The canal de Garonne by bike

270 km along the canal by bike from Bordeaux to Toulouse

Bordeaux, a splendid city listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, makes for one glorious starting point on the Canal des 2 Mers à Vélo cycle route. Once you’ve crossed the mighty Garonne River, you enter the Entre-Deux-Mers vineyards via a great cycle track. At Sauveterre-de-Guyenne, join a quiet road to reach the Canal de Garonne near the town of La Réole. Then a greenway runs alongside the canal, shaded by planes, up to Agen then Toulouse This section of the Canal des 2 Mers à Vélo cycle route is entirely on greenways, enabling you to appreciate the countryside to the full. Head a bit away from the Canal de Garonne to enjoy charming, hilly terrain with hints of Tuscany.

David Remazeilles (Gironde Tourisme)

La Sauve Majeure Abbey

Perched on a hill in the heart of the Entre-deux-Mers vineyards, La Sauve Majeure Abbey was founded between the 11th and 13th centuries. It is a masterpiece of Romanesque art, particularly renowned for its capitals and sculptures. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, it is a stop on the Way of St James and a must-see during your cycling holiday.

Le Canal des 2 mers à vélo - J. Damase

Le Mas d’Agenais, its market halls and its Rembrandt

Le Mas d’Agenais is a charming little village overlooking the Canal de Garonne. Inhabited since Gallo-Roman times and a veritable stronghold in the Middle Ages, this little village will charm you with its atmosphere, its market beneath the old market halls and the view from the esplanade. Don’t miss the Saint-Vincent Collegiate Church, which houses a priceless painting by Rembrandt...

rjphotographies

The Montech Water Ramp

Do take the time to go on an excursion to see the Montech Water Ramp. A real curiosity that has been brought back into the spotlight: this structure, unique in Europe, once allowed boats to pass through several locks and save precious time whilst navigating the canal. In summer, a museum space housed in a barge reveals the inner workings of this incredible mechanism.

J. Damase

Moissac, a centre of Romanesque art and home to Chasselas

Moissac is a centre of Romanesque art and an important stop on the Way of St James. It is home to Saint-Pierre Abbey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, whose cloister invites visitors on a moving journey through the centuries. Wine lovers can enjoy a glass of Chasselas at the end of the tour...

Tailor-made itineraries

5 Bordeaux / Créon

23 km

1 h 31 min

I begin

Leaving Bordeaux, after crossing the St-Jean Bridge, a cycle track that runs in part alongside the Garonne leads to Latresne, where you join the beautiful Roger Lapébie cycle track. It’s named after the winner of the Tour de France in 1937 and is remarkably well laid out along a former railway line, with several dedicated stops in former railway stations. The way heads to Créon. This place, set around its arcaded central square, a remnant of a former bastide fortified town, is well worth a detour.

6 Créon / Sauveterre-de-Guyenne

31 km

2 h 05 min

I begin

The route continues along the former railway line, recalled by converted stations and railway-crossing houses. A detour to La Sauve is well worth it to admire the historic Abbey of La Sauve-Majeure. Enter Sauveterre-de-Guyenne via one of its splendid old gateways to make for the arcaded central square, at the heart of the bastide fortified town created in 1281.

7 Sauveterre / Canal de Garonne

19 km

1 h 16 min

I cycle often

In the heart of the Entre-Deux-Mers area – between the two rivers, the Garonne and Dordogne, nicknamed ‘seas’ – you cross an ocean of vines! The terrain is hillier here. You join the Canal de Garonne at La Réole. This town conceals a few treasures behind its ramparts. In its maze of little streets, don’t miss the 13th-century church of St-Pierre, nor the esplanade next to a former Benedictine Abbey which offers a fine view over the Garonne Valley.

8 La Réole / Marmande

22 km

1 h 26 min

I begin

The cycle route joins the Canal de Garonne close to the startling Musée de l’Allumette (Match Museum) at Fontet. This place’s port and outdoors recreation centre make it a great spot to stop before starting out on the greenway beside the canal. This stage is calm, but the perched village of Meilhan-sur-Garonne draws you up to it for fabulous views. For a further short detour, visit the town of Marmande, which conceals some surprises.

9 Marmande / Damazan

25 km

1 h 38 min

I begin

Le Mas-d’Agenais is the highlight on this stage of the Canal des 2 Mers à Vélo cycle route. Its church of St-Vincent is an architectural gem, startlingly containing a work by Rembrandt, Christ on the Cross. The wide vista over the Garonne at one end of the village adds to its attractions. At the end of the stage, the cycle track leads to Damazan, a bastide fortified town built from scratch in the 13th century.

10 Damazan / Agen

33 km

2 h 10 min

I begin

The Canal des 2 Mers à Vélo cycle route continues along the greenway beside the Canal de Garonne, passing through the very lively port of Buzet-sur-Baïse. You reach Agen itself via one of the longest canal-bridges in France, at 600m. The town is both capital of the département (French county) of Lot-et-Garonne and French capital of prunes… and it conceals many other curiosities, which you can discover in the remarkable monuments in the historic centre.

11 Agen / Valence d'Agen

27 km

1 h 46 min

I begin

Leave Agen’s port via a greenway. The way continues close to the Garonne, although the river is rarely visible from beside the canal. After Lamagistère, you enter Valence d’Agen, passing close to former abattoirs superbly converted into an information centre. The town was built as a fortified bastide in the 13th century. Admire its covered market, dovecotes, washhouses and port. Every summer, the show entitled Au Fil de l’Eau une Histoire revives the town’s important past as a port.

12 Valence d'Agen / Moissac

17 km

1 h 08 min

I begin

From Valence to Moissac, the cycle route sticks to the tranquil canal. The town of Moissac, located on one of the famous pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, stretches out peacefully beside the Tarn River. Visit Moissac’s splendid medieval Benedictine abbey, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its stunningly carved cloisters and one of the most beautiful Romanesque church entrances in southern France.

13 Moissac / Castelsarrasin / Montech / Montauban

36 km

2 h 17 min

I begin

The Canal des 2 Mers à Vélo cycle route leaves Moissac via the Pont-canal du Cacor, a remarkable canal-bridge. Not long after, you reach a business park at the entrance to Castelsarrasin, an historic fortified town in the County of Toulouse. From its marina, you can head into the old centre that witnessed many turbulent times, but that has preserved many fine public spaces and buildings, including the imposing St-Sauveur Church, built of fine brick.

14 Montech / Castelnau-d'Estrétefonds

36 km

1 h 31 min

I begin

Leaving Montech, the Canal des 2 Mers à Vélo cycle route leads south along the greenway beside the Canal de Garonne towards the great regional capital of Toulouse. Numerous big villages are dotted along the way, like Grisolles, with its museum, and many ‘Villeneuves’, ‘new towns’ dating from the construction of fortified grid-plan settlements… in the 13th century. A cycling circuit through the nearby vineyards of the Frontonnais allows you to discover them and a grape variety unique to this part of southwest France – négrette.

15 Castelnau-d'Estrétefonds / Toulouse

23 km

1 h 30 min

I begin

You can sense the outskirts of the huge regional metropolis of Toulouse long before reaching the centre of ‘the pink city’, as it’s nicknamed. Sticking to the Canal de Garonne, its historic tranquillity contrasts with the rampant urbanisation beyond. You enter Toulouse at the junction of the Canal de Garonne, the Canal de Brienne and the Canal du Midi, at the level of Les Pont-Jumeaux. Then a cycle track beside the Canal du Midi takes you into the city centre.