By bike in Périgord: itineraries, greenways and tips!

Do you want to cycle in Périgord ? Thinking of bringing your own bike , or renting a bike in the Dordogne , but not sure if that's a good idea? Follow us for advice , routes and tips to make your cycle touring stay in the Dordogne a joy, or simply to enjoy lovely family outings . Sporty, bucolic, a little tiring too, cycling in Périgord is a pleasure, but you have to be well prepared , because sometimes it climbs ! There are good places for mountain biking , road bikes and greenways to walk safely and above all a lot of beautiful landscapes to enjoy, tourist sites to visit on the road and great memories in perspective. Come on, in the saddle!

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Cycling in Périgord, quite an art

The Périgord and the little Reine , it's a business that rolls. The department offers diverse landscapes , which are conducive to the pleasures of cycle tourism ! If you like sport , you will not be disappointed, because many paths run down the hills along the bastides , near small charming villages and on the banks of our rivers .

Let's be clear: It is not possible to easily reach one point in the department by bike (except by road bike of course). Already, because the Périgord is large and then because the difference in height is not always on our side. It's not the Alps, but not the Netherlands either! By bike in Périgord , with your family and if you are not used to this means of transport, it will be preferable to radiate around your holiday resort or to load everything on the bike rack to set off on the storm. a loop or along a greenway by making a return trip. This is not a problem because the scenery is nice in both directions!

• If, for example, you are staying in Périgueux , cycling is great for walking around the capital of Périgord Blanc, going to the market, and getting easily from one end of the city to the other, without suffering from traffic.
• If you are in Montignac , you will taste the joys of the Vézère valley by bike, but it climbs, so we think of the rental of electric bikes ...
• If you are in Sarlat , the Medieval City is available to you for the Wednesday or Saturday market (the big market!) And if your calves allow it, you are not far from the Dordogne Valley
• From the Vallée des Châteaux , in Beynac or La Roque Gageac or Castelnaud, you can go from one village to another, but always by road.
• In Périgord Vert , it's the same, from Brantôme or Nontron or Thiviers, it's practical to shine around, but not very far because the villages are quickly far from each other.

The Dordogne is a real Gruyere , there are probably more paths than roads ... They are maintained all year round by hunters, mountain bikers, residents, hikers, there are rights of way on some plots, you must have a route before leaving and follow it under penalty of infringing on private property, it is easy to go from a path to a private road, without doing it on purpose!

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The greenways of Périgord

Do you know the different names of routes for cycling?

• The cycle paths are rather urban developments, delimited and reserved only for the circulation of bicycles.
• The greenways are for pedestrians and cyclists, they are built on old traffic routes, such as towpaths, disused railways.
• Cycle routes are small roads with little traffic, often only farmers or local residents who use them.

The greenway from Thiviers to Saint Pardoux-la-Rivière

We are in Périgord Vert and it is a pretty track with a pleasant surface, to walk about 17km. There is nothing special on the path, no village, but beautiful landscapes and a shaded course, perfect for hot summer days! You are not very far from Saint-Jean-de-Côle, classified among the Most Beautiful Villages of France, to discover during a small detour!

Greenway from Sarlat to Cazoulès

The Promenade Périgord Quercy, a pretty asphalt track of around thirty kilometers, which begins in Sarlat, on the Lot side. You will meet only pedestrians and cyclists! It is a track which is very shaded in the first part of the route (starting from Sarlat) and the landscape changes as you approach the Lot, for a thicker vegetation, typical of the causses. We cross pretty villages, we walk along the Dordogne and you can stop on the way to enjoy the landscape, visit tourist sites (I recommend the Water Gardens in Carsac Aillac , a canoe trip and why not a picnic on the banks of the Dordogne?

Read our report on the Green Lane from Sarlat to Cazoulès , to prepare your trip!

The Céou road bike

My favorite ! This road bike (because we cross a few rare cars and tractors) starts from the bottom of the village of Castelnaud-la-Chapelle. Large car park for parking, then drive towards the sunny plain with the meandering Céou. You can take pleasant breaks at the edge of this stream with blue and icy waters (a delight in summer), you cross fields of walnut trees, corn and other seasonal plantations. Some passages in the middle of cute little villages, like Saint-Cybranet and Daglan. After Daglan, the cycle route continues, but it's more sporty, we leave the beautiful tar to go mountain biking and join Bouzic (very pretty !!), then the Abbey in the Lot. You don't have a bike? Remember to visit Joël at Bike bus , he rents bikes and advises you on routes!

To organize your cycling day, read our report on the Vélo Route du Céou

The Greenway of Bergerac, the V91

Here is a nice green way to reach Bergerac from the Tuilières dam, near the Lalinde canal. The best is to park at the dam (free parking) and then, go towards Bergerac by the bicycle road, which is about 15km. The first part is really picturesque, we follow the Dordogne, it is a rather wild landscape, with shady passages and beautiful residences. Respect the pedestrians who wander in large numbers, because it is close to homes. You can take breaks at the water's edge and if you leave early, you may even come across Kingfishers! After Saint-Lizier, it's less fun, we cross fields, we approach the city, but quickly we return to the banks of the Dordogne and it's better! There is a project to continue the greenway to the Gironde, a great idea that will see the light of day quickly, we hope!

Read our report on the Bergerac greenway , we left for half a day with a picnic in Bergerac.

Greenway road bike Isle Valley

Small charming sections with lots of things to discover on the road: you walk along the Isle river, alternating road cycling and greenway. 100 km linear for a beautiful journey to do in several days, with gourmet, cultural or landscape stops. We start a little before Montpon-Ménéstérol, not far from the Gironde, to finish in Bassillac, not far from Boulazac / Trélissac. You pass in particular by Neuvic, Saint-Astier and Périgueux, magnificent points of view are to be contemplated at all times of the year. Be careful, on certain sections near Périgueux, the green lane is very busy and you have to respect pedestrians, sometimes go really slowly in summer so that everyone can move in harmony.

Watch our report on nature in Périgueux , we followed the green way for a large part of our route.

The Flow Vélo, from Thiviers to Charente Maritime! the V92

The Flow Vélo starts from Thiviers and runs to Fouras in Charente Maritime for 290 km. It is a beautiful route, on which there are a multitude of points of interest. It is at the initiative of the 3 departments that it crosses and aims to promote these territories, in a gentle roaming ...

To go further, visit the Flow Vélo website , which is very good for organizing your roaming.

• Find these itineraries and even more, on a very practical map, published by the Departmental Committee of Tourism . You will find loops classified by difficulty, with indications on the routes and the possibility of downloading them to your smartphone.

Signposted mountain bike routes in the Dordogne

The Dordogne department has many trails, but our luck is to have a really complete, precise and very useful markup for hikers. Top guides are available online, on order or from the Tourist Offices. Regarding mountain biking, there are specially marked trails for practice, with the description of connecting routes, loops and circuits.

Be careful in summer, because the paths are also used by pedestrians and vigilance is required to avoid injuring anyone when exiting a rut or in a downhill bend!

Here are some useful and precious links to organize mountain biking outings in Périgord, wherever you are. Think about renting an electric mountain bike, from rental companies or in campsites, because… it climbs!

• The favorite routes for mountain biking clubs and off-road enthusiasts in Perigord
• Different traces of mountain biking in the Dordogne on Utagawavtt
• Mountain biking trails in Périgord Noir, Vézère and Dordogne Valley
• Mountain biking outings in Bergerac and the surrounding area
• MTB circuits in the Céou valley
• MTB routes in Sarladais
• Detailed routes on outdooractive

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Cycling the Dordogne

The Périgord is appreciated by cyclists on road bikes for its pretty roads, beautiful landscapes, possible stops everywhere to rest, stock up on food or visit. However, it should be noted that the roads are sometimes narrow in rural areas such as the Périgord Noir. The surface is not always perfectly smooth, so you may be more comfortable with a Gravel , although a road or race bike will be fine.

The roads can be dangerous in summer, in the Vézère and Dordogne Valley, there are campsites, trucks and also vans that transport canoes from one point to another: be careful and equip you with reflective elements, a helmet (always !!) and intermittent lights in front and behind if possible (yes, like a Christmas tree!).

Here is an article on a beautiful road bike ride in the Valley of the Castles.

We hope that this information will be useful to you, to prepare your bike trips in Périgord and to benefit from all the riches of our department!

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