Our last full day of holiday saw us back in Avignon for the third time in 2 weeks.

We were both keen to exercise and decided on separate plans. 

Phil booked himself a gravel bike (€30 for 4 hours) and set off down the Via Rhone. 

A word or two here about Komoot, the navigation app. We’ve used it for most of the two-wheeled navigation on the holiday and found it to be an easy to use and flexible tool. As long as you stick to national cycle routes and tarmac roads.

It allows you to fine tune routes, picking quieter or more direct options to suit you. You can combine recognised routes with detours to towns etc along the way. It’s also very good at quickly coming up with a me route if your plans change.

However, if you venture off road, it’s less reliable. Phil’s planned exploration of some limestone hills, just off the Via Rhone was not especially successful. 

Having requested “gravel” options in the target area, Komoot came with plenty. But, the reality on the ground was that they took him into impossible terrain. Sometimes extra rocky, sometimes completely overgrown and sometimes precipitously steep and narrow.

After a frustrating half hour, Phil shut down Komoot and referred to satellite imagery to choose wide “fire-road” style paths. This proved much more successful and the ride was rescued.

Julie’s attempts to go swimming didn’t come off as the Avignon “lido” had recently been drained for the winter and she had to be content with a riverside walk plus a return visit to the brilliant indoor market.

Afternoon was passed with a walk up to the pope’s gardens at the top of the old town, with great views out over the town, Mt Ventoux and back up the Rhone to Chateuneuf-du-Pape (visible in the distance) and beyond. We also revisited Rue Banasterie where we stayed in 2023 and located the Airbnb.

Gravel Ride

In Avignon