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.

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.

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.