Paris to Nice Cycle 11 days • France, Switzerland

We depart for Paris on a morning Eurostar from London St Pancras, after loading our bikes onto the support vehicles. On arrival, we transfer to our hotel and are free to enjoy the sights of Paris before meeting again for dinner and a detailed trip briefing. Night hotel.  (Lunch not included)

Our first day in the saddle! We start early so we can negotiate Paris’s busy streets before rush-hour, and head from our hotel towards the Eiffel Tower, where we have the obligatory group photo. Our route takes us along the boulevards of the capital’s Left Bank; we see many recognisable landmarks such as Les Invalides and the Grand Palais as we ride south-east out of Paris, roughly following the course of the River Seine. Many of the streets we take have cycle paths, and it doesn’t seem long before we have left the suburbs behind us. We now ride through open, agricultural landscapes, passing villages with squat Norman churches, colourful shuttered houses and tree-lined market squares – peaceful rural scenes which are as quintessentially French as the grandeur of Paris behind us. This region is very historic, with many towns and villages dating back to medieval or Roman times. After passing on wide shaded roads through the extensive green forests of Fontainebleau, formerly a royal hunting park, our route becomes a little hillier as we ride over the gently rolling chalk hills that make this region so good for wine-growing. There are no tough climbs on this first day, but we’ll no doubt be pleased to cross the River Yonne into the lovely medieval Burgundy town of Sens, complete with its beautiful town hall and gothic cathedral. Night hotel.

Cycle approx 125km (80 miles)

Today takes us further into rural Burgundy, over rolling hills with gentle inclines that open up to wonderful views over this typically French countryside. We leave our hotel on quiet, flat roads, passing small villages and open fields of barley and wheat. After about 15km we have a long, winding climb which flattens out to a striking tree-lined avenue through the fields. We start to pass fields of sunflowers and sections of woodland, and ride through some very picturesque villages with old churches and striking town halls. Some miles before our lunch-stop at Chablis – which gives its name to one of France’s most famous white wines – we come to the vineyards: rows upon rows of vines, mainly pinot noir and chardonnay, on the south-facing slopes. We pass several old wineries before riding right through the pretty old town of Chablis itself, then cycle on small, quiet country lanes connecting the abundant farms and villages that dot the landscape. There are some wonderful views as we crest the rolling hills, and every rise is followed by a lovely descent. As we approach the end of the day’s ride, our road brings us out at a wonderful viewpoint over the picturesque medieval hill-top town of Semur-en-Auxois; our hotel is only a short distance away. Night hotel.

Cycle approx 125 km (80 miles)

Our longest day is a day of two halves, separated by our most significant climb so far! The morning continues predominantly south-east on quiet rolling roads, riding through yet more picturesque towns and villages; some of the churches have the distinctive coloured roof-tiles typical of Burgundy. We pass fields of sunflowers, corn and small pockets of woodland and ride for a short stretch alongside the Canal de Bourgogne. A 250km-long feat of engineering, the canal connected Burgundy to both northern Europe and the Mediterranean, allowing it to prosper. We come to the picturesque town of Bligny-sur-Ouche, which lies at the foot of our most challenging climb so far – a 6km ascent which twists up through woodland before the road straightens out and an easier gradient takes us through pastures at the top. Our treat for conquering the climb is the wonderful descent that follows – at twice the length of the climb, we definitely tackle this hill from the best direction! Wide sweeping bends takes us through fields and woodland, passing small villages, right down into the town of Beaune below us. It’s an exhilarating descent with wonderful views of the countryside around us, and we’ll be buzzing when we reach lunch shortly afterwards. We cross the River Saône, heading towards Verdun, and the rest of our day is fairly flat. There are numerous reservoirs in this region which break up the browns and greens of the fields that we cycle through for most of the way. As we enter the Jura region we can see the ridge of mountains looming on the horizon, though they still look quite distant. Our last few miles see a few gentle uphill sections through lovely quiet woodland and we finally reach the Roman spa town of Lons-le-Saunier, pleased to be saving the real climbs for tomorrow!  Night hotel.

Cycle approx 158km (98 miles)

A shorter day today, but our big challenge looms as we cross the Jura Mountains into Switzerland! We set off from Lons-le-Saunier and start climbing almost straightaway. This is the steepest hill we’ve experienced so far, so it’s important to pace yourself and not over-do it. The climb levels out after roughly 3km and we are suddenly in more mountainous scenery, with cow-bells clanging from the pastures around us. Following a flattish road – one of very few flat sections today! – through a beautiful valley surrounded by verdant wooded slopes, we reach the village of Orgelet with its pretty church, and then start to climb again gradually. Our road takes us through a scenic gorge and we cross the beautiful aquamarine Lac de Vouglans, a narrow sinuous reservoir hemmed in by the rocky cliffs around it. We climb for roughly 20km through lovely scenery; the gradient is not steep and there are some flatter sections. We then have a wonderful descent into the picturesque town of Saint-Claude; with its colourful buildings and its wonderful location tucked in between the mountains, this is worth a café-stop just to admire the views!

After Saint-Claude our climbing starts in earnest – we ascend gradually on hair-pin bends through trees, passing waterfalls and gushing streams. At some points the views open out so we can fully appreciate the mountain scenery we are climbing through. As we get higher up we reach pastures and the terrain levels out more; we pass a giant model of a bike which pays homage to the popularity of cycling in this region: this climb has featured in the Tour de France on many occasions, as well as other professional races.  Shortly after this, the road plunges downhill into a secluded valley. It’s frustrating to lose even a fraction of our well-earned elevation knowing we have to re-gain it, but it’s a wonderful descent and very beautiful! From the valley we start to climb again, on hair-pin bends that take us once more through forest. These are our last miles uphill, and although it is steep in places we know the end is in sight! We finally reach the Col de la Faucille (1323m), and gather for a group photo before our big descent. We have time to savour this – we should be feeling justly proud of ourselves for reaching the summit. In clear weather we should get great views of the Mont Blanc massif, and there are wonderful views over Lake Geneva as we descend the 12km to Gex, the small Swiss village at the foot of the mountain. We pass through the international border with Switzerland, and cruise on flat roads with cycle lanes to our lakeside finish point in Geneva. This evening we enjoy a great celebration! Night hotel.

Cycle approx 110km (70 miles)

Your day is free to explore the clean streets of cosmopolitan Geneva, or head for the lovely lakeside gardens and famous fountain. Those ending their cycle ride here will fly out later today, while we meet again for dinner and a briefing, and meet our new group members who have arrived today. Night hotel. (Lunch not included)

Heading south out of Geneva, we leave Switzerland and the Geneva Valley behind us. A gentle climb on quiet back-roads takes us into France. Beautiful views of the Alps accompany us almost the entire time today – a very inspiring start! We ride south to the beautiful town of Annecy, a lakeside jewel nestled among mountain peaks. We cycle alongside the shores of crystal-clear Lake Annecy for a few miles before continuing south on an undulating road through the forests and quiet villages of the Massif des Bauges. A steady, gradual ascent through lovely scenery takes us to the Col du Frêne – at 950m not a high mountain pass, and not a steep climb, but nevertheless our first real encounter with hair-pin bends! We descend via more sweeping bends to the Isère river, crossing it and climbing again on a quiet road up to Allevard, a lovely village partway up the mountain-slopes. Night hotel.

Cycle approx. 132km (85 miles)

Starting the day with a gentle descent back to the Isère valley, we pedal parallel to the river for some time before approaching the historic city of Grenoble. Situated in a broad valley between mountains, the terrain is flat for many miles, though new views of the surrounding peaks continually open up to us. Skirting the city, we follow quiet roads which steer us between the high ridges but give us only a few lumpy undulations to tackle! We climb a gently sloping hill to Roissard, pausing to appreciate the spectacular views of the twists and turns of the lovely Drac river, before continuing through to the small village of Mens. A stretch of more rolling road takes us to the shores of the lovely Lac du Sautet; we then have a short climb up into the small town of Corps. Tomorrow we will start riding on the Route Napoleon, a classic stretch of road that traces Napoleon’s route from Elba in 1815, and you can’t fail to notice that Corps is proud of its position on the route – there are references everywhere. Night hotel.

Cycle approx. 120km (75 miles)

Leaving Corps behind us, we continue our journey south through the southern Alps. Many of the roads we ride on today have featured regularly in the Tour de France. Our morning’s ride takes us predominantly along the scenic, hilly Route Napoleon: look out for the flying-eagle road markers that commemorate the route. Striking out on back roads for a short while, we climb the relatively gentle gradient of the Col de Manse – at 1268m our highest point of the challenge – before reaching the Alpine town of Gap. Continuing south on back-roads, the landscape around us gradually changes to thickly-forested limestone hills and sheer cliffs – spectacular scenery. Entering Provence, we reach the ancient, picturesque town of Sisteron, situated in beautiful scenery on the riverbank between towering mountain ridges. From here it becomes more and more evident that we are leaving the high mountains behind, as we ride east to the lovely old spa town of Digne-les-Bains. Night hotel.

Cycle approx. 144 km (90 miles)

Today is a long day, and a hilly one, but it’s also our last day of cycling so we enjoy every kilometre of beautiful countryside! Setting off from Digne, our day starts on a quiet rolling road which warms us up nicely before the Col de Corobin (1230m), which sees up pedalling uphill for almost 10km. The well-earned descent is wonderful, and you’ll be glad to know it’s steeper than the side we ascended! Rejoining the Route Napoleon, we tackle several more testing climbs and descents as the road winds through stunning hilly scenery, passing the lovely town of Castellane on the river Verdon en route. Taking our leave of our historic companion, the Route Napoleon, we head east on very quiet back-roads through small villages. The landscape is made up of rocky outcrops and ridges, verdant forests and deep blue rivers, and provides a breathtaking backdrop to our final day. We reach the photogenic medieval hilltop town of Gréolières, perched high up in the hills behind the coast, and then we can freewheel almost all the way on quiet roads right to the coast! Our descent takes us through the stunningly beautiful Gorge de Loup, before reaching sea level; we join a lovely flat cycle path and pedal our way on the famed Promenade des Anglaises into the heart of Nice. We finish this long day and our incredible challenge celebrating beside the Mediterranean Sea. Night hotel.

Cycle approx 140 km (88 miles)

After a leisurely breakfast, we have time to relax on the beach or wander the Promenade until it’s time to transfer to the airport. (Lunch not included)