Avignon / Beaucaire

Take a last look back at the great papal city before ViaRhôna leads you across the Rhône into the county of the Gard. At the end of the Pont du Royaume, follow the purpose-built cycle path, which loops beneath the bridge before joining a quiet, tree-lined road overlooking the Rhône. Then the route zigzags between vineyards and orchards before joining the Pont du Gard Greenway, heading to the Rhône-side port of Beaucaire, designated a Ville d’Art et d’Histoire for its rich historical legacy, and set at a point where the regions of Languedoc and Provence meet.

The route

Leave Avignon via Pont Daladier, then at the end of the Pont du Royaume, follow the signposted, dedicated cycle route that passes beneath the bridge to join a quiet road leading away from the Rhône (turn left and cross the junction carefully). The route then returns to the river along a compacted greenway as far as Aramon. From Aramon to Montfrin, the way is signposted along easy, quiet roads. Next, west of Montfrin, join the Voie Verte du Pont du Gard, a greenway taking you up to the round-about at the entrance to Beaucaire. Here, follow the Chemin de Marguilliers to cycle into the town centre.
Be careful crossing the D2 road to join the greenway.

Train stations:

Avignon:

• Line 8 : Marseille > Arles > Tarascon > Avignon
• Line 11 Avignon > Tarascon > Nîmes  > Montpellier
• Line 9 : Marseille > Salon > Cavaillon > Avignon
• Line 10 : Marseille > Avignon > Orange > Valence > Lyon

TGV (High-speed rail) :

• Avignon TGV > Paris
• Aix en Provence TGV > Avignon TGV
• Avignon TGV > Marseille Saint-Charles

Buses:

• Line 23 : Avignon > Aix-en-Provence
• Line 22 : Avignon > Oraison > Digne

Beaucaire train station

Tarascon train station

Line Narbonne > Montpellier > Avignon

Tourist Information Centres :

• Grand Avignon Tourist Office Tel : 04 90 03 70 60
• Avignon Tourist Office Tel : 04 32 74 32 74
• Pays d'Uzès Pont du Gard Tourist Office Tel : 04 66  22 68 88  
• Beaucaire Terre d’Argence Tourist Office Tel : 04 66 59 26 57

Don't miss:

Avignon: the historic centre, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Palais des Papes, the huge palace built for the 14th-century popes based here; fine churches dotted around town; the part-ruined Pont d'Avignon over the Rhône, focus of a famous French song; notable arts museums, such as the Petit Palais, Calvet, Angladon, Vouland and Lambert; the Musée Lapidaire (on archaeology); the Opera House; the Cloître St Louis; the July Festival d’Avignon, French equivalent of the Edinburgh Festival, centred on theatre
Villeneuve Lez Avignon: 14th-century cardinals’ houses known as Livrées cardinalices; the Chartreuse du Val de Bénédiction, a massive charterhouse founded by an Avignon pope, now a cultural centre; the Collégiale Notre-Dame, the central church; the Fort Saint-André and Abbaye Saint-André, set side by side on a hilltop, the latter boasting terraced gardens; the Tour Philippe-le-Bel, built for a powerful 14th-century French king, looking across the Rhône to papal Avignon.
Aramon: the historic centre with its smart houses; the church of St Pancras; the river port.
Beaucaire: the medieval castle perched on its rock above the Rhône; fine townhouses; the underground Abbaye Troglodytique de Saint-Roman et l’Aiguille; the river port; Le Vieux Mas (a traditional working farm between Beaucaire and Saint-Gilles).
Tarascon: the Château du Roi René by the Rhône; the medieval Collégiale Sainte Marthe church; the Cloître des Cordeliers (cloisters); the Abbaye St Michel de Frigolet (5km away)