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Provence, at your own pace
Sample trip

Provence, at your own pace

A five-day cycling trip built around Mont Ventoux, based at a chambre d'hôtes that barely exists on the booking platforms.

5 days, 4 nightsFor twoChambres d'hôtesGastronomic dining
BédoinBédoinMalaucèneMalaucèneMont VentouxMont VentouxBrantesBrantes
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FranceCtrl + scroll to zoom
Mont Ventoux is the Giant of Provence: 21.5 km from Bédoin to a bare white summit at 1,912 m, one of the most storied climbs of the Tour de France. Five days are built around that one ride: two easy days to arrive and warm up, market morning in Bédoin and the hilltop village of Crillon-le-Brave, then the climb itself, early, through vineyards, cedar forest and the moonscape above Chalet Reynard. You stay with a family who have welcomed guests on the same land since 1730, and dine the night before at a table whose tasting menu climbs the mountain course by course.

Arrival & first pedal strokes

Day1

Where you're staying

Chez Monique & Sa Fille Caroline, 1.5 km outside Bédoin.

  • A working family property run by Monique and her daughter Caroline, hosting guests in this same spot since 1730, across five generations
  • Vineyards and orchards, secure bike storage, a pool, table d'hôtes cooking from local produce
  • The Green and Lavender rooms are booked directly with the family
The house at the foot of Mont Ventoux
The pool
The pool and terrace
The Green room
The Lavender room

Photos: chezmonique-bedoin.com

Same address since 1730

Monique's family has hosted guests in this exact spot for five generations, nearly three centuries under the same roof.

Today

Arrive via Marseille Provence or the TGV to Avignon.

Today

Check in mid-afternoon, then an easy 20 km vineyard shakeout spin: flat lanes, unhurried, first sight of the mountain you'll climb on Day 3.

Vineyard lanes at first light below the mountain

Photos: our own ride, 2026

Dinner

Table d'hôtes with Monique and Caroline, at the B&B. Home-cooked Provençal dishes, regional wine on the table.

Market morning & a quiet hilltop village

Day2

Today

Bédoin's Monday market (8am–1pm), one of the most-cited in Provence.

  • Coffee, a pastry, and a wander is the whole morning agenda
  • Midday, a short ride up to Crillon-le-Brave itself, the archetypal quiet hilltop village of the Vaucluse
  • Afternoon: rest, the pool, and a proper fit-check on the bikes ahead of tomorrow

Dinner

Chez Laurette, Malaucène.

  • The tasting menu is built as a literal ascent: a course at "200m," another at "800m," dessert at "1912m, le sommet," the exact altitude you'll have climbed the day after tomorrow
  • Reservation by phone or email only
The front of the restaurant in Malaucene
The covered terrace
The dining room
Dos de cabillaud nacre, the signature main
Pavlova with strawberries, basil and lemon

Photos: chezlaurette.fr

Flagship day

Mont Ventoux, from Bédoin

Day3

Day 3 · Tue 20 Oct

The climb

The classic Géant de Provence: 21.5 km from Bédoin to the summit, ~1,610 m of climbing at 7.5% average, starting right on the D974.

  • Early start at 7:30am for cool air and quiet roads: through vineyards and cherry orchards, then long forested switchbacks past Saint-Estève
The last metres below the summit tower
The final hairpin, above the treeline
The white scree of the final bends
The road on to the summit, seen from above

Photos: our own ride, 2026

The record

Tadej Pogačar climbed from Bédoin to the summit in 53:47 during the 2025 Tour de France, averaging about 23 km/h. A fit amateur typically needs around two hours, more than twice as long.

The climb

Chalet Reynard (1,440 m), a mountain refuge turned restaurant that's served cyclists since 1927, is the natural stop, two-thirds up: water, coffee, the point where the treeline ends.

  • From there, the exposed final kilometres pass the Tom Simpson memorial to the summit at 1,912 m
  • Pack a wind vest: the summit runs 15–20°C colder than the base

A quiet tradition

Riders still stop at the Tom Simpson memorial near the summit, marking where the British cyclist collapsed during the 1967 Tour, to leave a water bottle or a cap on the cairn.

Worth reading

The summit road closes for winter from mid-November, and this trip sits safely ahead of that.

  • If wind or ice closes the last stretch above Chalet Reynard, turning around there is a completely normal, respectable finish

Dinner

La Table du Ventoux, Hôtel Crillon le Brave: a terrace looking straight at the mountain you climbed that morning.

  • Bistronomic, Écotable-certified
The dining room
The terrace
The panoramic terrace over the valley
A table set at La Table du Ventoux
Chef Thomas Lesage

Photos: crillonlebrave.com

Recovery: the Toulourenc valley & wine

Day4

Today

A legitimate rest day.

  • A relaxed drive (or an easy flat spin) through the Toulourenc valley to Brantes, the least-touristed side of the mountain

Afternoon

Afternoon at Domaine Pesquié, a well-regarded AOC Ventoux estate: the self-guided vineyard trail and cellar tasting are free and walk-in.

Lunch

La Poterne de Pascale, Brantes: a tiny terrace inside the village looking straight at Ventoux.

  • Seasonal, organic, real vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free options
  • Few tables
  • Phone reservation only

Dinner

La Colombe, Bédoin: Michelin-guide-listed, chef Christophe Schuffenecker.

  • The signature tasting menu is called "L'Ascension du Mont Ventoux."

Departure

Day5

This morning

An optional easy dawn spin through the vineyards one last time, or a relaxed farewell breakfast with Monique and Caroline.

  • Transfer to Avignon TGV or Marseille Provence for onward travel

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