Day of arrival
There will always be things to see and do in the towns and cities we chose to start and end our tours and often the hotels will often have leisure and spa facilities. This gives time to relax and recover from any travel or jetlag because guests arrive at various times with some arriving earlier than others, so, nothing can be formally planned.
If you are hiring a bike through us we shall arrange to either have it delivered to the hotel or take you to the collection point. There you can check over your machine and ensure all is to your satisfaction. You can take a brief ride to familiarise yourself with the machine.
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MotoGP Weekend 3 Day Tickets
You will have a 3 day pass (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) to the Circuit de Catalunya Barcelona-Montmeló on one of the Grandstands staying in a 4 star hotel about 5 minutes drive from the venue.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has FIA Grade 1 license and features long straights and a variety of corners making it an all-rounder circuit. Built in 1991 in readiness for the 1992 Olympic Games when the European Motorcycle Grand Prix was held at the circuit. Last resurfaced in 2018 to offer more grip and minor track alterations to slow bike sthrough the chicane will ensure this will be an exciting spectator event.
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Barcelona sightseeing
We shall stay in one of the top hotels in Barcelona, such as the Sheraton, Hilton, Grand Central, Princess, Majestic, W (at the waterfront), etc. Usually the Hotel will be on or close to Avinguda Diagonal and ideally placed for those wishing to sightsee the city. There is a lot to see and do in Barcelona and so there will be something to interest everyone.
Selective Barcelona's highlights are shown on the map linkincluding Casa Batllo, La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Mercado de La Boqueria and Montjuïc Castle but there are many more places of interest and far too many to list.
You might wish to wander the streets admiring the architecture by Guidi (such as Casa Batllo pictured left) and others of the Catalan Modernism or you might like to do some shopping or visit the market.
Then again you may prefer to relax at the water be that the hotel pool or on the beach (Barcelona has several beaches), or visit the Port Vell or Port Olympic to admire the yachts.
We shall regroup for dinner at our hotel for formal introductions and to discuss the plan for the week ahead.
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Barcelona to Besalu - circa 230 km (142 miles) 4.5 hours riding
Those hiring bikes shall collect them the night before or first thing in the morning. One of the dealers is only a five minute walk from the hotel.
We will depart soon after breakfast heading north on some highways at first before joining some great twisty mountain roads. This first day of riding is a relatively light journey heading north from Barcelona to Besalu. The route we shall take is indirect and traverses varied road types but all in all expect to spend about 4.5 hours in the saddle.
We break for morning coffee at a café close to Massís del Montseny which towers to just over 1700 meters and the route continues twist through the mountains to Les Guilleries park where we stop for lunch.
The final stretch takes us to the outskirts of Olot then east to Banyoles before turning north to Besalu. We rest for the night at a 3-star hotel in Besalu. It is a quaint old building with many of the bedrooms having mountain views or overlooking the old town bridge.
The name Besalu is derived from the Latin Bisuldunum, meaning a fort on a mountain between two rivers. The medieval walls and Romanesque bridge over the Fluvià river help emphasise the fortification that this ancient town commanded.
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Besalu to Mirepoix - circa 270km (169 miles) 6 hours riding
Departing Besalu we head north towards the Spanish/French border you will be on steep mountain roads. These roads can be twisty and narrow and so progress is never hasty. We Shall take a refreshment break at the border, if the café there has re-opened, otherwise we shall stop nearby. Regardless of coffee break we stop momentarily stop to admire the panoramic views at the border crossing from Spain into France before beginning our descen to begin a motorcycle tour in France.
We pass through the village of Arles, not to be confused with the town near Parc Camargue, this Arles is a town of about 2,500 population and situated in the southernmost valley of France on the banks of the Tech river, and at Amelie-les-Bans-Palalda we alter course towards Montbolo and onwards to El Sarrat where we stop for lunch. As we continue our descent we visit Ille-sur-Tet where there is a rather dramatic rock formation 'Le Orgues', organ pipe shaped rocks.
The day ends at the interesting market town of Mirepoix. We should arrive early enough for you to relax by the pool or stretch your legs strolling through the town. Monday is the main market day in Mirepoix and so before we depart in the morning you might catch the open air town market before we continue our motorbike tour in France.
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Mirepoix to Lourdes - circa 255 km (160 miles) 5 hours riding
We start the morning at the market in Mirepoix before continuing our motorbike tour in France by sticking to the lesser travelled mountain roads on the French Pyrenees making our route to Lourdes passing through many charming mountain villages making stops in Saint-Girons (pictured left) named after a fith centuary saint but with more ancient history having considerable Roman connections.
Our next stop is the French Spa town of Bagnères-de-Luchon where the rivers L'One and Pique converge.
We end the day in Lourdes one of the world's most famous pilgrimage sites in 4 spa star hotel created from a classical old river fronted town house. Riders might want to try the wellness centre, spa, sauna or get a massage. The hotel is also close to the Sanctuary of Notre Dame de Lourdes where Bernadette Soubirous saw the Virgin Marys apparition. The sanctuary counts more than 60 miraculous cures registered by Lords. A nice spot to end this days motorcycle tour in France.
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Lourdes circuit ~ 160km (100 miles) ~ 4 hours riding
This is a superb circuit that begins by heading north from Lourdes towards Tarbes, circling back to the south at Lanne to Bagnères-de-Bigorre and onwards to taking a break from riding as we board the cable car to the observatory at close to 3000m at Pic du Midi de Bigorre where you get the best views in the French High Pyrenees
When we descend back to collect our bikes we cross the Col de Tourmalet, one of the highest and steepest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, bringing us to Luz-Saint-Sauveur.
We progress further south until we run out of road just beyond Gavarnie where the nearby Cirque de Gavarnie, a UNESCO World Heritage site hosts a waterfall that drops over 400m
We return to Luz-Saint Sauveur crossing the Pont Napoleon, a bridge build by Napoleon III in 1859 that spans the Gorge de Gavarnie then onwards through Argles-Gazost to return to our hotel in Lourdes
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Lourdes to Boltana - circa 250 km (156 miles) 5 hours riding
We take some great twisty roads and we make our way towards the border with Spain to continue our motorcycle route in the southern side of the mountains.
The protograph to the right gives an insight to the fantastic scenery you see along this route near the top on the north side close to the France Spain border.
Picking our way through more pretty mountain villages before stopping at Broto for lunch.
Later we shall spend time exploring Ainsa which was once the capital of the Kingdom of Sobrarbe and the birthplace of the Kingdom of Aragon. The Plaza Mayor which is surrounded by medieval arcaded buildings and Palace of the former kings of Aragon is also on the main square.
From Ainsa we double back slightly to our 5 star spa hotel resort located within a converted former monastery. I'm sure you will agree that this is a superb Pyrenean motorbike route.
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Boltana to Barcelona - circa 345 km (215 miles) 6 hours riding
On this final day of our Pyrenees motorbike routes we begin travelling just a few miles east past Ainsa along the N260 to El Pont de Suert where we take a refreshment break and from here there are many mountain passes we can take to end our Pyrenean trip but one of our favourites is the L511, Coll de Boixols to Coll de Nargo, which has good surface and superb views, so, you will want to stop and take pictures.
We break for lunch at Solsona where much of the old town fortifications remain. The town is about 10k population and makes a pleasant stop.
As we continue south towards Barcelona we pass Montserrat, not to be confused by the Caribbean Island the Christopher Columbus named after this location, this Montserrat is where you will find a Benedictine abbey (pictured right) and the backdrop is a multi-peaked range of mountains. Time permitting we shall take a break to view.
Our final section of the journey takes us to Montcada which is on the outskirts of Barcelona and close to the Circuit de Catalunya and ideally placed for the Moto GP in the following days.
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Day of departure
Homeward bound or onward travel. After breakfast you will checkout of the hotel and be transported to the airport or station for onward travel. Those who have come on their own bikes will ride off.
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