The week
This is one of our favorite routes: from the majestic Pyrenees to the Mediterranean to the medieval town of Girona. The route includes Port de Pailheres, a challenging climb on which the professionals have often raced in the Tour de France.
We started this trip in the in the town of Puigcerdà, the capital of the Cerdanya region, with town squares, cobbled walking streets, and majestic surrounding mountain landscape.
Puigcerdà is where many professional cyclists train in the early part of the season. We enjoyed the high mountains and rode the beautiful climb of Pailhères, as well as several other smaller climbs.
The group spent three nights in Puigcerdà at the lovely Villa Paulita located on a peaceful lake in the centre of the town. Villa Paulita was a Modernist family mansion built at the turn of the 20th century.
On the third day of our trip, we rode over the col de la Crueta to the Vall d’en Bas, a valley famous for its agricultural products. The nearby Garrotxa Volcanic Park added an interesting element to the scenery with its long extinct volcanos, dark soils, and volcanic rock which is incorporated into much of the architecture in the area.
We stayed in Vall d’en Bas for two nights and enjoyed the beauty of Els Hostalets d´en Bas, el Far on our rides in the region.
On the fifth day, we rode to Girona, through La Garratxa and stopped for a drink at Lake Banyoles, the host of the 1992 Olympic Rowing events, en route.
We spent the last part of the tour in Girona, at the Hotel AC Palau de Bellavista and on our last day we rode to the Costa Brava and along the Mediterranean Sea.
Day 1 Cerdanya.
Day 2 Port de Pailhères.
Day 3 Vall de Cerdanya to Vall d’en Bas.
Day 4 Vall d’en Bas.
Day 5 Volcanos.
Day 6 Costa Brava.
We are now booking 2020 custom cycling tours. For information, please contact us at [email protected]
