Come and bike a fantastic tour through some of the most beautiful parts of the eastern Pyrenees. This tour starts with two nights in France and then crosses the border into Spain for two days in the open high altitude valley of the Cerdanya. The border runs down the middle of the valley and you may sometimes cross between the countries without realising. Finally you make the big climb over the magnificent Cadí-Moixero mountain chain and descent into the beautiful region of Berguedà, where your tour will end.
Included – on your first day you will bike with a guide who will ensure that you know how to operate the bikes and the GPS that you will use to navigate for the rest of your trip.
This is a fantastic introduction to the beautiful eastern Pyrenees, taking you through a variety of idyllic landscapes!
Highlights
- Beautiful days of biking, 95% on gravel or asphalt roads with very little traffic
- Reaching peaks of up to 2200 meters
- Passing beautiful villages on both sides of the border
- Natural hot springs with amazing views over the Pyrenees
Difficulty
Route Description
Day 1 – arrival to the Pyrenees
From Barcelona Airport (closest international airport) you take a train up to the border town of Puigcerda. Here we meet you and take you up to Font Romeu and your first hotel.
If you come with car you can leave it in Font Romeu during your trip and we arrange a transfer for you back to Font Romeu at the end of the trip.
3* hotel in Font Romeu
Day 2 – Font Romeu loop
After a good breakfast you prepare yourself for the first day of riding. Our guide will come to the hotel with your rental bikes and all the information you need for your days of biking.
After showing you how the bikes and the GPS work you set off on a beautiful circular tour. The village of Font Romeu is located at 1700 meters altitude so you are already high up in the mountains. You then continue all the way up to 2300 meters with beautiful views towards the almost 3000 meter high mountains. This is truly a panoramic day – the views are just amazing!
In the afternoon you return to your hotel with plenty of time to visit the village.
Extra: if you want to our guide can prepare a pick-nick with local delicacies to eat up in the mountains.
MTB Easy: 22 km, +-550 vertical meters
MTB Medium: 35 km, +-900 vertical meters
3* hotel in Font Romeu
Day 3 – into Spain
After breakfast you leave your luggage in the reception of the hotel and get up on your trusty bikes for a long downhill down into the valley.
During the day you’ll pass several picturesque villages on both sides of the borders. After the first long downhill we recommend you to stop in the Spanish village of Llivia. This village is actually in France but belongs to Spain(!).
From here you continue on towards the main city in the valley, Puigcerda. This small city is on the Spanish side of the border but the hospital for example is a shared hospital between France and Spain. Here it is very common to switch between Spanish, French and Catalan. The center is beautiful and there is plenty of shopping.
MTB Easy: 22,8 km, +250/-850 vertical meters
MTB Medium: 37 km, +450/-1050 vertical meters
3* hotel in Puigcerda
Day 4 – natural hot springs in France
Today you do a beautiful tour into France passing by several interesting churches and villages. If you do the MTB Medium-tour you will also get to see the impressive solar oven in France.
The highlight of the day is the visit to the roman baths of Dorres, natural hot springs which have been used for thousands of years by our ancestors. Entry to the hot springs costs 6 €/person (not included). Don’t forget your swimming gear!
After the visit you coast downhill on good roads back to Puigcerda.
MTB Easy: 30 km, +/- 500 vertical meters
MTB Medium: 42 km, +/- 1000 vertical meters
3* hotel in Puigcerda
Short tour
Day 5 – your tour ends
If you are doing 3 days of biking, your tour ends after breakfast and you return to Barcelona by train or taxi. The train station is right next to the hotel.
Long tour
Day 5 – into the Berguedà
After breakfast you check out of the hotel and get ready to be picked up. We will load you and your bikes into our van and then drive you 45 minutes up into the mountains. MTB Medium will be dropped off at the ski resort of La Molina, while MTB Easy will be taken upp to the pass at almost 2000 metres.
From the col you will have fantastic 360 degrees views. After a couple of hours of biking you will arrive at the beautiful village of Castellar de n’Hug. The village is famous for its beauty but also for the yearly sheepdog championships, for being the source of the river Llobregat and for baking gigantic croissants!
After the stop for coffee and a big (or small) croissant you will ride on towards the valley. Finally you will arrive at the village of La Pobla de Lillet, your home for the night. The famous architect Gaudí, who designed the Sagarda Familia, spent a lot of time here. This is where the Güell family, now mostly famous for the Parque Güell in Barcelona, made their money. They had several coal mines, and then started the big cement factory that made possible the building of the new Barcelona.
The village have several interesting sights, notably the cement factory museum and the Jardins Artigas, beautiful gardens designed by Gaudí.
MTB Easy: 35 km, +300, -1300 vertical meters
MTB Medium: 49 km, +1050, -2000 vertical meters
3* hotel in La Pobla de Lillet
Day 6 – Catllaràs loop
After breakfast you head out on your last day of biking – a fantastic loop of the Catllaràs mountains.
Both tours go up into the heart of the Catllaràs mountains, one of the most remote areas of north eastern Spain. Here you will find a huge population of vultures and other birds of prey, Edelweiss growing in the meadows, and very few other people. The biking and the views are spectacular. You will pass by a beatuiful hut designed by Gaudi for the workers of the old mines.
At the end of the tour you will pass by the old monastary of Falgars with an excellent restaurant where you can have lunch (we confirm that it is open).
For your last night we recommend that you let the owner of the hotel cook you their amazing tasting-dinner, local products cooked and presented before you. A great experience!
3* hotel in La Pobla de Lillet
Day 7 – end of tour
After breakfast your tour ends.
More Information
Included
Hotel nights
Breakfasts
Luggage transport to your next hotel
Map, tourist information and route descriptions in English
GPS with track
Welcome meeting and guiding on the first day
Tourist taxes
Emergency phone number (7 days a week)
Not included
Transfer to the start of the tour
Transfer from the end of the tour
Bike rental
Lunch and dinners
Extra nights
Extras
Bike rental – read more
Picnics – we can prepare you lunch for the days when you don’t pass by restaurants.
Airport-pickup – between 150 € to 210 €, depending on the size of your group.
Airport-drop-off – between 180 € to 230 €, depending on the size of your group.
Guide – a guide can join you for your entire bike tour, read more.
General information
Dates run from May to the middle of October. August is a complicated month with fully booked hotels, it is important to reserve well in advance. The tour can be started on any day of the week.
The closest airport is Barcelona El Prat (BCN). There are trains from Barcelona to the city of Puigcerda where we pick you up and bring you to Font Romeu.
Alternatively, we can arrange for you to be picked up at the airport (contact us for price). There is parking at the hotel.
Bike rental
For this tour we recommend you to use a modern mountain ebike. You can bring your own bikes or rent from us, we then bring the bikes to your hotel on the first morning and pick them up at your hotel at the end of the tour.
Weekend: 180 €/person
Full tour: 295 €/person
Read more about our bikes.
Price
Prices for 2024. During high season (July and August) the prices can be higher.
Short tour
| Persons | Price |
|---|---|
| 2 | 725 € |
| 4+ | 595 € |
4 nights in B&B. Price per person, sharing double/twin room. Individual and triple rooms available on request.
Full tour
| Persons | Price |
|---|---|
| 2 | 975 € |
| 4+ | 895 € |
Please note: The price is slightly higher during high season and it can be hard to find hotel rooms available.
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