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

On this page, you'll find...

• ...a presentation of the trip,
• a thumbnail itinerary with links to detailed descriptions of the itineraries that we follow in each of the regions visited, and...
• ...the trip prices and departure dates.
  
  

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. . . .