Spring - Discover the Most Beautiful Sites
The Alpilles Regional Nature Park
About
Located in the Bouches-du-Rhône department and covering 510 square kilometres, this area is one of the smallest regional nature parks in France, created in 2007 to preserve its natural heritage. It is also one of the most beautiful and best preserved places in France. Spring is the ideal time to visit!
Why should you visit?
For its diversity! It has a wide variety of environments such as agricultural areas - with olive groves, vineyards, orchards, pine forests - forests, garrigues and a low mountain range (496 m). It is rich in 960 plant species, and thus offers landscapes whose beauty is even more striking in spring! The wildlife is extraordinary: 250 species of birds live here, including Bonelli's eagle, the kestrel, the Egyptian vulture and the eagle owl.
Things to do
Walking in the Alpilles :
- The application Balade nature, les oiseaux des Alpilles (Nature Ballad, Alpilles birds) offers six walking routes particularly renowned for the diversity of birds and landscapes. Information available on the site: alpilles.sonsdessens.fr
- The website Chemins des parcs.fr offers hikes in the Alpilles at all levels, which can also be accessed on the Chemins des parcs app.
More Information
To find out about all the possible events and activities during your stay: parc-alpilles.fr
To discover the cultural, historical, artistic and culinary heritage of the Alpilles: alpillesenprovence.com
The Provençal Colorado
About
The Provençal Colorado is an old open-air ochre quarry, which extends over more than 30 hectares in the small commune of Rustrel, about ten kilometres from Apt. The site was quarried from 1871 to 1993 for the variety of its ochres and the quality of its pigments. When the mining ended, Rustrel found itself with a unique site composed of cliffs, rocky peaks, ravines, tunnels, galleries and caves.
The place is best visited in spring, to avoid the crowds and the heat!
Why should you visit?
Because it is the most unusual place in the Vaucluse and a site that is unique to the world! Admire its various shapes and colours, from pale yellow to carmine red, orange, brown, green and mauve, which come in a multitude of shades. The predominance of reds has earned it the nickname "Colorado" ("red" in Spanish). The visit allows you to discover an amazing natural and industrial heritage!
Things to do
Discover the site freely:
- the Sahara circuit: this 2km walk is accessible to all and lasts about 40 minutes.
- the Belvederes circuit: this 3.9km walk overlooks the whole of the Provençal Colorado, is more difficult and lasts almost two hours, but the panorama is just magical!
Discover the site with a guide: allow about an hour and a half for a guided tour. You just need to arrive a quarter of an hour before the start of the tour, at the ticket office located at the entrance to the Les Mille Couleurs car park.
For timetables, visit the official website: coloradoprovencal.fr
More Information
The website coloradoprovencal.fr will give you all the useful information.
The website luberon-apt.fr will allow you to discover the Apt.
The Calanques National Park
About
Between Marseille and La Ciotat, this huge 5,000-hectare park extends over a coastal massif of limestone cliffs, creeks and islets that are home to numerous living species. Created in 2012 with the aim of ensuring habitat preservation and diversity, it is Europe's first peri-urban national park that is both terrestrial and marine. It has 26 creeks in total: the most famous are Port-Miou, Port-Pin, En-Vau, Sormiou and Morgiou. This site is world famous for its fascinating landscapes. The best time to visit is in spring, as the park is a victim of its own success in summer!
Why should you visit?
To experience pure beauty! Take a walk along the paths to discover the fauna (80 species of birds, including Bonelli's eagle, a wide variety of reptiles, including the ocellated lizard, the largest in Europe, and on the sea side, more than 60 marine species, including dolphins and rorqual whales) and the flora (more than 900 species of plants, Lobel's broom, Aleppo pine, rosemary, thyme, Montpellier cistus). Take a break to swim in the crystal-clear turquoise waters, fish, dive, climb, and enjoy the sumptuous views at any time of the day or night!
Things to do
On foot:
There are countless routes and coastal paths that allow you to explore this stunning natural park! These websites will help you to choose which route to take first:
- calanques13.com: the calanques website offers hiking itineraries and indicates all the possible routes to the massifs.
- calanques-parcnational.fr: in the "walks and hikes" section, this website offers around twenty routes, with an interactive map and provides all the necessary advice before setting off on the trails!
- altituderando.com proposes the 12 most beautiful hikes in the park, from the easiest to the most difficult.
By boat:
Several companies offer tours to discover the calanques:
From Marseille :
- Marseille Calanques Cruise Company: 04 91 58 50 58 or croisières-marseille-calanques.com
- Icard Maritime: 04 91 33 36 79 or icard-maritime.com
From Cassis: contact the Groupement des Bateliers cassidens: 06 86 55 86 70
From La Ciotat: contact Les Amis des Calanques: 06 09 35 25 68/06 09 33 54 98
More Information
Visit the calanques-parcnational.fr website, a gold mine for discovering the calanques and all the possible activities within the park.
The Sainte-Victoire Mountain
About
The Sainte-Victoire massif, which stretches over 18 kilometres between Aix-en-Provence and Pourrières, and culminates at the Pic des Mouches, at an altitude of 1,011 metres, is world-famous thanks to the painter Cézanne, who immortalised it in more than 80 paintings! It was awarded the "Grand Site de France" label in 2004, in recognition of its sustainable development and management. Sainte-Victoire welcomes more than one million visitors every year! As it is not accessible during the hot season, it is best to visit in the spring.
Why should you visit?
Because it is a strong symbol of Provence that offers breath-taking views and an infinite variety of landscapes! Admire 900 flowering plants, 27 species of mammals, including chamois and mouflons, and 126 species of birds, including Bonelli's eagle and albino pigeons. In the scrubland, you can see the ocellated lizard, a small dragon with green and blue scales, and in the dry grass, the hedgehog cricket, a large cricket unable to jump.
Things to do
The Sainte-Victoire is the ideal place for hikers: it is criss-crossed by a network of 250 kilometres of marked trails for all levels. It is also a magnificent playground for mountain-bikers, with 150 kilometres of possible routes.
For all information about activities on Sainte-Victoire, visit: amisdesaintevictoire.asso.fr and grandsitesaintevictoire.com
More Information
To find out almost everything about the Aix region, visit: aixenprovencetourism.com
