Train map for the Occitanie region of France and an overview of taking bikes on trains in the region.
The closest main station to Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the Aveyron is Caussade, which links to Toulouse, Cahors and Montauban (for Bordeaux).
Occitanie is the region created by combining the old Midi-Pyrenees and Languedoc regions. It is a massive area, starting north of the Canal du Midi and stretching south across the Pyrenees to the Spanish border and east to the border with Provence. To the north it borders Nouvelle-Aqutaine (see here for that train map), with the cross-regional Canal de Garonne from Toulouse to Bordeaux combining with the Canal de Midi from Toulouse to Sete to form one of the country's most popular and most famous bike routes.
For cyclists, Occitanie is an interesting and diverse region and there really are routes here for all types of cyclists and all abilities. From Pyrenees climbs, routes around Toulouse and the Lot Valley to the Aveyron gorges to the routes of the old Languedoc-Roussilon region – the heart of Cathar country.
It used to be possible to catch fast trains with full assembled bikes from across the regional border in Avignon or Marseilles (both in Provence) right through to Toulouse, but this is no longer the case. However you can get local TER the whole length of the region based on map below. Local TER trains take fully assembled bikes – just buy your own ticket and roll your bike on.
When searching the OUI.sncf website, DO NOT tick the 'travelling with a velo' box if you are looking for local TERs as it won't show them up as bike-ticket options as you just buy a regular ticket. Intercites trains that accept bikes (e.g. Toulouse-Montpellier) will appear with a bike symbol on a bike search, but not all TERs will. But know that you CAN take bikes on all TER services even if the SNCF website does not have a bike symbol against the TER.
Faster Intercites trains (bike reservations needed) link Marseille St Charles station in Provence with Toulouse. The Montpellier-Toulouse Intercites train also takes fully assembed bikes (bike reservation needed). From Avignon it's usually necessary to go via Marseille or Nimes-Montpellier.
From Toulouse trains link nort via Agen and Cahors into Nouvelle-Aquitaine, while the Rodez and Millau spurs run north towards Clermont-Ferrand and onwards to Paris.
For the Pyrenees, local trains link Toulouse to Tarbes, Pau, Saint-Gaudens and Foix on various lines.
Buses (autocars) operated by rail company SNCF service some more remote destinations but these do not take bikes. For example, the route between Montrejeau and Luchon marked on the map below is no longer a train but a bus service.
See also the TGV section here for workarounds on how to arrive in these areas from out of the region.
You can click here or on the map for a higher quality downloadable PDF.
** NOTE - the route between Montrejeau and Luchon on this map no longer runs trains - it is a bus service that does not accept fully assembled bikes; you can take boxed or bagged bikes on the bus. **
Bike hire, accommodation and tours
You can use our bespoke bike hire service to find bike hire in this region.
You can find accommodation by seraching here.
You can search self-guided and guided rides here. Let me know via here if you need help.
