Our bike tours in France feature gourmet cuisine & outstanding wines and, here in Bordeaux, you will ride through vineyards steeped in history. Our French cycling vacations in Burgundy, Loire Valley, Provence and Normandy & Brittany bring you up close and personal with local characters and authentic experiences. Visit Bordeaux with Fresh Eire Adventures: Wine, Gourmet Restaurants, Markets, Vineyards and...You! #pedalon
Please see our blogs for Bordeaux and Blois Bike Tour to help with pre and post trip suggestions.
Dates Bordeaux | Prices Bordeaux | Included Bordeaux | Extras Bordeaux
For your pre-trip (Saturday night) and post-trip (Friday night) hotel we strongly recommend Le Boutique Hotel Bordeaux where we encourage a wine tasting at the hotel’s excellent wine bar. Our preferred city centre restaurant is the Michelin starred Le Pavillion des Boulevards.
Welcome to Bordeaux!
Itinerary
Day 1
We’ll meet you at your city centre hotel (10.30am) or at the train station (11am) and transfer you to the beautiful town of Libourne where you’ll be fitted to your bikes and enjoy a light lunch in the city centre, on the banks of the Dordogne. We’ll take off on our first ride of the week, a loop of some 18 miles through the vineyards. We’ll enjoy a wine tasting before checking into your respective hotel; either the Classic Hotel de France 3 star in Libourne city centre, or our stunning Deluxe option a few miles out of town, the Deluxe Chateau Grand Barrail.
We’ll all meet up for a pre-dinner cocktail on the terrace of the Chateau Grand Barrail before dinner at Chateau Grand Barrail, an outrageously decadent affair. Here, the dishes are fresh and conspire to make your gastronomic experience here memorable. Sample dishes like rabbit, tomato and pine nut roulade or risotto with roast langoustines and parmesan. Expect some wonderful wine pairings.
Deluxe guests may opt to take a stroll in the gardens before turning in for the night while Classic guests will be shuttled back to nearby Libourne.
Included meals: lunch, dinner
Classic hotel: Hotel de France (3 star)
Deluxe hotel: Chateau Grand Barrail (5 star)
Day 2
This morning, after breakfast we’ll ride from our hotels and the group will convene near Libourne. From here we’ll you have the great vineyards of Pomerol, Saint Emillion at your disposal - expect to ride past, and enjoy some tastings of Cheval Blanc and Château Figeac and we’ll get to admire the properties of Angelus and Petrus along the way. En route to Libourne you’ll learn the differences between the appellations of Bordeaux, and the unique terroirs along the Gironde River. The Merlot grape dominates in this Right Bank region – the red wines produced here tend to be the most elegant and powerful with mineral notes. Expect to train your taste buds and nose to identify these notes over the coming days.
After lunch in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Saint Emillion in the afternoon, we’ll return to our hotels. You’ll have plenty of time to take a dip in the outdoor pool in your Deluxe hotel, or take a stroll through town if staying in your Classic hotel.
Tonight we’ll have dinner at a stylish downtown bistro in Libourne.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Classic hotel: Hotel de France (3 star)
Deluxe hotel: Chateau Grand Barrail (5 star)
Day 3
After breakfast we’ll check out of our hotels before heading North west towards the Gironde, cycling through villages like St-Antoine, Lansac and Saint Gervais before arriving at our charming second hotel, the Hotel du Citadel in Blaye the only hotel located in the citadel itself right on the banks of the Gironde.
Tonight both groups will stay in this wonderful family owned and run in the heart of the citadel, and enjoy dinner in their gastronomic restaurant with some spectacular views complete with breakfast the next morning. We’re here for a one night stay.
Dinner tonight is in the hotel.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Classic hotel: Hotel du Citadel (Classic Rooms)
Deluxe hotel: Hotel du Citadel (Deluxe Rooms)
Day 4
This morning after checking out we’ll enjoy walking tour of the walled citadel before heading to our friends at Chateau Monconseil Gazin for a tasting. We'll return to the village of Blaye and enjoy lunch in the UNESCO village.
We’ll cross the Gironde river by ferry from Blaye to Lamarque and spend the next few days in the Medoc. We’ll ride past blockbuster wineries like Château Lafite Rothschild and we'll enjoy a tasting our first Medoc tasting at Château La Haye.
Our third hotels, for the next two nights) are the Classic Château Ormes de Pez and the Deluxe Château Cordellian-Bages. In the late afternoon, we’ll enjoy a tasting at Château Lynch-Bages before checking into our respective hotels.
Tonight you’re free to select where you’d like to have dinner. There is a fine selection of restaurants to chose from in the nearby village of Pauillac while the Deluxe hotel boasts a 2 Michelin starred restaurant, Restaurant Jean-luc Rocha.
Included meals: breakfast, lunch
Classic hotel: Château Ormes de Pez (3 star) or Chateau Pomys (3 star)
Deluxe hotel: Château Cordeillan-Bages(5 star)
Day 5
Today we’ll ride to one of my own favourite AOCs, Saint Estephe where the most authentic wines are produced. It is one of Bordeaux’s most famous appellations, typically producing dry, structured wines that need a decade to reach their peak – a 2008 is now mature and shows classic Bordeaux characters of cedar, tobacco and strong tannins. Oak ageing, common in the Bordeaux region, adds a note of spice, vanilla, tobacco and produces a fine match not only for lighter red meat dishes such as Veal and Lamb but also game like Venison and even Pheasant. I’d like to introduce you to my friend Pierre Braquessac who, as a 6th generation wine maker at Chateau Beau-Site, has a very interesting view on wine production in the area. Our tasting in his authentic cellars is sure to be a memorable affair. Next door we’ll have a tasting at Chateau Haut Coteau; here you’ll see that wines grown side by side, but produced in a different manner can be slightly different while still being produced under the same AOC's rules and restrictions. We’ll enjoy a fabulously simple lunch in the gardens of the village tea rooms / antique shop before returning to our hotels for some time by the pool or a game of petanque.
Tonight we’ll enjoy our final dinner together in the splendid Café Lavinal in the stunningly restored village centre of Pauillac.
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Classic hotel: Chateau Ormes de Pez (3 star)
Deluxe hotel: Château Cordeillan-Bages (5 star)
Day 6
Our final morning together after breakfast we’ll take off on an optional loop ride of some 15 miles before returning to our hotels to shower. We’ll transfer you then to Bordeaux city centre where you can either extend your stay in the region or take a train to another part of France. Pedal on!
Included meals: breakfast
Dates Bordeaux
Any start dates available upon request (subject to availability)
Prices Bordeaux
- Classic: US $4,895 pps. Single supplement US$500
- Deluxe: US $5,695 pps. Single supplement US$1000
Included Bordeaux
- Use of hybrid bike and helmet. More about our bikes
- Transfers from/to Bordeaux city centre (or TGV station or SNCF station) on start/end day
- 4 exquisite dinners & wine
- 3 gourmet lunches & wines
- Admissions to all included attractions & tastings
- Baggage transfers
- Tips for hotels/restaurants
- Healthy snacks, water, full guiding services, support vehicle.
- 5 nights B&B in 3 star hotels (Classic), 4&5 star hotels (Deluxe), with continental breakfast
Extras Bordeaux
- Upgrade to a carbon road bike or e-bike at extra cost. More about our bikes
- Self-guided extension packages available in Paris (3 nights, 4 star from US$1299 pps)
- Guided extension packages available in Paris (3 nights, 2 days Guided Tour, 1 free day from US$1599pps)
- Gratuities for guides
Related posts from our blog
Click here to see our top chateaux in Bordeaux
Click here to see our recommendations for Biarritz
Click here to see our recommendations for Toulouse