arrow_back
Maurs / Aurillac La Grande Traversée du Volcan à vélo
Nature & small heritage
45,92 Km
3 h 04 min
I cycle a lot
45,92 km cycling route from Maurs to Aurillac
La Grande Traversée du Volcan à Vélo between Maurs and Aurillac wends its way through the Rance Gorges and the heart of La Châtaigneraie, a wide, forested area with many a tale to tell. Detours to Vitrac and Marcolès are tempting, for the architecture and delicious gastronomy. You then arrive at Aurillac, a town where the countryside is always close by. Known in history as the place where Gerbert trained before being elected Pope Sylvester II at the end of the first millennium AD, today it’s known for its international festival of street theatre.
Elevation of the stage
253 m 567 m
Waytypes of the stage
Cycle path: 2,37 km By road: 43,55 km
Surface of the stage
Smooth: 45,06 km Rough: 0,87 km
The GT2V à Vélo from the Rance Gorges to Aurillac
Leaving Maurs, you follow the RN122 road for 2km, which can be tricky. From Saint-Etienne-de-Maurs, the route runs beside the Rance River. Most of the way is on wild, winding, wooded roads shared with motorized traffic. For some 25km, you gradually cycle uphill. After Roannes-Saint-Mary, the route is signposted and gradually descends to Arpajon-sur-Cère, arriving at Aurillac, along roads on which traffic gets progressively busier. Because of the deviation due to works on the RN122 road at time of writing, the way to cross through Aurillac, arriving from Arpajon-sur-Cère, is being planned by the local authorities concerned.
Link to the village of Marcolès
Link taking you 3km to the fine medieval village of Marcolès, designated a Petite Cité de Caracatère
Don’t miss
- Le Trou du Diable or ‘Lou Gourd del drat’ in local dialect: this imposing array of boulders is known here as ‘the devil’s hole’
- Marcolès: a fine medieval village
- Roannes-Saint-Mary: the 15th-century chapel
- Aurillac: capital of the county (département) of Cantal, the town where Gerbert trained, going on to become Pope Sylvester II, pontiff at the end of the first millennium AD.
- The historic town centre: guided tours, Pays d'Aurillac Tourist Office
- International festival of street theatre at the end of August
- The Muséum des Volcans
- The Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie
Travellers’ reviews