The EuroVelo 8 runs from Southern Spain to western Turkey. So, far, we’ve only segments through the French regions of the Luberon and the Carmargue. They were completed as part of a three week trip in Europe.
Segments
Apt to Montpellier
We spent approximately two and a half days days travelling along the EV8 as part of a three week trip in Europe. We joined the EV8 in Apt France, and followed it westwards to Montpellier.
Scenery and Attractions
This segment of the EV8 passes through The Luberon and Carmargue regions of France. From Apt to Beaucaire, the route follows an old rail trail through vineyards and lavender fields with hilltop villages seen in the distance. Then after crossing the Rhone in Beaucaire, the scenery changes abruptly as you are surrounded by wetlands and canals. Highlights along the way included the cities of Apt and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The touristic area of Le Grau-du-Roi was very busy but had some great beaches on the Mediterranean.
Cycling Conditions
This section of the EV8 had a bit of everything — nice cycle paths along old railway lines and canals, a busy departmental road and some uninteresting industrial segments.
Most of this section is along a dedicated cyclepath that used to be a railway line. Nice pavement, and very flat. There were a couple small sections along village roads, but everything was well marked and easy to navigate.
A pretty uninteresting section of the route, particularly just west of Cavaillon, where the EV8 passes through an industrial park. After the industrial park, the route followed some nice treed roads and cycle paths through farmland through Mollégès to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence to Beaucaire
There is a nice cyclepath leaving Saint-Rémy-de-Provence until St-Etienne-du-Grès. The route then gets more urban as you approach Tarascon and Beaucaire.
Leaving Beaucaire, we followed a cyclepath along the Canal du Rhône à Sète until Bellegarde. It then followed a gravel road through the wetlands before joining a country road through farmland. Other than the headwinds, this section wasn’t too bad.
This 18km section was awful! It followed a narrow departmental road (D779) with no shoulder and the traffic was travelling fast. Headwinds were also brutal, so to say we didn’t enjoy it was an understatement. If we were to do it again, we would try to skip this section, but there don’t seem to be many alternatives in the area.
At Gallician, we were back on the cyclepath and followed the Canal du Rhône à Sète all the way to Le Grau-du-Roi. As we approached the touristic city we saw more and more cyclists and the infrastructure was pretty good.
Komoot links
For exact routing details along with additional photos, visit these links
- Apt to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
- Saint-Rémy-de-Provence to Le Grau du Roi
- Le Grau du Roi to Montpellier
Accommodation
Here are the places we stayed while travelling along the EV8.
Apt: Camping Le Luberon
We spent two nights at Camping Le Luberon,. It was a busy campground with very small tent pitches, and located up a big hill from Apt. It had a nice pool, but no real common areas to sit — we ended up eating our dinners near a BBQ area right outside the bathroom. Our small site cost $54 CAD (€34) per night.
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: Camping Mas De Nicolas
We spent one night at Camping Mas De Nicolas, which is only a short detour from the EV8 and also within walking distance of the beautiful city center of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. We were able to pick our site once we arrived tried to find one with some shade. We also had a picnic table and we were able to set up a tarp. This campground also had a nice pool and lounging area. We paid $59 CAD (€38) for one night.
Le Grau-du-Roi: Camping Yelloh! Village Les Petits Camarguais
This campground was more like a resort with some campsites. There were several pools and several restaurants across several campsites. It was a 6km detour from Le Grau-du-Roi and the EV8, but it was a nice location for exploring the beach at La Espiguette. Our site was huge, but right next to a bouncy castle and the pool. We paid $43 CAD (€27) for our site, which was the cheapest along this stretch.
