Occitania / Pyrenees-Mediterranea is home to professional tour operators such as La Balaguère and La Rébenne that offer organised cycling holidays, the hassle-free way to explore some of the region's finest scenery by bike. Itineraries, route guides, accommodation bookings, meals, luggage transport on each stage of your journey: everything's included.
La Rébenne
Based in Foix, Ariège, La Rébenne is one of France's specialist road cycling, hybrid and mountain biking tour operators. The Loire, Midi-Pyrénées, the Alps, Corsica… La Rébenne features all the essential French cycling destinations in its programme, which also includes holidays in other countries such as Morocco, Turkey and Guatemala. This small company is all about passion, first-hand experience and a personal approach, and takes pride in providing first-class logistics.
Its brochure features moving-on and single-centre holidays, with and without support services, lasting from 4 to 7 days or more. The Canal du Midi, the Canal de Garonne, the Cathar castles, the legendary cols of the Pyrenees, across the Pyrenees and more: the company offers a range of holidays by road bike, hybrid and racing bike.
Sightseeing circuits and mountain biking expeditions, devised and designed as bespoke products, are one of La Rébenne's strong points. Examples of holidays they offer include the mountains of Cathar country, the complete Cathar route (from sea to mountains), the great Ariège-Pyrenees crossing by mountain bike, etc.
La Balaguère
The hiking specialist La Balaguère was born and bred in the heart of the Pyrenees, in Val d’Azun. The company was founded in 1984 by a passionate group of professional guides and mountain leaders, and has since become one of France's big names in adventure travel. Its customers adhere to the values it champions: respect for nature and the mountains, respect for different cultures and ways of life, and respect for others.
Today, La Balaguère organises holidays all over the world, but still remains firmly rooted in its home region. In addition to hiking in the Pyrenees, the company organises various place-to-place cycling and mountain biking routes lasting from 3 to 14 days. From family touring to energetic exploring, these holidays are self-guided and follow magnificent routes like the St James's Way pilgrims' route, the trails through Cathar country, around the Tourmalet and exploring Val d’Azun.