Читать книгу The River Rhone Cycle Route. From the Alps to the Mediterranean онлайн

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Entering France, heading first southwest and then northwest, the route follows the winding river through the Rhone gorge cutting between the Jura and the Savoy Alps (Stages 7–9) with limestone cliffs on both sides. On Stage 10 population density increases as the route approaches Lyon, France’s second largest city and gastronomic capital. From here it turns south (Stages 11–17) following a wide relatively straight valley between the Alps to the east and Massif Central to the west, passing historic cities such as Vienne, Valence and Montélimar. This is an important transport route from northern Europe to the Mediterranean and the valley is followed by three railways (passenger, freight and high-speed), a national road (N7) and motorway (A7), although these seldom impinge upon the cycle route. South of Vienne (Stage 12) vineyards line the valley and after Valence (Stage 15), which styles itself as ‘gateway to the south’, the climate becomes mild enough for olives to survive the winter.

Beyond the Papal capital of Avignon (Stage 18) the route reaches the flat lands of the Mediterranean littoral and the way of life, architecture and landscape become recognisably Provençale, immortalised by Vincent van Gogh in his paintings of the area around Arles (Stage 19). The final leg (Stage 20) takes the route through the sparsely inhabited flat lands of the Rhone delta, known as the Camargue, to reach the Mediterranean 40km west of Marseille. See Appendix A for a breakdown of the starting and finishing points and the distance covered by each stage.