Guided bicycle tours filled with culture, cuisine, and history

Stunning. Pleasurable. Memorable.

These are the adjectives we want to come to mind when you take one of our tours.

Our small group tours are designed for people who like to be active on vacation and enjoy the outdoors but without having to be an athlete to do it. We bike all day but at casual speeds and with several stops along the way to visit the villages and sites of cultural and historical interest.

Our goal is to make it easy for you to experience these captivating regions of France and Germany. We make all of the arrangements and guide the way by bicycle. If you don’t speak French or German, and you don’t have unlimited time to do the research and planning, it's not easy to experience what we are offering. Join us, and let us make it easy for you to have a stunning, pleasurable and memorable immersion in these beautiful areas of France and Germany.

Villages and Vineyards, LLC is a US-based company. The tours are conducted in English but with plenty of opportunities to practice or improve your German or French.

What Sets Us Apart

UNIQUE REGIONS OF FRANCE AND GERMANY

We visit beautiful, less well-known, countryside gems in France and Germany.

PERFECT GROUP SIZE

We keep our tour sizes small, which allows us to make sure your needs and interests are met, and your time on the tour is more like the life of a local.

CASUAL BIKING PACE

We explore the landscape at a pace that allows enjoyment of the scenery. Climb the hills under your own power or with the assistance of an e-Bike.

Embrace the Benefits

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL IMMERSION

We arrange a culturally and historically rich experience for a deeper understanding of the region.

Festivals, museums, unique concerts, historical experts, regional cuisine and award-winning wines inform our time together.

GUIDED BIKING

We guide the way along the loveliest routes.

We know where to stop for the best places to eat.

We manage any mechanical issues.

You enjoy the ride and the scenery with no worries about finding the route or getting lost.

AUTHENTIC INTER-CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

Our guides are French, German and American.

Our lodging: uniquely French or German.

Get to know the local wine-makers at a wine tasting.

Historical experts are from the places we visit.

Bike Tours With a Special Touch

After a lifelong love and appreciation of Germany, from my time there as a Fulbright scholar, and of France, thanks to my colleagues in Bordeaux and Paris and after many years immersed in French language and culture at Alliance Française Minneapolis, I founded Villages and Vineyards, LLC. My passion is to share with others exactly the kind of cultural immersion I enjoy when I visit these beautiful, culturally and historically rich places. By bicycle, a place comes alive through the experience of all five senses, something that can't be done by car or bus. Come join us!

On behalf of our team, we look forward to meeting you!

Elsa Linke, Founder of Villages and Vineyards, LLC