small test drive of couple of hundred meters to be comfortable with gears, brakes etc. If you have an issue with your bike, you can contact the service provider (name of bike rental in your reservation) directly. Or you can always call us on our emergency phone number.
Our hybrid touring bikes are at least 21-speed gear. You can find all the information regarding our rental bikes below.
Experience the advantages of an electric bike on your cycling holiday, particularly when there's a significant gap in ability and experience among cyclists. An e-bike provides a gentle boost up hills, allowing you to easily keep pace with your companions. With a small electric motor and battery, e-bikes make bike trips more achievable, and their batteries can be conveniently charged at hotels. While you still need to pedal, the e-bike significantly reduces the effort required. Familiarity with e-bikes is advised due to their quicker acceleration and heavier build compared to regular bikes, attributed to the electric motor.
Please note: Depending on the trip, different models apply
Our hybrid bikes have at least 21-gears with hand brakes.
The hybrid bikes are very good quality. Depending the trip, different model apply: Scott, Giant, Trek, Koga, ...
Whenever there is a big difference in level of ability, experience the many benefits of an electric bike on your cycling holiday. An e-bike will help you keep up with your fellow cyclists and give you a gentle boost up hills. An e-bike makes a bike trip more achievable. The e-bikes have a small electric motor and battery, which can be charged at the hotels. You still have to pedal: it just makes pedaling much easier. Some experience with e-bikes is recommended, as the bikes accelerate faster and are heavier than regular bikes because of the electric motor.
The E-bikes are very good quality. Depending on the trip, different models apply: Scott, Giant, Trek, Koga, ...
For some trips, we can give you the possibility to rent a Racing bike, more details on request.
For some trips, we can give you the possibility to rent a Tandem bike, suitable for two adults only. More details on request.
For children who are at least 125 cm, we can also arrange bikes (these are 24”or 26” for children that are bigger than 140 cm). The child bikes come with at least 7-gears and hand brakes. The maximum body height for a child’s bike is 155 cm.
Please note: for some tours, different models apply.
A tag-along bike is a good option for children between approx. 100 cm and 125 cm, as they can pedal themselves and at their own pace but don’t have to worry about other traffic.
The tag-along bikes cannot be rented for all our tours
Please note: depending the trip, different models apply.
Child trailers can be rented for a maximum of two children who are up to 100 cm (max. 35 KG in total).
Please note: for some tours, different models apply.
All our rental bikes come with a bell.
All our adult bikes come with hand brakes.
For children older than 30 months (max. 22 kg) it is possible to rent a rear child seat. This is also possible with e-bikes.
For some tours, it is possible to rent a GPS device, more details on request.
Helmets are not mandatory in France (if the cyclist is over 12 years old) but strongly recommended. The helmet is mandatory for children under 12 years. If you rent a bike with us, helmets are included. Please advise us, if you bring along your own.
All our rental bikes come with lights.
All our rental bikes come with a lock.
All our rental bikes come with at least a rear pannier and with a handlebar bag to put a roadbook/map if you wish.
The rental bikes come with regular pedals, so no click-in/SPD pedals. On request we are able to supply these pedals on certain trips.
If you wish to bring your own click-in/SPD pedals, please let us know prior to booking too.
All our bikes come with a quick release system, which makes it very easy to adjust the height of the saddle and the handle bars.
There is one small puncture kit included, which can be found in the pannier. If a rental bike has another problem, we always advise you to go to a bike repair shop.
Saddles can be adjusted in height.
Our saddles don’t come with a gel cover. If you usually cycle with this, we recommend you bring them with you.
French Bike Tours does not provide water bottles. We can also not guarantee that there are bottle holders on the bikes. You will always receive at least 1x pannier, so you can always store your water bottle in your pannier.
Article 1 Bike Rental Price
The bike rental price is determined by the rates mentioned on the French Bike Tours website at the time of the booking; or as subsequently agreed.
Article 2 Payment
a. The rental price and any other due sums regarding the rental agreement must be paid before the bike is handed over to you.
b. If, for whatever reason, you cannot make use of the bike(s) you have rented, French Bike Tours will not be held responsible for any resulting expenses or damage.
c. In the case of the article 2b, the client remains obliged to pay the full rental price and any other amounts mentioned in the invoice, in accordance with our General Terms and Conditions of Booking, unless the client can prove that his not being able to use the bike was the consequence of a defect that was already present at the beginning of the rental period.
Article 3 Rental Period
a. The rental period runs from the morning of the first cycling day (day 2) to the end of the holiday (last cycling day), as stated in the booking confirmation.
b. Extension of the rental period is possible only after approval by us and according to the (extension) rates as mentioned in article 1.
c. No refunds are possible after the rental period begins. If you return the bike(s) to us before the end of your holiday, the rental agreement will automatically be terminated and you will not get any of your money back.
d. At the end of the last cycling day of your holiday, the bike(s) must be returned to the hotel from where it was/they were issued, no later than the time stated in the booking confirmation.
If you book a one way tour tour you can leave the bike at the last hotel of the trip.
e. If the bike(s) is /are not returned by the return time stated in the booking confirmation, we will continue to charge you rent until such time as the bike(s) is/are returned to us or is/are received by us. In the event of late return, the rates as mentioned in article 1 will continue to apply, plus a fine of €25 per day. We also reserve the right to demand payment for any costs and/or damages suffered by us due to late return of our rental bike(s).
f. Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, in the event of late return of our rental bikes, we reserve the right to dissolve the rental agreement without judicial intervention and immediately claim back our bicycles where ever they may be and from whomever has them. French Bike Tours also holds this right in the event that the client does not comply with any of the other conditions stated in this rental agreement.
Article 4 Improper Use
a. The bicycle(s) may only be used for its/their intended purpose and only by the cyclists listed in the rental agreement.
b. The bike(s) must be returned to us in the same (clean!) state in which you received it/them.
c. You must take excellent care of the bicycle(s), as if it/they were your own. You must take every precaution against damage, loss or theft.
d. The bicycle may not be used on the beach; or on sandy paths in the dunes unless a paved path is unavailable.
Article 5 Damage, Loss and Theft
The renter will be held responsible for damages to or loss of the bicycle(s) or parts of it, as well as bicycle keys and chains and locks, for such an amount as is determined by us according to standard market prices. You must understand that you are not insured for damage to the bicycle(s) or for any damages to third parties.
Article 6 Costs During the Rental Period
Any charges and taxes regarding the rental bicycle(s), such as fines and ferry tickets, are to be paid by you. You will also be required to pay all costs ensuing from the use of the bicycle(s) such as parking fees, maintenance and repairs.
7 Nights included
3/4 Star Hotels
Tourist tax included
Breakfast included every morning
3 dinners (day 2, 3, 4)
Maps and tourist information on all the places of interest
24/7 Bilingual Emergency hotline
Luggage transport to your next accommodations. Luggage accepted per person: 1 suitcase or travel bag (20 kg maximum)
For time tables and further information check the website of SNCF or rome2rio for all French National trains (SNCF).
We strongly advise you to download the sncf mobile app prior to departure.
If you want to travel on a train with your bike, you can find more information via this link.
We will supply the directions of this trip with a personalized code which gives you access to our travel App.
When booked in advance, transfers from/to airport or trainstation is possible:
The best airport of arrival is Bergerac airport, which is also served by several low cost companies. Transfer from Bergerac airport to Sarlat and back € 170,--. 50% surcharge on Sundays and public holidays.
Also, possibility of arrival in Bordeaux or Toulouse airport.
You can get to Bergerac by train.
Transfer from train station of Bergerac to Sarlat and back € 170,--.To be paid on the spot to driver. 50% surcharge on Sundays and public holidays.
For timetables and further information check the website of SNCF or rome2rio for all French National trains (SNCF).
From Paris to Sarlat (approx. 5h33- 528km/329mi). Acces to driving routes see the website ViaMichelin.
55, rue Saint Jacques
24540 Monpazier
France
info@french-biketours.com
+33 (0)5 53 24 22 10
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