The Alpilles mountains
The Alpilles are made up of white limestone mountains, sprawling over 25km from east to west and are home to forests of pine and oak trees and charming authentic villages rich in history and heritage, boasting roman ruins and well-preserved ancient chapels and monuments. A low altitude chain, the highest summit is just short of 500m above sea level, but the views are exceptional, expanding from the Mont Ventoux to the Cevennes and the Sainte Victoire mountain in Aix en Provence to the marshlands of the Camargue.
A Provence walking holiday through the Alpilles
This is the picture postcard Provence at its best: driveways lined with cypress trees, old stone farmhouses dotted about here and there, olive groves and vineyards stretching out as far as the eye can see. The villages of the Alpilles are typical and quaint Provencal villages with their houses squashed tightly together and the main squares adorned with café tables and chairs are shaded by centuries old plane trees. Here you will find great places to eat and wonderfully welcoming guesthouses. Your walking holiday in Provence leads you through this stunning landscape that inspired great authors such as Alphonse Daudet and Frederic Mistral and the painter Vincent Van Gogh.
Walking Provence: Explore St Rémy de Provence
Saint Remy is a lively upmarket town boasting 300 days of sunshine per year. The centre is made up of tiny shopping lanes, art galleries, restaurants and bars and there is a great local market on a Wednesday that takes over the entire centre of the town. The archaeological site of Glanum was inhabited as far back as the 6th Century BC. Excavation began in 1921 and today it is possible to walk around this incredible site and visualise life as it was at the time of Imperial Rome. St Rémy was also made famous through the works of Vincent Van Gogh who spent the final year of his life at the asylum in St Paul de Mausole, just outside of St Rémy and created what is considered to be his best work. You can visit the site and follow the Van Gogh trail.
Walking Provence: Explore Les Baux de Provence
Les Baux de Provence was once one of the most influential fortified villages in Provence during the Middle Ages. Today, it has a population is of around 500 and visitors of around 1.5 million per year! But don’t be put off by the crowds, it is definitely worth being a part of the 1.5 million for a day or two on your walking holiday in Provence! The village boasts beautiful architectural masterpieces, old chapels, churches, monuments and museums that are lovingly preserved. Add to this the narrow streets packed full of shops, restaurants and cafés, you can potter around the village for a few hours. Just a few hundred metres down at the foot of the village is the “Carrières de Lumières” a disused limestone quarry that has been transformed into a digital light show. Every year, an artist’s work is projected onto the walls of the quarry and makes for a fantastic show. Artists such as Chagall, Picasso, Renoir and Van Gogh have had their masterpieces represented.
