Moto Auvergne Plaisir - Motorcycle travel agency
Motorcycle road trip
Follow your dreams, they know the road!
DAY 1
Le Puy-en-Velay loop - 234km
Please let us know if you will be arriving the day before.
Depart from Puy-en-Velay for a circuit that will take you through the Margeride, once the territory of the infamous wolf, the Beast of Gévaudan.
This granitic area, located between the Cantal, Haute-Loire and Lozère, is made up of rounded hills. A mysterious terrain, holding many secrets that reminds one of Irish Celtic landscapes.
The winding roads take you through a variety of landscapes - meadows, moors, forests and riversides. The route is your touristic destination !
DAY 2
Le Puy-en-Velay loop - 198km
For this day trip, you follow a road that will take you to the southern part of the Haute-Loire. You will pass by Lac du Bouchet – a perfectly round volcanic lake, and then you will visit the Abbey of Mazan where you will see the “golden circles” by the artist Felice Varini. There is also a 3336m long tunnel along your way, emerging out onto a glorious view of the Ardeche mountains.
When you start heading back North again, there is still a lot to look forward to : the Lac d’Issarlès (another impressive volcanic lake), the castle of Arlempdes, the castle and abbey at Monastier sur Gazeille and the castle of Bouzol amongst other things. Not to be missed!
DAY 3
Le Puy-en-Velay loop - 173km
For this day you will remain in the southern part of the Haute-Loire but you will gain in altitude. The 180° view towards St Front and Fay-sur-Lignon is breathtaking! See it for yourself! On your left is the Massif du Meygal, on your right the Monts du Vivarais and in front of you is the regional Natural Park of the Ardeche mountains. To cap it off, on a clear day you can see the entire range of the Alps and Mont Blanc.
This circuit then goes up to the Mont Mezenc, the highest part of the Ardeche and the Haute-Loire via the Cirques des Boutières and the source of the Loire river at Mont Gerbier du Jonc.
You will pass through the villages of Béage, Les Estables and Moudeyres with its picturesque thatched roofs and the farm of the Perrel brothers. All landmarks worth visiting before your return to Le Puy en Velay
DAY 4
Le Puy-en-Velay loop - 171km
Rochepaule, Lalouvesc, St-Bonnet-le-Froid, Saint-Julien-Molhesabate… Do these village names ring any bells ? Yes ! You’ve got it ! These are all on the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. It goes without saying, there will be bends !
However, you will be able to take breaks in order to enjoy the views and take in the character of the villages that you pass through.
There is a nocturnal guided tour that will take you through the alleys and ginnels of the old town and to visit the different laser displays of “Le Puy en Lumières”.
DAY 5
Le Puy-en-Velay / Brioude - 228km
You soon arrive at Ceyssac and the remains of its 11th Century castle. The next part of your journey is a heavenly drive as you pass over the Col de Peyra Taillade and make the descent into the Gorges d’Allier, going through villages, each one more beautiful than the last; St Bérain, Prades, with it’s basalt columns, St Julien-des-Chazes with its chapel on the opposite riverbank, St- Arcons-d’Allier and Peybrac with its abbey. The river Allier is your guide until you reach the ascent at St Just près de Brioude, made famous by the passage of the Tour de France in 2019.
Next, you pass through the gorges of Allagnon. You may have heard of the Imperial Route 10, it used to link up Paris to Perthus via Clermont-Ferrand, Millau, Béziers and Perpignan. This is the route that will take you to the small medieval city of Blesle and then the Castle of Léotoing. The foothills of the Livradois Forez National Park are the last stage of your journey with a little detour through the village of Lavaudieu to add to your pleasure.
This road trip ends in Brioude which has the largest of the Roman churches in Auvergne, Basilica Saint-Julien.
DAY 6
Brioude
Your road trip is over. It’s time to say goodbye after a last breakfast together.
If you can delay your departure for a few hours, you could visit the Saint-Julien Basilica. With nearly 300 sculpted capitals, 37 stained glass windows by the artist and Dominican monk Kim en Joong which diffuse a myriad of colours on to the two-tone stones composed of basalt and quartz, it really is worth a detour !
If you would like us to arrange a guided tour for you, please ask.
Crédit photo : "Basilique Saint-Julien de Brioude" by Konrad Hädener is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
MAP - Moto Auvergne Plaisir reserves the right to modify the itinerary without notice as provided for in the GCS and CDV
Non-contractual program.
The daily descriptive maps briefly reveal the routes and are in no way representative of the detailed GPX files that will be provided for the road trip.