Bedoin, France

VeloNomad Places to Visit Bedoin Information Page – If you've got your own insights about Bedoin, add them into the comments!

Bedoin is a beautiful little town nestled at the foot of Mont Ventoux in delightful Provence.

I've been a couple of times now (2011 here and here and 2009) and it's quite simply one of my favourite places to visit. In the middle of summer it's warm, the days are very long and it's just a very chilled out place to be.

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What I love about Bedoin

Bedoin is a super relaxing little town full of cyclists.

Obviously its drawcard is Mont Ventoux but there is so much more.

The riding in the surrounding hills is quite spectacular – the landscape is amazing, the roads reasonably quiet and of decent quality, and the motorists most accommodating.

Photo from the Sault side of Mont Ventoux

Accommodation

Bedoin is not a large town, and whilst there are a few hotels in town, a few bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) and gites, and a few campgrounds the town quickly fills up in summer.

There are a number of towns in the immediate vicinity (~10km).

• Mormoiron
• Maulacene
• Vaison-la-Romaine
• Carpentras
• Crillon-le-Brave
• Mazan
• La Barroux

You can find accommodation in Bedoin and surrounds on:

• Wotif.com
• Expedia
• Booking.com

Camping

There are a few campgrounds in town, but they are not large.

In 2011, we could not get accommodation at either of the two grounds in town.

The municipal campground has a bunch of spots for campervans (no power or water, just the spot) but these can often be full too.

• La Garenne – right near town.
• Belezy – nudist/nature camp.
• La Pastory about 2km out of town, basically set in a vineyard. If you walk into town at night, take a torch.
• Municipal Camping – easy walking distance to town, often full. Very rocky and a little hilly.

When to Visit

July is peak season and it gets very, very busy in town.

If you can secure accommodation, then by all means go in July.

There'll be loads of cyclists around and the hills will be alive with the sound of freewheels.

Otherwise June and August are good options.

Bike Shops

(From reader Kevin)…

You can hire bikes at the following locations. Most shops should have some English speakers due to the number of English speaking tourists. VeloVentoux definitely do.

• Veloventoux are a good company based in Faucon 20 minutes form Ventoux including accommodation and bike hire.
• Ventoux Bikes (English) in Maulacene.
• La Routes du Ventoux (French) in Bedoin.

Insider Tip

Pizza Phils is pretty damned awesome for pizza, salad and a beer.

Relais du Mont Ventoux is ok (as far as crap French robusta coffee goes) for coffee in the morning. Grab a croissant from the boulangerie next to it. The croissants are awesome.

Reader Kevin recommends the Gorges de la Nesque as a beautiful ride in the area.

Places of interest

Vaison-la-Romaine is nearby. It's a super interesting town and definitely worth a look.

La Barroux – an old fort/castle – is also nearby and in a fun little village.

La Barroux

Montelimar is the nougat capital of the world, and yes, I can confirm that the nougat is fabulous. Buy lots and bring it home.

Climbs

Obviously the elephant in the room is Mont Ventoux. I've climbed this beast half a dozen times, and it is just fun to climb. I also managed to haul my butt up it to complete Les Cingles.

More reading:

• Three-peat report
• How to do Les Cingles.
• 2009 Etape du Tour report
• 2009 Ventoux Etape recce 1
• 2009 Ventoux Etape recce 2

Be aware that the “Mistral” wind (Wiki link) can blow from the north-west for days. It makes riding up Ventoux a bit tricky – I've ridden up in that wind and across the top half in this wind, and it is very sketchy.

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