Stage #2 I Day 5 I Camping Tall Pines, Le Castellet  - Rond Point De L'hôtel De Ville, Martigues I France I MAP

The next day, I left the Les Grands Pins campsite, the road slowly begins to reverse its slope, passing through the town of Cuges-les-Pins, where the OK Corral is the oldest Wild West theme park (opened in 1966 and family-run), with attractions for the whole family, from the little ones to the adults. It is located in the municipality in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, a few kilometers from Marseille.

Then I continued on the scenic road from Cuges-les-Pins, one of the most famous areas for saffron harvesting, to Aubagne and then to the city of Marseille, a rather chaotic city, fascinating for its thousand-year history and unique in its kind, known throughout the world for its soap, the Savon de Marseille. Interesting was to see the beautiful, on the eastern edge of the old fishing port, the giant mirrored roof called Port Vieux Pavilion, which reflects the people standing under the roof, but also the surroundings.

After leaving the beautiful town with the beautiful beaches of Merisilla, I continued by bike along the road "D 113", first passing through Les Pennes-Mirabeau and then the tourist resort of Martigues, where I stayed overnight at The Originals Boutique, Clair Hôtel, Martigues.

After settling into the hotel, I strolled along the cobbled streets and riversides of the charming port town, also known as the "Venice of Provence" for its network of canals. It is located in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, between the lagoon of the Étang de Berre and the Mediterranean coast, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in the south of France.

Stage #2 I Day 3 I Camping Les Pruniers, Mandelieu-la-Napoule - Camping Les Palmiers, Hyères I France I MAP

After leaving the campsite I had crossed the Coast Resorts of Mandelieu-La Napoule, cycling along the navigable river Siagne, passing by a beautiful Château de La Napoule, an ancient medieval fortress restored, from the town of Théoule-sur-Mer.

Then along the famous winding coastal road that offers beautiful breathtaking scenery called La Corniche de L'Esterel, also known as Corniche d'Or, which connects the towns of Saint-Raphaël. This epic stretch of road reminded me of the "California State Route 1", precisely in the Big Sur region of California, USA on a cycling trip I had done years ago.

After having cycled this stretch of road of expanse of majestic land which extends to the pristine beaches kissed by the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean and runs alongside the red rocks of the Estérel massif until arriving at the tourist resort of Saint-Raphaël,

Then I continued through the coastal town in Fréjus, Sainte-Maxime "low-key little sister of Saint-Tropez", and then the seaside town of Port Grimaud nestled in the heart of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, I could have continued to cycle or I could have taken a direct ferry from the Port Grimaud Eglise to the famous tourist town of Saint-Tropez, but I decided not to visit it because it would have been too chaotic being one of the most crowded destinations in the summer and I would have risked finding accommodation for the night.

Then I leave behind the Port Grimaud Eglise, overlooking the azure waters of the Gulf of Saint Tropez and I cycled into the French hinterland towards the communes of the Var department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of the south-east and from the village of Grimaud, Cagnolin, La Môle, then I pedaled on a very quiet road with expansions of vineyard land in the Bormes-les-Mimosas area.

In this area surrounded by a very green mountain range, the Massif des Maure I also climbed the Col du Grattelour with an altitude of 192 m and then descended passing La Londe-les-Maures and then on the coast until reaching the La Condamine campsite in Hyères-les-Palmiers where I spent a night.

Stage #2  I Day 4 Camping La Condamine,  Hyères-les-Palmiers  -  Camping Tall Pines, Le Castellet I France I MAP

The day after leaving Camping La Condamine in Hyères-les-Palmiers, I cycled on the cycle paths through the towns of Le Pradet and Le Garde until I reached the city of Toulon and the Porta d'Italia, where I met a very friendly local cyclist with whom I cycled for a few kilometers, who told me that this is a historic entrance to the city of Toulon, dating back to the 18th century.

Then continuing along the cycle path of the National Navy of Toulon, passing by the seaside resort of Six-Fours-les-Plages and that of Sanary-sur-Mer.

After that the route gradually moved inland uphill with a slowly increasing gradient, which took me through the rural area dominated by green hills and mostly cultivated with vineyards, from which the renowned wines are produced such as Bandol in the Bandol area, Le Plan du Castellet, Le Beausset nestled in a valley at the foot of Sainte-Baume, Parc naturel régional de la Sainte-Baume.

Finally the rural area of ​​Le Castellet always surrounded by terraces of vineyard lands and from this point the road definitely had more slopes reaching about 480 mt on a route of about 3.5 km with an average gradient of 6.8%. Passing by Castellet Village Médiéval, a hilltop village of origin with a pleasant panoramic view of the surroundings and the last stop of the day at the campsite Les Grands Pins, positioned at high altitude amidst shady pine forests located in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the south-east of France.

Stage #2 I Day 6 I Rond Point De L'hôtel De Ville, Martigues - Novotel La Grande Motte Golf, La Grande-Motte I France I MAP

The next day, I left The Originals Boutique, Clair Hôtel, Martigues after a great early breakfast and cycled on quiet roads and then on gravel sections of the Erurvelo 8 cycle path along the canal parallels the Rhône over a distance of kilometres from the town of Arles.

Then I took a small ferry (free for cyclists and pedestrians) at Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône go across the Grand Rhône to Salin-de-Giraud and via a beautiful gravel cycle-pedestrian path that crosses the beautiful Camargue natural park, passing by Les Saintes-Maraies-de-la-Mer. The sea wall (la Digue a la mer), the Gacholle lighthouse is located between the two branches of the Rhône, on the Mediterranean.

The natural park that is located near the town of Arles bordering the Mediterranean Sea is natural area has vast areas of salt marshes, marshes, kilometers of sandy beaches and also includes habitats such as wild horses, black bulls, pink flamingos and other bird species.

Then a Bac du Sauvage or The Sauvage ferry location I took a free cable ferry for bicycles and pedestrians which connects the two banks of the Petit-Rhône in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a charming village lying on the shores of the Mediterranean

Then I passed the area of ​​Saint-Laurent-d'Aigouze, I cycled along the cycle path of the old towing paths that run alongside the Rhone Canal in Sète, crossing the typical marshy areas to reach the walled port of Aigues-Mortes, then in Chenal Martime there were several boat cruise advnters on the canal where we overlooked some beautiful houses and also a maritime fortification and then I arrived at the seaside resort of La Grande-Motte where I found the campsite was full and so I stayed at the Hotel Novotel La Grande Motte Golf, La Grande-Motte.

Stage #2  I Day 7 I Novotel La Grande Motte Golf, La Grande-Motte - Le Camping Beauregard Plage, Marseillan I France I MAP

After leaving the Hotel Novotel La Grande Motte Golf, La Grande-Motte I cycle one of the directions of the EuroVelo 8 path crossing Mauguio, Palavas-Les-Flots, Vic-la Gardiolle, Frontigna and the town of Sèt is located between the Étang de Thau lagoon, the sea and the canals, is known as “The Venice of Languedoc” thanks to its charming canals, which cross the city, similar to those of Venice.

Then the last stop of the day I arrived at th charming coastal town of Marseillan on the Etang de Thau in Languedoc-Roussillon where I was camped at the Camping Beauregard Plage Marseillan which is a nice location and has direct access to fine long sandy beach and close to the shops and restaurants.

The campsite is located on a cycling route network In the heart of Marseillan Plage and is well-suited for cyclists and hikers provaiding good accomadation fecilities  a specific services for cyclists, including a bicycle-friendly piitches are equipped with comfort (electricity, kitchen utensils, fridge, microwave and much more) and without forgetting the Public Bike Repair Station.

Stage #2  I Day 8 I Le Camping Beauregard Plage, Marseillans - Le Camping Municipal Cap Leucate - Barcarès I France I MAP

Before leaving the campsite Camping Beauregard Plage, Marseillans I said goodbye to people I had met the night before at the campsite, a nice girl called Marie who was taking her first cycling trip and would end up in Spain and another guy who was heading to the north of France where I cycled for a few kilometers and on the left side of the road there was the Réserve Naturelle du Bagnas is a coastal wetland, with a mix of natural habitats including the pink flamingos.

We cycled on the EruoVelo 8 that runs through the rural area and unique route to follow, through exceptional natural scenery of Vias, Portiragnes, where we passed the Ranch Les Gaillardels and the point where the cycling friend had continued on his route and I on mine continuing through the trails of the l'Orb area in a green valley and vineyards to then cross via bridge the Orb river, the marina of Port A Sec Du Chichoulet, Fleury, and then route lead the stretch of views of the coastline with the magnificent beaches of Fleury-Saint Pierre la Mer , Narbonne,.

Then the cycle path ran through the Parc naturel régional de la Narbonnaise en Méditerrane of Gruissan and then pedaled on a gravel and wild cycle path that ran alongside the canal de la Rubine of the Reserve Natutrelle Regional de Sainte Lucie then through the seaside resort of Port de Plaisance de Port-la-Nouvelle and its marina.

Then the cycle path of the EurVelo 8 ran through a wild point with stony terrain and on the Mediterranean coastal lagoon of L'étang de La Palme where I met a cyclist who was also super nice and finally passing through the seaside resort of Leucate, known for its kitesurfing spots and world competitions. And it is the place I camped at Camping Municipal Cap Leucate.