COGNAC & ATLANTIC COAST BIKE TOUR

We will meet you at the Angouleme train station at a predetermined time before transferring you to your hotel in Cognac. In the afternoon we will take the opportunity to introduce you to the program and adjust your bike. In the late afternoon we explore this unique town settled along the Charente river. How many small French towns can boast, like Cognac, of being famous all over the world? Rich, bourgeois, historical, royal (François 1st was born there), Cognac is a special case in Charente. Cognac remains above all the city of the precious beverage where the great names (Hennessy, Otard, Martell…) have made the reputation of the town ! Wherever roofs and walls are blackened, it is the action of a fungus feeding on alcohol vapours, the angels’ share!

Meals: Dinner

Accomodation: Chais Monet 5* – Cognac

Todays let’s explore the Cognac terroir on our bikes, the well name “Grande Champagne” area. very often compared to Italian Tuscany. It is a country carved with hills jostling in all directions on which hangs a vineyard cultivated like a garden by the men who cultivate it. This afternoon we will visit the cellars and distillery of a large trading house in Cognac, which allows us to enter the intimate world of a great cognac name and offers an unprecedented sensory experience.

Meals: Breakfast · Picnic / Lunch · Dinner

Route: Option 1 : 60 km / 600 m Elevation Gain – Option 2 : 70 km / 700 m Elevation Gain

Accomodation: Chais Monet 5* – Cognac

Between Cognac and Angoulême, we discover a land of history, a land of cocagne: the banks of the Charente river. Very few industrialized, full of greenery and calm, with charming landscapes: curves of the river, impeccably clean slopes embroidered with rows of vines, stone bridges, peaceful farms, all nestled in amber light. We stop at the smiling and discreetly prosperous town of Jarnac where the first brandy merchants were established in 1610. We finally reach Angouleme and its upper city, almost curled up on a plateau perched above the Charente.

Meals: Breakfast · Picnic / Lunch · Dinner

Route: 60 km / 300 m Elevation Gain

Accomodation: Chais Monet 5* – Cognac

This morning we head to the Gironde estuary, the largest in Europe, a world of steep cliffs and fishermen living in stilt-walk huts. We quickly reach Talmont-sur-Gironde on an exceptional site, labelled “Most beautiful village in France” and constitutes the pearl of the estuary. This village owns one of the most beautiful churches in the region, built in 1094, in balance at the very end of a rocky promontory that plunges into the estuary. We finally reach our hotel in Vaux-sur-Mer on the Atlantic Ocean after crossing Royan and its Belle Epoque districts.

Meals: Breakfast · Picnic / Lunch · Dinner

Route: 40 km / 300 m Elevation Gain

Accomodation: Residence de Rohan 3* – Vaux-sur-Mer

We offer you today a royal stage along a cycle path that winds through the wild coastal forest and serves pretty beaches, the smell mixed with sea spray and pines. We cross Brouage, surrounded by small canals in the middle of an abundant ornithological fauna. We finally reach Rochefort that Louis 14th himself chose in the 17th century and ever since, the town has built itself around “the most exceptional Naval Dockyard” of the French coast. Symbolic place for maritime history, Rochefort saw the birth and rebuilding of the frigate Hermione on the same site.

Meals: Breakfast · Picnic / Lunch · Dinner

Route: Option 1 : 60 km / 100 m Elevation Gain – Option 2 : 75 km / 200 m Elevation Gain

Accomodation: La Cordeire Royale 4* – Rochefort

We take advantage of the transfer between Rochefort and Ile de Ré to stop in La Rochelle, visit its old port and its historical heart. Then this afternoon we get on our bicycles for an easy ride exploring Ré Island, the pearl of the Atlantic islands. With its seascapes, salt marshes and the poetry of its colourful ports, it boasts a remarkable historical heritage.

Meals: Breakfast · Picnic / Lunch · Dinner

Route: Option 1 : 45 km / 100 m Elevation Gain – Option 2 : 55 km / 150 m Elevation Gain

Accomodation: Le Clos Saint-Martin 4* – Saint-Martin de Ré

It’s the end of this bike tour in Cognac & Atlantic region with Veymont Travel. After breakfast your guide will take you to La Rochelle TGV station.

Meals: Breakfast

Guaranteed departure from 4 participants. Less than 4? More than 8? Contact-us !

In option:

• Bike rental and equipment
• Room in Single occupation
• Cycling guide