Cro Magnon French Bike Tour from Lyon to Bordeaux

From the culinary capital of Lyon to the wine mecca of Bordeaux this tour meshes remarkable pre-historic sites with a gastronomic odyssey across southern France. This is our only single country Epic but is also defined by a remarkable diversity of cuisine, landscapes, and history along the route.

Our Cro Magnon bike trip through France takes us on a journey into prehistory as we join the dots between the cave art of Cro Magnon. Cro-Magnon refers to the population of early Homo sapiens dating from the Upper Paleolithic Period (c. 40,000 to c. 10,000 years ago) in Europe and provides the primary focus for this tour. We start at the Chauvet cave in the Ardeche region; its painting has been carbon-dated to 32,000 years ago. From here we head south along the Rhone River and through Provence and the Languedoc as we head to the ‘capital’ of prehistory – Les Eyzies-de-Tayac in the Dordogne. It was here that Édouard Lartet discovered the five archaeological layers in a shallow cave that demonstrated the evolutionary path of mankind. Rouffignac with it’s mammoth, Font de Gaume and Cap Blanc are just three of the amazing cave sites that we’ll visit here. If you would prefer a cycling tour with a broader focus, you may prefer to browse our range of European Cycling Tours or perhaps head further afield to our Cycling Tours in the US.

We then cycle westwards to perhaps the best-known cave site at Lascaux (images from which are shown below). Discovered by four teenagers in 1940, this site is considered by many to be the most impressive example of pre-historic cave art. The original cave is now closed to the public due to the damaging impact of carbon dioxide in human breath but the replica that is situated on the same site is a wonderful representation in its own right.

Further highlights of this cycling holiday in France include a meeting with Monsieur Begouen who owns the Grotte des 3 Frères and a visit to the Gargas cave that is otherwise known as the ‘Hands Cave’. Our trip specialist – Vincent Reboul – has spent years planning this tour and has a network of contacts at all of these cave sites that adds an extra immersive dimension to the tour experience.

Highlights

• Savour the culinary credentials of the exciting city of Lyon
• Cycle down the majestic Rhone Valley
• View the amazing figurative images of the Chauvet cave
• Canoe through the spectacular Gorges de l’Ardèche
• Cross the wild and enchanting Cevennes region
• Discover the gigantic spotted horses of the Pech Merle cave
• Explore Saint-Cirq-Lapopie – one of France’s ‘most beautiful villages’.
• Savour the amazing Wednesday market in Sarlat
• Visit the extraordinary replica of the Lascaux cave
• Stay in the enchanting town of Bergerac
• Sample the delights of the wonderful Monbazillac wine
• View the remarkable Gargas cave which is known as the ‘hands cave’
• Cycle the road less travelled through the Dordogne region
• Celebrate the end of our tour in St Emilion and Bordeaux