vigne à vélo
(Vineyard by Bike): a significant achievement
The ideal spot to set up the base camp for the conquest of « Côtes de Provence » by bike without overloading the panniers is exactly ....
right here !
The village « Les Arcs sur Argens » is situated right in the middle of the vineyard. So La Route des Vins (Wine Route) by bike starts just here. As a special bonus once back, it is possible to purchase any Côtes de Provence bottle at la Maison des Vins de Provence
situated just down the street from l'Oustaou d'Aqui !
Since 2016 La Vigne à Vélo (Vineyard by Bike) is also a local cycle route winding through the vineyards to the delight of cyclists and other fans of environmentally friendly means of transport !
This is indeed a significant achievement (26 miles after completion of work) that increases dramatically the opportunities to discover heritage on traffic-free routes.
It is also the opportunity to rediscover the day to day use of a bicycle (connection to railway station, high schools and town centres) as it is the case in Northern Europe where climate is not so mild...
And finally, it expands the number of cycling routes either for family outings or for long rides beyond Les Arcs (Vallée de l'Argens, Massif des Maures, Dracénie, Provence Verte, Villages Perchés - Haut-var, Gorges du Verdon, Cöte d'Azur, Alpes du Sud)
A few articles try to describe this amazing diversity of landscapes among Les Arcs, région, coastline, mountain, EuroVelo network (and also daily use, Train + Bike, Roc d'Azur). Content is on display in the Bicycle Rentals homepage.
Also, the section Sport & Leisure of the subject Things to Do helps to find a route that match your criteria (type of bicycle, location, distance, difficulty, traffic, landscape, road quality or facilities along the route):
>>> CYCLING ROUTES
And finally, the tab Routes & Rides shows the routes nearby by a clic on a local map.
La Vigne à Vélo at the present time
The first phase of work of La Vigne à Vélo
was carried out during the winter 2015-2016 in Les Arcs-sur-Argens heading La Motte.
It is the section 2 (5 km) that links the Rond-point (Roundabout) des Deux Cyprès also called “Rond point de la Gare” to the Rond-point “de Sainte-Roseline” nearby the eponymous military railway station.
The second phase of work was carried out during the winter 2016-2017. It is the section 5 (4 km) that links Draguignan to Trans en Provence. And finally, estimated date of completion for the section 6 (5.3 km) that links Trans en Provence to Sainte-Roseline is 2018-04.
progress report is shown on the table below.
Section 1 | Vidauban - Taradeau - Les Arcs | X PLANNED |
Section 2 | Les Arcs - Sainte Roseline | √ COMPLETED |
Section 3 | Sainte Roseline - La Motte - Le Muy | X PLANNED |
Section 4 | Sainte Roseline - Le Muy | X PLANNED |
Section 5 | Draguignan-Trans-en-Provence | √ COMPLETED |
Section 6 | Trans - La Motte | WORK-IN-PROGRESS - EDC 04/2018 |
How to get to La Vigne à Vélo
Maps, GPS location together with some details are available for the sections being completed.
Directions are given arriving by Motorway A8, highway N7 or train either from Marseille (west) or Nice (east).
- Vidauban - Taradeau - Les Arcs (§ how to get to)
- Les Arcs - Sainte Roseline (§ how to get to)
- Sainte Roseline - La Motte - Le Muy (§ how to get to)
- Sainte Roseline - Le Muy (§ how to get to)
- Draguignan-Trans-en-Provence (§ how to get to)
- Trans - La Motte (§ how to get to)
La Vigne à Vélo at a later stage
In a few years, La Vigne à Vélo will become a comprehensive network of bicycle routes for both sightseeing or utility purpose consisting of Bicycle Paths (21km),Bicycle Lanes (4km),Paved Shoulders (5km) and Shared Lanes (12km)for the six sections that connect the towns of the CAD(Communauté d'agglomération Dracénoise - association of municipalities around Draguignan) listed below.
Places linked
For the whole territory
- la gare (railway station) Les Arcs-Draguignan
- High schools
- Tourist sites
- Town centres
The municipalities (from south to north)
- Vidauban - section 1
- Taradeau - section 1
- Les Arcs - section 1and section 2
- La Motte - section 3andsection 6
- Le Muy - section 3andsection 4
- Trans - section 5
- Draguignan - section 5
Future links also planned
- Le Massif des Maures (from Les Arcs sur Argens village centre alongside the Réal river )
- The Mediterranean cycle route EuroVelo 8 (EV8)
- The route « Le circuit des panoramas » (Bargemon, Montferrat, Châteaudouble and Ampus)