You independently travel to the ‘pink city’ of Toulouse, a cosmopolitan and cultural city where red bricks are a characteristic feature. Visit the lively centre with its many fine restaurants. Discover architectural treasures, like the Place du Capitol, St. Sernin’s Cathedral and the Couvent des Jacobins, a beautiful 13th century Dominican Monastery. 

Leave town via the Paul Riquet bridge and cycle along the Canal du Midi with its characteristic barges, into the pastel coloured country of Lauragais. Take a break in Avignonet, the centre of the battles during the Albegenic crusades with lots of medieval remains, statues of crusaders and enormous churches. At the foot of the Montagne Noir you will find the highest point of the canal. This is the Narouze watershed between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. You will then drop down to Castelnaudary, maybe to have a real authentic "cassoulet" for dinner? 

Challenge: 64.3km, 467m ascent, 433m descent

Surrounded by the Montagne Noire in the east and the Pyrenees in the south-west, you cycle via an original, thousand- year-old tow-path to the river harbour of Bram. Bricks make way for stones, cornfields turn into vineyards. You pass age old villages and waterworks like the locks at Béteille and the Lalande, that show Paul Riquet’s ingenuity. Also stop at the Cugarel mill, the Villepinte dam and the Rebenty aqueduct. Finally you reach Carcassonne, consisting of the medieval upper town and the Bastide St. Jean below. 

Challenge: 43km, 258m ascent, 294m descent

After breakfast, your trip ends in Carcassonne. We advise you to extend your stay in order to take the time to visit this impressive medieval city, classified as a Unesco Heritage site.