walking & adventure holidays

mountain biking

Mountain biking in the Alpes Maritimes

Six self-guided days out which explore the rugged terrain of the Vésubie and Tinée valleys, taking in some of the best established routes in the area.

You will experience wonderful views across the Mercantour massif as well as traversing Mollières, an abandonned village, enjoy going over the Col de Turini, famous for its Monaco car rally and passing through Authion, famous for being the last bastion of the Maginot line during WWII.

The week starts and finishes gently but takes in, among others, the well known Trans Vésubienne ride in which keen French riders compete every year.

Either bring your own bike and hire a car or hire bikes on site. Softer variations on this theme are of course available.

In addition to this sampler week in the Vésubie valley, do note that the Alpes-Maritimes has more than 3500 kilometres of mountain bike paths, many of which use former mule paths and forestry tracks. Should you run out of ideas for days out, other routes can easily be created by consulting a local map. For more gentle terrain, the Massif de l’Esterel (south west of Cannes), sandwiched neatly between the Mediterranean and the Lac Saint Cassien.

Testimonials

It was great for us –

Elizabeth Laing – August 2005

Season

Early May to September

Departures to date

2008 - contact us for further details.

Pricing

Standard weekly package :

Gite based - £305

Hotel or Chambre d'Hote B&B - £455

Hotel or Chambre d'Hote half board - £610

For non-standard periods and programmes, contact us to discuss the options. Read about our flexible way of working.

Walking Grades

grade

attributes	1	2	3
physical fitness	x	x	x
confidence with heights	x	x	x
technical ability	x	x	x
mountain experience	x	x	x

Our grades are explained in "essential info"

Your Accommodation

Gîte

Enjoy the beautifully secluded situation of La Zoucière in the small hamlet of Berthemont les Bains in the Vésubie valley. The gîte sits on the ground floor of the house and is fully self contained. There are shops about 10 minutes drive from the hamlet, and an organic farm just 200m down the road from the house. Follow this link for more details.

Hotel or Chambre d'Hôte

Le Chalet or La Bonne Auberge are situated in the town of St Martin Vésubie, a thriving small community that has been the centre of life in the valley since the 12th century. There are plenty of local shops and restaurants to choose from, and the Bonne Auberge has its own restaurant.
Le Grand Chalet is a homely chambre d'hôte run by Christine and Luc and is situated overlooking the small village of St Dalmas Valdeblore. A good week of outdoor activity is well fuelled by Christine's great cooking, crafted from home made (mainly organic and local) ingredients. Vegetarians are welcomed.

Other accommodation options can be found here

What's included

8 day trip, 7 nights accommodation. Transport to ride starts if required. Self drive recommended. Bike hire an additional £100 per week
Gîte Based : self catering, no meals or drinks included.
Hotel/Chambre d'Hôte B&B : Breakfasts only - evening meals can be taken at local restaurants, and packed lunches can be purchased at local food stores.
Hotel/Chambre d'Hôte Half Board : All meals, inclusive of packed lunches. Drinks at own cost.
Transport : To and from all venues. To and from Nice airport, aside from gite guests who decide to hire a car during their stay in Berthemont. We offer supermarket visits for self catering guests who do not wish to hire a car.

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive and transfer to Berthemont. Accommodation in gîte or hotel B&B or full board.
Day 2 An introductory circuit which starts from Le Boréon and takes you over the Col de Salèse and into the Mollières valley to the deserted village of Mollières. 22km, ascent/descent 840m.
Day 3 Set off on one of the two most renowned rides in the area, the Valdeblore crossing, which takes you through larch forests, alpine meadows and pine plantations over into the Tinée valley. 27 km, ascent 700m/descent 1900m.
Day 4 Head south to enjoy the gentler scenery around the Col de Turini and the ruined forts around Authion. A quick detour is possible on your return to stock up on cheese at the Vacherie de Mantégas.Look down to the coast and see the splendid Riviera coast in the distance and sometimes even the island of Corsica. 15km, ascent 500m/descent 1700m.
Day 5 Day off to relax and enjoy the countryside.
Day 6 The Transvésubienne ride is one of the most challenging in the area but one of the most spectacular, allowing a birds’ eye view of the whole of the valley. 25km, ascent 700m/descent 1700m.
Day 7 Cool down ride starting from St Dalmas Valdeblore – a pretty circuit through the Black Forest. 11km, ascent/descent 220m.
Day 8 Return to the UK

Suitable for

Adults and young persons over 14 years.

Your welfare & protection

As a small enterprise, it's very important to us that our guests are professionally looked after during their stay with us.
Your protection : our operational base is in France, and our company in France is registered as a tour operator (habilitation touristique) and holds business failure cover and public liability cover.
Your welfare : all our activities are led by fully qualifed local Mountain Guides and International Mountain Leaders (Accompagnateurs), thus ensuring that you receive not only top professional care, but that you will also benefit from their in-depth local knowledge of the regions that we operate in.

This web site is serviced by Futureservers. Contact John Short at john@webok.co.uk.
Copyright : Spacebetween Alpine Adventures Ltd registered in England, company No : 5154532.
SARL Spacebetween registered in France, siret No : 47784956600013 Habilitation Touristique No : H.A. 006.06.0007