Barcelona to Collioure by gravel. Launch price: save 200 € when you book before 31 January 2027.
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From Gaudí to Matisse. Barcelona to France by gravel bike.
It starts in Gaudí's Barcelona and ends eight days later in Collioure, the French harbour where Matisse and Derain painted the summer of 1905 and Fauvism was born. In between: 460 km of raw dirt tracks, one international border, and the whole wild edge of Catalonia.
This is not a comfortable loop from a single hotel. It is a point-to-point crossing, a gravel holiday that actually goes somewhere. You grind out of Barcelona on ridge-line singletrack, cross the Montseny massif to the Castell de Farners, and roll into Girona, the gravel mecca. Then the terrain shifts: fast-rolling tracks through the medieval villages of the Empordà, apple orchards fading into the sea, and the bare, wind-carved slate of Cap de Creus, where Salvador Dalí made his home. On the final day you climb over the Pyrenees exactly where they crash into the Mediterranean, and drop into France.
No two stages look or ride the same. That is the whole point.
We didn't map this on a screen. We spent twelve years building and shaping trails in Les Guilleries, and we drew this route with the same dirt-under-the-fingernails mentality: riding it again and again until every sector earned its place.
You push the watts. The Private Support Shuttle carries the bags, we fix the mechanicals, and we wait at the top with coffee.
Make your own way to the hotel. In the evening we meet, set up your bike and go through the route over dinner. Night: Barcelona.
From the seafront, we drop the tire pressure and point the bars straight into the Serralada de Marina. Raw gravel and ridge-line singletrack, with the Mediterranean at your side and the city skyline fading in the dust.
Fifty kilometres later, the concrete is gone. You hit the Montseny foothills—the real start of Catalonia gravel—and roll into a traditional Catalan farmhouse (masía). The contrast hits hard: this morning, car horns and asphalt. Tonight: dinner straight from the garden, absolute silence, and the Montseny massif looming right in front of you.
Tomorrow's climb is waiting. A short, punchy first day to find your climbing legs. Night: a traditional rural farmhouse.
The Montseny massif stands in the way, so we go straight over it. You'll grind up a 10-kilometre dirt track through the natural park to 800 metres. The reward? Dropping into one of the fastest, most flowing fire-road descents we've ever ridden, plunging all the way down to Arbúcies.
Then comes a gravel rider's dream: a perfectly graded, fast-rolling climb up to Castell de Farners. From the castle walls, the view opens up. The mountains are behind you, the La Selva plain is at your feet, and in the distance, your target finally appears: the Girona gravel mecca.
From here, it's a fast, rolling run down into the city. You've earned tonight's dinner. Night: Girona city centre.
The city where the pro peloton lives. Today, we leave the bags behind and hit the best Girona gravel routes straight from the hotel door.
A quick two-hour coffee spin to flush the legs, or a 100-kilometre deep dive into the local dirt tracks—your call, your watts. By afternoon, you're off the bike, walking the old town under the iconic coloured houses of the Onyar river. Night: Girona city centre.
Drop the hammer. Today is about pure speed. No big climbs, just fast-rolling dirt tracks from start to finish. We head north through the wheat fields and oak forests of Pla de l'Estany, spinning big gears across terrain that looks more like Tuscany than Spain.
Catching the flow of the Ter river, we ride deep into the Empordà, flying through medieval stone villages like Llabià. This is the absolute best of Empordà gravel—easy on the climbing legs, but visually spectacular.
We roll into a quiet local hotel in Torroella de Montgrí, right under the shadow of its hilltop castle. The Mediterranean is just over the hill. Night: Torroella de Montgrí.
Sixty kilometres of dream gravel first. Flat, fast-rolling dirt tracks through the final apple orchards and vineyards of the trip, past Sant Pere Pescador and the medieval streets of Castelló d'Empúries. The Private Support Shuttle is waiting for you under the apple trees.
In Roses, the flat ends. A raw dirt track climbs straight into the Cap de Creus Natural Park, and the planet changes: bare slate, rocks carved by the tramuntana wind, almost no trees. At the top, the Cadaqués viewpoint and the entire Mediterranean at your feet.
An easy, flowing descent and the last kilometres along the sea lead you straight into Cadaqués: white houses, fishing boats, and Dalí's bay at Portlligat just around the corner. Night: Cadaqués bay.
We roll out of the white streets of Cadaqués and point the bikes north into the Albera massif, exactly where the Pyrenees crash into the sea. Today is a bucket-list stage: crossing an international border on gravel.
You'll grind up through the final wild Catalan dirt tracks, exposed to the coastal winds, before dropping over the ridge into France. The rocky coast turns into steep, terraced vineyards dropping directly into the Mediterranean.
A fast, flowing descent takes you straight into Collioure, where the Private Support Shuttle is waiting at the finish line with cold beers. You started in Barcelona. You finished in France. Night: Collioure bay.
Breakfast in Collioure. We drive you and your bike back to Girona or to Barcelona airport, wherever suits your flight.
7 nights in 3–4 star hotels
Breakfast and dinner every day
Expert gravel guide (two for groups over 8)
Private Support Shuttle with mechanic
Coffee and food stops on the route
Luggage transfer between hotels
GPS tracks of every stage
Airport transfers
Flights
Rental bike (optional extra)
Drinks at dinner
Travel insurance
For riders who ride regularly. 50–90 km a day on gravel and climbs of up to an hour at your own pace. Smooth to moderately rough tracks, nothing technical on a gravel bike.
Tell us your questions or concerns and we will prepare the best cycling experience for you. If you have specific requests for your own private trip, let us know! We will create a completely personalized journey tailored to your needs. Write to us! We will answer shortly.
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