Around Saint-Georges-de-Luzençon

Starting from Saint-Georges-de-Luzençon, a two-part hike. The first section follows the Cernon and climbs up to Luzençon (beautiful view). The second climbs eastwards via the church to the Cathedral.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.41 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 434 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 428 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 582 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 341 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking is available at the town hall car park.

(S/E) On leaving the car park, turn left to cross the bridge over the Cernon.

(1) Head right along the river, keeping as close to it as possible. Pass Moulin Bas and you’ll reach the Vergonhac crossroads.

(2) Cross the Cernon again and turn left into the industrial estate. Cross the river once more and continue to the railway bridge.

(3) Turn left onto the well-signposted path which skirts Linas to the right before climbing towards the hills, from where you will soon see the Millau Viaduct.

(4) At the top of the climb, turn left towards Craissaguet.

(5) Turn right again, then veer left, passing a beautiful lodge (dovecote).

(6) At the crossroads, take the shortcut on the left, which allows you to reach Luzençon more quickly. At the entrance to the village, turn left and follow the road to the small car park. Then take the path on the left leading to the orientation table next to the chapel.

(7) Head back to the road and follow it to the left. Then, leave the village via the east and head back down towards Saint-Georges, taking the path on the left as you leave.

(8) Clear signposting indicates that you should turn right. Pass a small car park on the right and you’ll reach a junction. Turn right to follow Rue du Mas Campels, which leads to the bridge over the Cernon and then back to the car park where you started.

(S/E) Turn right onto Rue de la Fontaine Vieille and follow it to the right until you reach the church, which you go round to the left.

(9) At the next junction, turn left onto Rue de Ménascle, then take the first right, Rue des Combes, to join Chemin de Mayres, which climbs towards the Cathedral.
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(10) Follow it, turning right, and further up you’ll join the road leading to Mayres.

(11) Follow it to the right until you reach the hamlet.

(12) Take the path on the right alongside a huge barn and continue to the stream north of the Cathedral.

(13) This is the halfway point of our walk.

(10) Continue straight on along the Chemin de Mayres and turn left.

(9) Go round the church on the left. Keep left on Place de l’Église, walk past the town hall, then turn left to come out onto the avenue. The car park is on the left (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 358 m - Town Hall car park - Cernon (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.06 - alt. 357 m - Bridge over the Cernon, junction of the two sections
  3. 2 : km 1.17 - alt. 346 m - Vergonhac
  4. 3 : km 2.21 - alt. 342 m - SNCF Bridge
  5. 4 : km 3.51 - alt. 479 m - Local track - Viaduc e Millau
  6. 5 : km 4.45 - alt. 467 m - Craissaguet
  7. 6 : km 5.32 - alt. 481 m - Climb up to the hilltop of the old Luzenço castle
  8. 7 : km 5.98 - alt. 579 m - Chapel and orientation table
  9. 8 : km 6.67 - alt. 492 m - Path to Saint-Georges
  10. 9 : km 8.03 - alt. 379 m - Rue de Ménascle
  11. 10 : km 8.27 - alt. 405 m - Mayres Path
  12. 11 : km 9.38 - alt. 449 m - Route de Mayres
  13. 12 : km 9.86 - alt. 477 m - Hamlet of Mayres
  14. 13 : km 10.55 - alt. 547 m - Turn back at the foot of the Cathedral
  15. S/E : km 13.41 - alt. 358 m - Town Hall car park

Notes

The ground, which is clayey in places, can be very muddy. Make sure you wear good walking shoes!

(13) It is possible to complete a full circular loop and head back down further south after the Cathedral.

Worth a visit

The view of the Millau Viaduct.
The village of Luzençon: whilst the remains of the castle are very limited, the viewing platform and the chapel are well worth a visit.
The Cathedral Rock, hidden behind a perfectly conical hill to the east of Saint-Georges, is well worth the second half of this hike.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
GOGO
GOGO

Hello, it appears that there is a circular route leading directly to the cathedral with a return route via the north. Route no. 70963097 - 13.47 km - Elevation gain 584 m. No reviews for this route to date.

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GOGO
GOGO

Hello, it appears that there is a circular route leading directly to the cathedral with a return route via the north. Route no. 70963097 - 13.47 km - Elevation gain 584 m.

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sabinelagardeval
sabinelagardeval

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, offering a great view of the viaduct; with a mix of roads and footpaths, it’s still a pleasant walk – it’s just a shame we couldn’t visit the chapel.

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waiwaite
waiwaite

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

Because of the heat, we split this route into two parts. The first part is lovely; you stroll leisurely through the countryside. Luzençon is well worth a visit.
The second part left us wanting more: when we reached the foot of the cathedral, we didn’t have enough information to try and carry on.

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artifice
artifice

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 04, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

I think the paths were given a really thorough clean at the start of the week.
Well done on a job well done. It’s worth mentioning that it’s a very pleasant route.

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les MM's
les MM's

thank you

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la jot
la jot
• Edited:

It can be seen on IGN map 2541OT; as I don’t have a GPS or a smartphone, I always carry an IGN map and a compass with me
The signposted route continues towards Les Roucarels and eastwards, but to make a circular route back towards St-Georges, there is indeed a path visible on the map to the south, which is unmarked

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les MM's
les MM's

That’s true, but where can I find the route and the duration of this circular hike? Given that it’s signposted, I imagine there must be a guidebook for this hike, surely?

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chephilor
chephilor

I wasn’t the organiser of the hike, but I agree with several of you who have tried this route from the Cathedral; it would be much more interesting to do the full circular route beyond the Cathedral, even if the difficulty of the final section seems a notch higher.
The best option would undoubtedly be to do just this circular route around the cathedral!

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la jot
la jot

No, I didn’t complete the full circular loop because it was already 4.45 pm, but next time I’ll go further— —and perhaps via the south

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les MM's
les MM's

After point (13), did you follow the yellow signposts (PR)? Did you do a circular route that took you back to the village? How long did it take you?

Thanks, I’m definitely planning to come back and do that circular route one of these days

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la jot
la jot

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route in a region I really like

Suggestions:
- highlight the educational and enjoyable nature of the Chemin des Drystone Shelters and the botanical trail, both nearby
- Point (13): it’s a shame to turn back at this spot; I carried on along the slope to the right and it’s magnificent with no difficulty. Admittedly, in summer the view will be very limited by the foliage, but here I had a breathtaking view <3

Sylvie Jottrand

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les MM's
les MM's

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thanks for this lovely walk, especially the first section. Back in the village, we wanted to do the second section to see the cathedral. It’s a shame the second part isn’t properly finished; we turned back for no reason, not even reaching a viewpoint or the foot of the cathedral. We would have liked to carry on following the yellow markings (PR) but we didn’t know where they’d take us, nor how long it would take to get back to the village. As it was 5.45 pm, we had to turn back
What a shame that the author of this hike didn’t mark the possible circular loop for this second section on the guidebook map; he just mentioned it briefly at the end of the guidebook, without giving the duration
In fact, these two sections could very well form two separate circular routes
It might be possible to get more information about this potential second circular route from the town hall or tourist office, as there are signs with route numbers, but I didn’t see any public noticeboard showing the route of the six signposted routes

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