Motorcycle road trip in Aveyron: from the Aubrac to Millau in 5 days

The easiest way to ride Aveyron is the road trip its tourist board designed for motorcyclists: L’Aveyron à moto, from Laguiole to Millau, 720 km in 5 stages, crossing the whole département from the Aubrac plateau in the north to the Grands Causses in the south. RideKit’s Roadbook has 14 road trips in Aveyron (pages in French), all published by HIT Aveyron on DATAtourisme, France’s open tourism data platform.

The 5-day road trip, stage by stage

720 km, about 12 h 35 of riding in all, and a curviness of 6.1 out of 10 (RideKit’s measure of how much the road turns, from 1.5 for straight to 9.9 for hairpins). With 2 h 15 to 2 h 45 of riding a day, there is time to stop.

Stage	Distance	Riding time	Curviness	Scenery, per HIT Aveyron
1. Laguiole → Entraygues-sur-Truyère	134 km	2 h 20	5.7/10	The Aubrac’s twisty roads, then the Lot valley
2. Entraygues-sur-Truyère → Najac	147 km	2 h 35	6.3/10	Conques, the Marcillac vineyard, the bastide towns
3. Najac → Rodez	151 km	2 h 40	6.6/10	The Aveyron gorges and valley, the Ségala
4. Rodez → Brousse-le-Château	129 km	2 h 15	6.4/10	The plateau and its lakes, down to the Tarn
5. Brousse-le-Château → Millau	159 km	2 h 45	5.4/10	The Tarn valley and the Grands Causses

Riding times are at a touring pace, without stops. Stage 3 is the twistiest. The last stage runs through Saint-Affrique, Roquefort-sur-Soulzon (yes, the cheese), the Templar town of La Couvertoirade and Nant before Millau. The Causses are part of the UNESCO World Heritage site The Causses and the Cévennes, listed in 2011.

The full route sheet, map, stages and free GPX track: L’Aveyron à moto, de Laguiole à Millau (in French).

The Aubrac by motorcycle

The Aubrac is a high plateau shared by Aveyron, Lozère and Cantal. Its average altitude is around 1,200 m, and its highest point, the signal de Mailhebiau, reaches 1,469 m (Wikipédia). Cattle, mostly of the Aubrac breed, graze up there from 25 May to 13 October; the move up is celebrated on the weekend closest to 25 May, notably in the village of Aubrac (Tourisme Occitanie). Expect crowds that weekend, and cows on the road all summer.

• À la découverte de l’Aubrac: a 91 km loop from Saint-Geniez-d’Olt (1 h 35, 5.3/10), over the Portalet (1,370 m) and the col d’Aubrac (1,340 m). Route page.
• Vallée du Lot, Aubrac et Truyère: 244 km from Bozouls to Conques (4 h 20, 6.3/10), the twistiest route in the département, past the Bozouls canyon, the Sarrans dam and the Valon viewpoint. Route page.

Watch out. Snow is possible on the plateau from October to May, and wind-blown drifts can last into late spring. In summer, slow down near cattle and give them all the room they need.

The Millau Viaduct and the Larzac

The Millau Viaduct is 2,460 m long and carries the A75 motorway (toll). Riding over it is like any motorway; the best view is from below. The Laguiole–Millau road trip and the 10 Plus Beaux Villages de France circuit both pass under it along the Tarn valley. From Millau, Des gorges de la Dourbie au plateau du Larzac (137 km, 2 h 25, 5.3/10) climbs onto the Larzac through La Couvertoirade and Le Caylar.

Two easy days: villages and bastides

The Circuit des 10 Plus Beaux Villages de France links ten villages labelled among France’s most beautiful (Belcastel, Conques, Estaing, Saint-Côme-d’Olt, Sainte-Eulalie-d’Olt, Peyre, La Couvertoirade, Brousse-le-Château, Sauveterre-de-Rouergue, Najac) in 450 km over two days. It is the least twisty of the lot (4.1/10): comfortable two-up.

Practical tips

• Pick the season by altitude. The Aubrac is best ridden from late May to early October; the Lot, Aveyron and Tarn valleys also suit spring and autumn.
• Fill up before the plateaus: fuel stations are sparse up there.
• Book your nights near the stage ends (Entraygues-sur-Truyère, Najac, Rodez, Brousse-le-Château) before you leave.
• Riding in France? Keep the Highway Code’s rules in mind, and remember that radar warnings are banned: navigation apps may only show “danger zones”.

Riding it with RideKit

Every route page has a free GPX track that opens in any GPS or navigation app. In RideKit (iPhone, French interface), the Roadbook is free: start the day’s stage and the voice guidance takes you turn by turn, with the passes shown along the road. With RideKit Pro, download the whole road trip to ride offline.