Backroads Provence Wine Country Bike Tour 2026 & 2027: Lavender, Luberon Villages & Mont Ventoux
- Danny Rodriguez-Stahl
- Jul 5
- 5 min read
By Danny Stahl, Certified AmaWaterways, Viking, Tauck, Backroads & Silversea Advisor | Danny’s Adventures | dannysadventures.com
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I am Danny Stahl, a certified Backroads advisor based in Raleigh, NC, serving clients nationwide. I know current availability, and every active promotion and discount. My service is completely free.
Hours: Monday–Friday 8am–6pm ET | Saturday 8am–11am ET
Provence lavender season June to July, the fastest-filling Backroads France dates:
Lavender blooms in Provence from mid-June through mid-July. Backroads Provence departures during this window sell out 10 to 14 months in advance. September is the second fastest-filling window harvest season, warm evenings, and the best rose at its most recent vintage.
Provencal sun, and you only get the full sensory experience of it on a bike, passing slowly enough through the rows that the scent saturates the air around you rather than flashing past a car window.
Backroads Provence is the company's most consistently praised European bike tour and one of its best-selling tours worldwide. The combination of visual beauty, culinary excellence, accessible cycling terrain, and accommodation quality makes it the benchmark against which most first-time Backroads guests measure all subsequent trips.
The Route: Luberon to the Gorges de la Nesque to Cassis
The Luberon
• Gordes — the most photographed hilltop village in Provence, its stone houses cascading down a cliff face above the Luberon valley. The drive into Gordes from below is one of the defining visual arrivals in European travel. Arriving by bike from the valley floor makes it better.
• Roussillon — the village built from ochre rock in a palette of reds, oranges, and yellows unlike any other village in France. The ochre cliffs below the village were worked commercially until 1958 and the disused quarry paths are now walking trails.
• Lacoste and Bonnieux — the paired hilltop villages on opposite sides of the Luberon valley, their church towers visible to each other across 4 kilometers of air. Lacoste was home to the Marquis de Sade.
• Village markets — Provencal market culture is the best in France: tapenade, lavender honey, goat cheese in olive oil, herbes de Provence, truffle products, ceramics, and linen. Backroads builds market mornings into the Luberon days.
The Gorges de la Nesque
• The Gorges de la Nesque cycling route, a single road cuts through an 800-meter limestone canyon between Sault and Mazan, with the gorge dropping away below the road on one side and the cliff rising above it on the other. The road is almost completely traffic-free and the cycling is among the most dramatically scenic in France.
• Sault lavender plateau, Sault sits above the lavender fields of the Albion plateau at 800 meters. The views across the plateau in July, with Mont Ventoux rising above the purple rows to the north, are the defining Backroads Provence image.
Mont Ventoux — The Optional Challenge
The Giant of Provence: Mont Ventoux is the most famous mountain in cycling. The Tour de France has climbed it more than any other mountain. The summit at 1,912 meters sits above the tree line in a white rocky landscape that looks like the moon.
Backroads offers Mont Ventoux as an optional challenge on Provence departures. It is not part of the standard daily route options but is offered as a separate achievement day for guests who want it. The e-bike version is a genuinely enjoyable way to experience the upper mountain if the full acoustic ascent is beyond your current fitness.
Cassis and the Calanques
• Cassis — the small harbor town below the Calanques, where the Mediterranean meets the white limestone cliffs of the most dramatic coastal scenery in mainland France. Famous for the tiny appellation of Cassis white wine (one of the smallest AOC zones in France) and the fish soup at the harbor terrace restaurants.
• Calanques National Park boat tour — the turquoise sea calanque inlets between Cassis and Marseille, accessible only by boat or on foot, with swimming stops in water of Mediterranean clarity
Provence Wine and Food: What Backroads Delivers
• Rose wine of Provence, specifically Bandol and Cotes de Provence AOC, tasted at the domaines that produce them rather than shipped versions. Backroads works with estate owners who receive the group privately.
• Tapenade, ratatouille, bouillabaisse, daube de boeuf, brandade de morue, socca chickpea crepes from Nice, and the cheese of the Alps fermiers, genuine Provencal cuisine at family-run restaurants rather than tourist versions
• Pastis at the village cafe after a morning ride the universal Provencal ritual, anise-flavored aperitif diluted with cold water until it clouds
BOOK SMARTER, NOT HARDER. CONTACT ME TODAY!
I am Danny Stahl, a certified Backroads, AmaWaterways, Viking, Tauck, & Silversea advisor based in Raleigh, NC, serving clients across the country. I stay updated on current availability and all active promotions and discounts. Additionally, I have access to rates and offers not available to the general public. My services are completely free of charge.
Hours: Monday–Friday 8am–6pm ET | Saturday 8am–11am ET
FAQ: Backroads Provence Bike Tour
When is lavender season for Backroads Provence?
Lavender blooms in Provence from mid-June through mid-July, peaking in the last two weeks of June and the first week of July depending on the altitude and specific location. The Valensole plateau and the Sault plateau above the Gorges de la Nesque are the two primary lavender regions on the Backroads Provence itinerary. Backroads Provence departures during lavender season sell out 10 to 14 months in advance. A certified Backroads advisor confirms which specific departure dates fall within peak lavender bloom.
Does Backroads Provence include Mont Ventoux?
Mont Ventoux is offered as an optional challenge day on select Backroads Provence departures. It is not part of the standard daily route options but is available for guests who want to attempt the 21-kilometer, 1,610-meter ascent from Bedoin. An e-bike version is available on standard Provence departures for guests who want to experience the upper mountain without the full acoustic climbing effort. A certified advisor confirms which specific Provence departure dates include the Mont Ventoux option.
What is the Gorges de la Nesque on Backroads Provence?
The Gorges de la Nesque is a cycling route through a dramatic 800-meter limestone canyon between Sault and Mazan in Provence, France. The road follows the canyon rim with the gorge dropping away below on one side and limestone cliffs above on the other. It is one of the most scenic and traffic-free cycling routes in France and a highlight of the Backroads Provence bike tour. The Sault lavender plateau at the canyon's upper end is the primary lavender viewing location on the tour.
How difficult is cycling in Provence on Backroads?
The Backroads Provence wine country bike tour is rated Activity Level 2-3 (Moderate). The Luberon valley cycling is rolling with some hilltop village climbs. The Gorges de la Nesque has a sustained uphill approach from the valley to the canyon rim. Every day offers multiple route options at different distances, and e-bikes are available on standard Provence departures. The Mont Ventoux optional challenge is rated Level 4-5 for the full acoustic ascent.
What is included in Backroads Provence?
The Backroads Provence wine country bike tour includes all hotel accommodations (boutique Luberon village properties, a mas farmhouse on select Premiere tier departures), all breakfasts and most dinners at local Provencal restaurants and estates, a private rose wine tasting at a Provencal domaine, Calanques boat tour from Cassis, guided sightseeing at Roussillon ochre cliffs, village market visits, all bikes including e-bikes on standard departures, minimum three Trip Leaders, support van, and luggage transfers.
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