AUTHORISED HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE TOURS AROUND EUROPE - CHATEAU, GORGES & MEDITERRANEAN 2009

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This motorcycle tour is the ultimate road trip in the true Harley spirit, if you want to see the best of undiscovered France, ride the best roads with outstanding scenery and stay in luxury then this is the tour for you!

Day 1. Sunday May 24. Calais to Evreux (approx. 175 miles)
We arrive in Calais at around 11.30am local time and head towards Rouen. To crunch some miles the first 100 miles will be on motorway. We then leave the motorway and cut through the beautiful rolling hills and forests of Normandy. Stopping on our way in Lyon- la-Foret, a picturesque Norman village with a covered market dating from the 17th century. We then cross the Seine and continue onto our first night's hotel in Evreux where dinner with wine is included.

Day 2. Monday May 25. Evreux to Bourges (approx. 180 miles)
We leave Evreux and cut cross-country using minor country roads via woods and villages avoiding the major truck routes around Dreux and Chartres. We'll stop in Maintenon, with its old buildings, aqueduct and Chateau dating from 1674 and then on towards the Loire and our lunch stop in Chateauneuf-sur-Loire. We cross the mighty Loire at Sully where the Chateau makes a beautiful picture next to the river. On towards Bourges and our final stop of the day in Aubigny with its old timber beamed houses built by Robert Stewart, a Scotsman who inherited the town from an ancestor. Our hotel tonight is in the old centre of Bourges and you are free to eat out in this historic town.

Day 3. Tuesday May 26. Bourges to Clermont Ferrand (approx. 140 miles)
As we leave Bourges we run alongside the river Cher towards St Armand and our first break of the day. We cut through this quiet region via Chambon-sur-Voueze with its massive Romanesque church and then onward towards Clermont Ferrand with its crater topped, now idle volcanoes standing in a line above the city. Tonight's hotel is in the city centre and an evening meal and wine is included.

Day 4. Wednesday May 27. Clermont Ferrand to Satillieu (approx. 125 miles)
We leave the city of Clermont Ferrand and head high across the scenic Auvergne until we once again meet the River Loire. We also run the Gorge of Arzon & Loire and follow the river towards the high hills and wooded region of the Ardeche. Tonight's hotel is in the middle of wooded hills and dinner with wine is once again included.

Day 5. Thursday May 28. Satillieu to Meyrueis (approx. 155 miles)
The whole day is spent crossing high hills, passes and valleys across the Ardeche, the Lot and finally entering the breathtaking gorges of the Tarn. We will call at several places including Pradelles, a lively village in the Allier Gorge; Fay, a mountain village and then on to St.Enimie, nestled under steep cliffs at the end of a deep descent into the Tarn Gorge.
Finally, on to our hotel, a Chateau set in private grounds. General De Gaul stayed here on his final trip home from Spain. Dinner with wine is once again included.

Day 6. Friday May 29. Meyrueis to Saint Cyprien (Perpignan) (approx. 170 miles)
We start the day running the length of the gorge de la Jonte as it joins up with the gorge of the Tarn near Millau. Then for a change join the motorway, but not just any motorway, the A75 and cross the impressive Sky Bridge, the world's highest road bridge. We stay on the scenic winding motorway as it crosses the high plateau and drops down to the Mediterranean coast. For tonight and the next two nights we stay at the four-star Ile de la Lagune at St Cyprien near Perpignan. The hotel is in an exclusive position on its own tiny island overlooking a lagoon with the Mediterranean beyond. Dinner is included tonight.

Day 7. Saturday May 30 & Day 8 Sunday May 31.
The next two days are free for you to enjoy however you wish. You could just relax by the hotel pool or on the hotel's private lagoon front Beach. You could take the 200 mile return ride to Barcelona or pop in to Andorra for some duty free shopping (also a 200 mile return trip). The Salvador Dali Museum is at Figueras, only 120 miles return.
The next two nights are on a bed-and-breakfast basis; however the hotel chef has a Michelin star, so you may prefer to eat in!

Day 9. Monday June 1. Saint Cyprien to Carcassonne (approx. 145 miles)
After resting by the coast we now start our return journey heading west first and starting to climb slowly towards the Pyrenees. Our first stop is Prades; a typical Catalan town then on to Villefranche de Conflent were a castle has stood since 1092 to protect the Tet Valley. Onwards and upwards to Mont Louis, the gateway to the Cerdange and France's highest fortress at 5250ft. We then run north across the high plateau, via gorges to our stop tonight in Carcassonne. The hotel is a five-minute walk away from the old walled city. The importance of the town's position was realised by Simon de Montfort who made it one of his first stops in the crusade of 1209.

Day 10. Tuesday June 2. Carcassonne to Condat-sur-Vezere (approx. 200 miles)
We leave Carcassonne and go around Toulouse towards Cahors with stops on the way at Saissac, a lovely old village with its ruined Chateau and Lavaur. Then direct north to Cahors and our Chateau for tonight in Condat-sur-Vezere, where dinner with wine is, once again included. The Chateau was built between the 12th and 15th century and stands on an 806 hectare estate in the heart of the Perigord Noir.

Day 11. Wednesday June 3. Condat-sur-Vezere to Angouleme (approx. 110 miles)
North today, following the route taken by Richard the Lionheart during the crusades and onto Jumillac. Here we find a former Templar stronghold with a fantasia of turrets and chimneys, a truly impressive chateau. Onward via Brantome for lunch and then into the old centre of Angouleme which is alive with cafes, bars and restaurants amongst its old narrow streets. Tonight you are free to eat out.

Day 12. Thursday June 4. Angouleme to Blois (approx. 175 miles)
First stop today is the Harley dealer in Poitiers, then on to the Loire via Chauvigny with its impressive historic centre. Then to Montrichard standing on the River Cher and finally following the Loire river edge until we reach Blois. Blois stands on the riverside and was once the centre of the royal court of Louis XII. Once again you are free to eat out and there is plenty of choice in this lively town.

Day 13. Friday June 5. Blois to Rouen (approx. 150 miles)
Cross country from the Loire to Rouen and your final night. Rouen stands on the River Seine and is where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake. The old quarter and cathedral is only a short walk from tonight's hotel and dinner with wine is once again included.

Day 14. Saturday June 6. Rouen to Calais (approx. 140 miles)
Motorway and main road today as we head direct back to Calais in time or your afternoon ferry.

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