Cavaillon / Cucuron

Your panniers filled with fine local produce, such as delicious little Cavaillon melons, get on your bike to head off from this richly historic town and draw closer to the Durance Valley. Riding along beside little canals, you enter an exceptionally rich ecological environment, offering natural shelter for many species of birds that you can observe more closely at the Durance Ornithological Observatory in Mérindol. After a lovely stop at Lourmarin, a village dominated by its château, this stage ends at Cucuron. With its comical-sounding name, this village was built across two mounds. Stop beside its beautiful ornamental pond to sip a drink in the shade of centuries-old plane trees.

The Cycle Route

Starting from Cavaillon, this stage takes you along quiet little roads, notably going through a forested area, Valloncourt, to reach the banks of a small canal with a tarmacked towpath, followed by a quiet road serving local residents. From Mérindol on, small, calm hilly roads give your leg muscles a warm-up on the way to Lourmarin. This is followed by a steady climb to Cucuron.
Please note that after Valloncourt, the crossing of the D973 road needs to be handled with care. Plus, at time of writing, there are two stretches of road in bad condition before and after Mérindol. 

Links : EuroVelo 8 - La Méditerranée à vélo ; Le Pays d'Aigues à vélo

Don't miss

• Mérindol : Observatoire ornithologique de la Durance
• Cucuron : Domaine La Cavale - Cave à vin a wine estaste
• Cadenet : Domaine Bastide du Laval - Moulin à huile d'olive a mill producing olive oil