Discovering the mills of Alphonse Daudet

The Provençal writer Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897) spent some time in Fontvieille, where he drew inspiration from the landscapes to write Lettres de mon moulin (Letters from My Mill). This short family route takes you to four mills that are part of Provençal heritage and passes by the Château de Montauban, where Daudet was a guest.

Details

4082801
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 2.23 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 0h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 39 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 39 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 60 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 18 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Fontvieille (13990)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 43.724501° / E 4.709259°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2943ET, 3042OT, 3043OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the village of Fontvieille, on Avenue des Moulins, near the Tourist Office. There are large car parks for tourists.
At the start, you will see a sign with black letters on a yellow background indicating "Sentier des moulins" (Mill Trail) and the red and whiteGR® 653A trail marker.

(S/E) Head south on foot, following the well-maintained footpath in the shade of the trees, about 40 metres from the main road.

Cross a small concrete bridge over a small water supply canal and turn right towards the west immediately afterwards. Cross the tarmac road (up and down stairs) and climb one of the many well-marked paths to the first mill, the Moulin Sourdon.

Go back down to the tarmac road, cross it again at the same place (protected crossing) and head south-east towards Moulin Tissot-Avon for a few dozen metres, then as soon as you see it, follow the sign for "Moulin de Daudet".

Slowly climb up to the mill known as "de Daudet", which has been restored and is now privately owned (the interior is no longer open to visitors). Around the mill, millstones are displayed to explain the work of millers.
Descend from this height with your back to the mill, heading north, to find your way back to the Château de Montauban and the Moulin Tissot-Avon.

(1) On your left is the Moulin Ramet, which has lost its cap. A path allows you to approach it (round trip).
The path heads north-east to the Tissot-Avon mill and joins a crossroads where there is a sign for "Château de Montauban".

Turn left onto the beautiful north-west facing path (Chemin de Montauban), cross the small canal again to arrive at a narrow street with the Château de Montauban on your right. Partial visit of the park possible. Continue along the narrow street towards the north-west then north.

(2) Turn left onto Cours Hyacinthe Bellon, the main road for motor traffic, heading west. Walk for about 400 metres to reach Avenue des Moulins (D33).

(3) Turn left onto this avenue to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 21 m - Car park near the Tourist Office.
  2. 1 : km 1.14 - alt. 48 m - Moulin Ramet
  3. 2 : km 1.79 - alt. 20 m - Cours Hyacinthe Bellon
  4. 3 : km 2.09 - alt. 18 m - Avenue des Moulins
  5. S/E : km 2.23 - alt. 21 m - Car park near the Tourist Office.

Notes

There is no drinking water along the short route, but there are some good restaurants at the start of Avenue des Moulins to make up for this.
Wear trainers to tackle the (very slight) incline; the path between the Moulin Sourdon and the Moulin Ramet is stony.

Unfortunately, the direction to Moulin Sourdon disappears just after thefirst crossing of the canal, but the route is obvious.

There are information panels at each mill. The mills are not open to visitors and are not in working order. It's a shame that more effort hasn't been made to explain the remarkable work of the millers of the time. I'll leave you to guess which was Alphonse Daudet's favourite mill – it's not that obvious.

Worth a visit

The chemindesparcs website, developed by the region, suggests several walks, including this one, which I did on my way back from a visit when I had two hours left before heading home. It's plenty! So don't hesitate!
There are many sites to visit and walks to enjoy in the Alpilles.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.9 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
User 3188408

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful, shaded hike that we will do again in June.
A word of advice: avoid Fridays, which is market day in Fontvieille.

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danpat
danpat

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike, the watermills are interesting to see, and the hike is very easy.

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Denis26
Denis26 ★
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely little walk that allows you to discover various mills, including the "Moulin de Daudet", which is open to visitors today (€2).

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sgourdin
sgourdin

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pretty windmills! A pleasant, easy and quick walk, partly through pine woods. Well worth doing!

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nelscor
nelscor

Hello, are there any livestock guarding dogs?

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Ami6
Ami6

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely little walk with beautiful mills, but a bit too much tarmac.

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randojcv
randojcv

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant and easy walk. Not many people on 5 March. Nice village. Walk taken in the late afternoon (the day we arrived) (and aperitif time). Good start to the next day's hike (Fontvieille mills).

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GG84
GG84

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant, family-friendly route to discover the mills, with no particular difficulties.

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Véro-Dom-Louis
Véro-Dom-Louis

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A delightful family outing to discover the mills of Provence.

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Josetteaubry
Josetteaubry

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A short walk to discover the mills and the castle grounds! 🤗

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