Chalet Reynard
Café · Bédoin · Provence
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The only reliable food and water stop on Mont Ventoux's Bédoin ascent, at the junction where the road from Sault joins six kilometres below the summit, right where the forest gives way to bare scree. A working restaurant since 1929, its terrace watched Tour de France history unfold, including Ferdi Kübler's career-ending collapse in 1955.
Eugène Reynard, a beekeeper from Bédoin, had the original refuge rebuilt and opened it in 1929, putting his daughter Marcelle, known as Manin, in charge; she cooked for the mountain through winters when supplies came up by mule and sledge. The chalet takes its name from that family, and gave its name in turn to the small ski station that still operates on this stretch of the southern slope, with lifts running in winter and a mountain-bike park with a pump track in summer. Cyclists riding up from Bédoin treat it as the last real stop before the final, treeless kilometres to the summit, and its terrace fills with riders resting before or after that push on a busy weekend. Downstairs it runs as a straightforward bar-restaurant and crêperie serving cyclists, hikers and motorbikers all week; upstairs, a small semi-gourmet dining room opened in 2017 under the name La Terrasse du Chalet.
What you see
The forest lining the road from Bédoin ends abruptly here, and above the chalet the mountain turns to bare white scree and rock for the rest of the climb; the terrace looks south over the wooded slopes toward the Luberon.
Practical
Open all year, closed on Tuesdays outside French school holidays. Cyclists refill bottles at the taps here before the final, dry stretch to the summit.
cafepart of: Cafés at the foot of the climbpro connectionviewpoint
Climbs, views & nature nearby
Common questions
- Why stop at Chalet Reynard on a bike ride?
- The only reliable food and water stop on Mont Ventoux's Bédoin ascent, at the junction where the road from Sault joins six kilometres below the summit, right where the forest gives way to bare scree. A working restaurant since 1929, its terrace watched Tour de France history unfold, including Ferdi Kübler's career-ending collapse in 1955.
- Where is Chalet Reynard?
- Chalet Reynard is in Bédoin, Provence (France).
- When is Chalet Reynard open?
- Open all year, closed on Tuesdays outside French school holidays. Cyclists refill bottles at the taps here before the final, dry stretch to the summit.