DIY Bike Tour: Lourmarin, France

If you're looking for the perfect day in the provencal countryside of France, I highly recommend taking a bike ride. These small, medieval towns like Lourmarin can be covered in an afternoon so why not explore a few in one trip?

If you are staying in Lourmarin, take this bike tour on day two. On day one, you can cover the quaint town, browse the tiny galleries, and sip rose in the streets. On day two, you'll likely be ready to explore outside the tiny town and get active.

One of the perks of staying at Le Moulin in Lourmarin is you get access to their e-bike rental. There are plenty of other bike rentals available in this area - perhaps the Tour de France rings a bell - but having bikes available directly in your hotel can't be easier.

When you check in, speak to the front desk about reserving bikes. The e-bikes are skinny and easy to navigate, plus they have a nice turbo pedal assist for those of us who are not international bike champions. For a full day, you can get a bike for 35 euros. The staff of Le Moulin will help you size the bikes, set them up, and give you a nice demo. They also provide bike locks and helmets and will send you off with a map and a few recommendations of which way to go.

I recommend that you bike into Bonnieux and have lunch at Bistrot de Terrail. Bonnieux is roughly a 30 - 40 minute bike ride from Le Moulin (20 kilometers) with an e-bike.

A word to the wise: the road that you'll take into Bonnieux is a road with cars and there is no dedicated bike lane. This is a countryside road, so it's not going to be heavy traffic, but wear a helmet and don't be dumb! It's a common route for many bikers, but make sure cars see you and consider pulling over to the grassy sides to let cars pass safely. All said, don't be a moron and exercise good judgement.

Now that our safety briefing is out of the way, here's the DIY Bike tour from Lourmarin to lunch in Bonnieux (follow along here on Google Maps):

1. Leave Lourmarin by taking a left onto Bd du Rayol. This is basically getting out of the parking area.

2. Then, take a left onto Rte d'Apt (also labeled as road D943 on maps). This is the majority of your ride. Keep following the signs to Bonnieux.

3. You'll come to a hard pin turn about 20 minutes in (right here). Take a hard left onto road D36. This is basically the only turn you have to make on the big road.

4. Keep going on D36. You'll start to see castles and cottages. As you enter the town, hang left onto Anc Chem de Lourmarin. Take this road all the way to the bottom of the hill (it becomes Rue Jean Baptiste Aurard).

5. Feet from the restaurant, hang a left onto Rue Lucien Blanc. This will spit you out into a walking area with ample room to lock your bike against a long fence. Hop off and enjoy lunch!

On the way there on Rte d'Apt, you're going to weave through some of the most gorgeous landscapes. The green grass looks artificially saturated and the sky appears to be painted with perfectly fluffy clouds. The road itself has some rolling hills but surrounding these villages are striking cliffs, complete with babbling brooks and chirping birds. I swear to you, you can even smell the wildflowers. I though Bath and Body Works invented this concept but I have been proven wrong.

A countryside road off of the main route

With the pedal assist on the e-bikes, if you're in decent health you won't be too wiped. But still, lunch will hit the spot. Once you lock up your bikes, walk into Bistrot de Terrail, which boasts a large outdoor patio overlooking the provencal countryside. For a lovely lunch, order the:

• Goat cheese salad - A bed of butter lettuce topped with walnuts, spiced carrots, and served with decadent "pillows of goat cheese" which are basically a fried pastry filled with goat cheese. One of the best things I ate in France.

• Deviled eggs - These are a less artificial version of our Easter favorite. They were creamy and covered in a soft cheese.

• Quiche - We got the ham quiche which also had artichokes and a crunch which likely was celery. The crust was perfect and this slab with great for sharing, plus came with a side salad.

If you're looking to indulge like the locals, order a pastis as well. This anis-flavored liquor is served in a tall cocktail class and comes half-filled. You're intended to fill the glass with ice and water to cut the flavor before you sip. Listen - this licorice-flavored cocktail isn't exactly my next obsession, but order one for the table and do as the locals do.

Pastis is not just a restaurant in New York!

Bistrot de Terrail takes VISA and is open for lunch until 3pm. Right across the street you'll find a gelato shop (also serving up sweet crepes) if you think you'll need a sugar boost to bike back home.

To get back, follow the steps above in reverse! Once we returned to Lourmarin, we decided to explore a few backcountry roads around the castle because we didn't want to give our bikes up just yet. All said, we set out on our bike tour around noon and returned around 4pm. With the pedal assist and the long lunch break this wasn't too exerting but still gave us an active afternoon and another village to explore in Provence.

The view just steps from Bistrot de Terrail

While they're not expecting it, it's kind to tip the concierge as you return - we gave them a 20 euro note for giving us a run-down of the bikes and the journey. All said, this was one of the highlights of our south of France trip. Happy biking!