Cycling the Dordogne Valley

We found the GPX files very useful as a backup to your notes. The notes provide lots of useful information (e.g. what to see, directions). However there were a number of times we used the GPX maps to check we were still on the correct route. The route is quite undulating and having an ebike makes the cycling more enjoyable for anyone who is not used to regularly tackling hills.

This is a glorious part of rural France to visit in September when the area is covered with fruiting walnut trees. The electric bikes meant that we gladly explored valleys and hills and enjoyed a few walks through woods and exploring château. The exercise meant that we fully appreciated the delicious cooking in the evenings.

Our first cycling holiday and what an excellent one it was, lovelly villages, pretty hotels and delicious food. We took the advice of previous travellers and hired electric bikes, which made the hills very easy (it was a holiday after all!). The visit to the caves at La Gouffre de Padirac was well worth it, they were quite mind blowing. Also do the diversion to the observation point over the river on the last day, it's a great view. Consider using a GPS routing app (we used Komoot) as it means you can ride and enjoy the views rather than continually read the notes.

This was a lovely bike trip with varied landscapes and so many beautiful villages. All of the hotels were great with special mention for Le Troubadour and Pont de l'Ouysse for a treat! By mid September many cafes and shops were shut, this only mattered on the 2 rainy days. On the sunny days eating a picnic out in the countryside was perfect, just stock up early in the day. Our visits to Padirac Caves, Rocamadour and Martel were highlights but all of the landscapes were interesting and the local people were very friendly.

Take in all sights en route and make time to visit the small towns en route too. Stop in small stores in the mornings and get the essentials for some en route picnics good bread, cheese, local ham, savoury and sweet pastries etc. The countryside is beautiful and there are some wonderful sights along the way and quiet places to stop, have lunch and enjoy the view .       

Our highlight was the caves at Padirac this was definitely a must-see. It was a great holiday in fantastic weather and beautiful countryside.

Great cycling through beautiful small villages. Mostly riding on quiet country lanes. 

Beautiful hotels, lovely scenery and superb food, perhaps one of the best of the French cycling holidays

The Dordogne is stunning and there are so many beautiful villages to cycle through. Wouldn't do it without an e-bike though! We loved Carennac and the views of Rocamadour from L'Hospitalet. Souillac was a disappointing place to start and finish at by comparison. The food everywhere we went was delicious. It really was a culinary as well as a cycling holiday.  It was a fabulous week and we both just love these cycling holidays.

We have done several cycling trips with Inntravel and have loved them all, but this was definitely the best! All the hotels were great and the food superb. The routes were mostly on extremely quiet lanes with abundant wild flowers and many spectacular views. We passed innumerable idyllic villages and were only sorry we couldn't explore them all! The locals were all extremely friendly and helpful and were ready to speak in English when our French failed!! It's hard to pick out highlights as there were so many, but one unexpected one was the steam train ride we took while visiting Martel. I can thoroughly recommend that and indeed the entire holiday!

The routes take in a lot of pretty hamlets with buildings with interesting features. Martel is a lovely city and if there on market day you will be in for a treat. Make the most of coffee stops as not all the places you pass through will have refreshment possibilities. You may prefer to cycle up out of the Rocamadour valley rather than push your bikes up the shorter route to the top - especially if you have an electric bike that will be extremely heavy.

We would recommend travelling by train as this was very easy and relaxing, with none of the airport hassle and threat of flight cancellations.

The bikes were very comfortable and a good quality. Would definitely recommend an E Bike for this trip as it is hilly. The GPX files were excellent and very accurate. We were very pleased to have uploaded them on to our navigation device.

Hotel Troubadour was in a most peaceful beautiful setting, amongst fields and a lovely walk for supper each night.Having access to the swimming pool right from our room was a bonus. Walking out along the belvedere from Hospitalet in the evening and seeing Rocamadour lit up across the valley was absolutely magical.

Hotel Pont de L'Ouysse was a real treat! The setting against the limestone cliff with the river nearby was perfect. Michelin starred dinner served on the terrace under the illuminated trees was a real highlight.

This was our 8th trip with Inntravel and so we had very high expectations based on previous experiences.....this exceeded them all!  

Was fantastically well put together. I will use Inntravel again

Excellent arrangements and routes, beautiful and interesting area. Do stay longer at the 'Pont' Hotel - it is special.

We loved our Inntravel trip. Everything was well planned and all of the hotels and provided meals were exceptional. Our hosts were very friendly and helpful. We managed to ride every mile with no wrong turns, no flats or mechanical issues. I am an experienced cyclist and I used the cue sheets provided by Inntravel as well as the gpx files. The routes were somewhat hilly but the hills were not very steep, but some were long. My wife used an ebike and had no difficulty with the hills. Our friend was using a regular bike and we had to occasionally wait for her. The villages we visited were among the most picturesque I have ever seen and the approaching views from the roads were breathtaking. The roads on our route were almost car free. There was only a small stretch of busy road in our 6 days of cycling and we were cautioned on our cue sheets. I would rate this trip as 5 stars. We stopped often to take pictures. I enjoyed the independence of being able to leave when we wanted and stopping as often as we wanted to without upsetting any larger groups schedule. The rides were just long enough each day with the amount of ascents required to easily make it to our destination with plenty of time to explore. 

We had an excellent trip, despite 4 days of rain (out of 6)! Fortunately, we'd seen the weather forecasts beforehand, and had purchased new rain gear. Inntravel did a very good job of finding quiet, very lightly-traveled roads for the routes, and the lodgings were good (La Vielle Auberge and Relais de Castelnau) to excellent (Hotel le Troubadour and Hotel Pont de l'Ouysse). Dinners were almost always excellent, and breakfasts very good as well--we often made sandwiches at breakfast which we took with us for lunch (after asking if this was okay) so with the addition of some fruit from a market, and wine from a shop, our picnic lunches (in the rain) were all set.

Please note that this route is VERY hilly--much moreso than we had thought, based on the description and other reviews. We had e-bikes, and were very glad that we did (though my husband and I are both in very good physical condition). We highly recommend you download the GPX files ahead of time (I used the GaiaGPS free app, and it was perfect), and purchase a phone holder that goes on your handlebars, as well as a good, small waterproof bag for the phone (Ziploc bags get fogged up) which fits in the holder. 

Our favorite stops were the 14th century mill, Moulin de Caugnaguet (Day 1), the Gouffre de Padirac caves (amazing!) and having the town of Rocamadour practically to ourselves, due to our visit at the end of September, and the rain.

Enjoy! This is a wonderful trip, with beautiful little villages and views all along the way, delightful cycling, fresh walnuts, great meals and wines. We'll definitely do a trip with Inntravel again.

Great holiday. Communication & information was excellent and everything run smoothly (mostly). Quality of bikes was excellent. The people were lovely and it was a lovely area to cycle around with great routes. We didn't have the best of weather but it was still lovely. The hotels were great as they were small and personnel rather than huge and impersonal. Only blight on the holiday is we got pickpocketed on the very busy Paris Metro right at the beginning but the information did warn us this may happen. So heed the warning!

We had a great holiday and we're very lucky to have beautiful weather. All the hotels chosen by Inntravel were good and the cycle routes suited our abilities perfectly - the information provided was very comprehensive.

Accommodation was excellent with very friendly proprietors. Rockmadour was a particular highlight. The extension to Sarlat was well worth it but it would have better had we realised the bikes were still available for use on our final day. Pack your swim suits as the swimming pools were excellent.

Wonderful scenery, with another beautiful French village around every corner, a fantastic region of France to visit

This was our first Inntravel holiday and we loved it. The cycling routes around the Dordogne were delightful with plenty of places enroute to visit and eat. We had wanted a gentle cycling holiday with plenty of time to stop and look around - and we got it. Being able to swim each day at the end of the cycling was perfect. We opted for ebikes and were grateful for the ease that this gave us tackling the hills. Our highlight was the stay at the Relais de Castelnau, Loubressac, perched high on the hilltop - we wanted to stay much longer than one night! Having the GPX files as well as the notes made for easy navigation.

The first cycling day short route  actually passes by 3 major caves: Grottes de Lacave, Grotte des Carbonnières, and Grotte Préhistorique des Merveilles. All 3 are very differents and well worth the stops. Ignore that Grotte des Carbonnières is in the middle of the cheesy dino-park, the cave is still worth a visit.

In  L'Hospitalet, definietly recommend stopping at La Forêt des Singes Barbary macaque preserve where you can roam freely with the monkeys.

It was an amazing trip, relaxing cycling through quiet countryside. Minimal facilities during the day, so if you need food stockup early.

The weather was great, the fellow travellers and other Inntravellers were all very amiable. We enjoyed swapping stories at the end of the day.  The hospitality of the hotels was all very good (as expected). The Pont de l'Ouysee was the hgihlight in terms of food and accommodation and we would recomend this over the non-upgrade chambres d'Hotes where we also stayed for 1 night. The cycling was very enjoyable and the roads quiet with lovely views.  We made the most of feasting on fallen plums, figs and peaches as we rode along. This was quite useful when we discovered that many places were closed for lunch or turned us away after around 1:30 pm even when they appeared to have space. Eat lunch early in September is a good motto, and take snacks just in case! This area of France is just full of sleepy, unspoilt vliiages, beautiful chateaux, varied landscapes and everyone we met was very friendly. Even Rocamadour was not as busy as we had expected (although this would probably not be the case in August!). We would highly recommend canoeing on the Dordogne - we had a very relaxing 4 hours slowly drifting along and stopping frequenly (once to enjoy a very pleasant bottle of local Rose (chiiled in the river) with some cheese and saw absolutely no-one else on the water.

2 of us had done several Inntravel cycling holiday before and this was one of the best so far,: the other 2 of us who had only done walking holidays with Inntravel before seem to have been converted to cycling in future! We enjoyed travelling by train and the stopover in Paris - much more relaxing than going by air. 

Entire trip from beginning to end was a delight, especially from a gastronomic and physical viewpoint. An ebike will suit those who feel the need for additional assistance on some of the more challenging gradients. My wife had little previous cycling experience and with some trepidation at the beginning, eventually loved every minute.

Definitely choose ebikes if in any doubt about coping with hills in the heat. The ebikes were excellent, very versatile and made the cycling, which would otherwise have been a strain, a real pleasure. Other than the views and the lovely villages, the highlight was the dinners at La Vieille Auberge and the pool at Le Troubadour.