Two Provençal villages, Vaugines and Cucuron

A short hike connecting and exploring two pretty Provençal villages. Vaugines was made famous by the film "Manon des Sources", some scenes of which were shot in the church square, lined with hundred-year-old plane trees. Cucuron, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Provence, has preserved its beautiful ancient heritage, built on two hillocks topped with keeps.

Details

40371159
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.65 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 123 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 119 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 404 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 333 m

Description of the walk

In Vaugines, park in the car park north of the church, between the church and the cemetery.

Red and whiteGR®® trail markers

(S/E) Head towards the Vallis Jovina hiking sign and follow theGR®® marked path eastwards towards Guet. At the fork in the path, keep right and then, at the T-junction, keep right again. You will come to a road.

(1) Follow it to the left. At the next intersection, at the Guet signpost, continue straight on the road towards Étang, then, after about a hundred metres, turn left onto Chemin du Cagnard. At the intersection with Chemin de Gabarut, follow it to the left. You will arrive at Étang de Cucuron (originally a pond fed by springs from the Luberon).

(2) Go around the pond on the left.

No signposts

At the crossroads, take Montée du Château Vieux opposite, slightly to the left, pass in front of the Portail de l'Étang, then in front of the ice house. When the street turns right, climb to the right onto the Tour de la Citadelle. Go back down and take the stairs opposite, keep left at the fork and you will arrive at the foot of the Notre-Dame de Beaulieu church. Turn right to reach the church square.

(3) Opposite the church entrance, follow Rue de l'Église. Pass a museum and a fountain/wash house on Place de la Cabreyrade, take Rue Marc Royer and arrive at an intersection (Rue du Portail de l'Étang). Walk a few metres to the left to see the Maison des Consuls, then retrace your steps and continue straight ahead (Rue du Portail de l'Étang) to the fountain at the intersection with Rue Sus Pous.

(4) Retrace your steps and turn right onto Rue de la Mairie. At the T-junction, turn left, pass in front of the town hall (for sale in 2023), and arrive at the door of the Tour de l'Horloge (fountain). Turn right to pass underneath.

(5) Do not go up the stairs but continue straight ahead on Rue des Fours, continue diagonally to the right (Rue du Château), ignoring the alleys on the left. At the fork in the road, keep left (Rue de Baldart) then take the stairs on the right, Rue de l'Auro. Continue along the street and, at the intersection, turn right. Pass under the arch of the Maison dite de la Reine Jeanne and you will find yourself once again at the foot of the stairs leading up to the keep.

(5) Climb the stairs to arrive below the Donjon Saint-Michel, the seigneurial castle of the Oraisons. Climb up to the keep on the right, go around it, come back down and take the path that descends to the right behind the plague victims' sign. You will come to a street. Follow it to the left for a few metres, then take the second staircase on the right. At the bottom, turn right towards the roundabout and look for the Cucuron signpost.

Yellow markings

(6) Follow the signs for Vaugines (road direction Cabenet). At a large covered wash house, turn onto the first road on the right, which quickly turns into a path. At the T-junction, turn left.

(7) Further on, at the first fork in the road, turn right, then keep left at the second fork. When you reach a four-way intersection, continue to the right.

(8) At the fork in the path, before reaching a road, turn left. Join a road and follow it to the right. You will arrive at the crossroads in the village of Vaugines.

No signposts

(9) Go straight ahead, then turn left onto Rue Basse. Follow the road as it curves to the right, then to the left, and continue straight ahead onto Rue des Amazones. At the end of the street, turn right and you will arrive at Place de la Mairie, where you can admire the beautiful fountain covered in plants. With your back to the town hall, take the street that goes up opposite (Impasse des Poucelles).

(10) About 50 metres further on, turn right into Parc de Georges. Follow the path that crosses the park (heading north) and exit the park onto a street. Turn right and follow the street back to the town centre.

At the intersection with Chemin de la Fontaine, keep right (Rue de la Fontaine), then turn left onto the first street (Rue Vieille), before arriving back at Place de la Mairie. Immediately take the stairs on the left (Rue des Coquillages, note the shells in the stones of the houses) and follow them to come out onto the street again. Follow it to the left to arrive at Place des Aires.

Go straight ahead, climb a few steps and then follow the street on the left (Rue de la Montagne). At the T-junction, turn right and you will soon come to another T-junction. Turn left, cross the Ruisseau de Laval (which widens into a basin here) and you will find yourself back at the church and its square (famous, see below), planted with beautiful plane trees. Walk around the church (see the old cemetery) and return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 376 m - Car park - Église Saint-Barthélémy de Vaugines
  2. 1 : km 1.01 - alt. 371 m - Path/road intersection
  3. 2 : km 1.99 - alt. 345 m - Cucuron pond
  4. 3 : km 2.44 - alt. 349 m - Église Notre-Dame-de-Beaulieu
  5. 4 : km 2.67 - alt. 345 m - Fountain on Rue Sus Pous
  6. 5 : km 2.85 - alt. 350 m - Circular loop around the - Donjon Saint-Michel de Cucuron
  7. 6 : km 3.62 - alt. 334 m - Cucuron signpost crossroads
  8. 7 : km 4.17 - alt. 356 m - Fork in the road
  9. 8 : km 4.97 - alt. 357 m - Fork in the road
  10. 9 : km 5.65 - alt. 370 m - Vaugines crossroads
  11. 10 : km 5.91 - alt. 388 m - Parc de Georges
  12. S/E : km 6.65 - alt. 377 m - Car park - Église Saint-Barthélémy de Vaugines

Notes

Easy hike, hiking boots recommended for the trails.

Worth a visit

Discover more hikes in this area with descriptions or the Visorando app here

Photo album here

Information about Cucuron's heritage here and here

Some information about Vaugines here. Vaugines and cinema, and information about Georges Park, see here

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

4.4 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
marindeaudouce59
marindeaudouce59

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk. We got a little lost in the village of Cucuron, but it didn't matter too much as we were able to explore this beautiful place in detail. We highly recommend it!

Machine-translated

MIW
MIW

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

In the marked sections, the markings are few and far between, and of course absent in the unmarked sections. Have we followed the route described correctly? However, this circular route passes north of the D56 on the way there and south on the way back. It is therefore almost impossible to get lost.
Visiting the two villages allows you to combine hiking with cultural or even archaeological interest.

Machine-translated

le meou
le meou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A lovely, informative outing. Best done in good weather so you can enjoy visiting the village of Cucuron and take some beautiful photos. You can follow the existing tourist signs, but in that case, allow an extra 30 to 45 minutes (for photos and reading the information boards)! The route through Cucuron is quite busy. Vaugines is also interesting, but quieter.

Machine-translated

alma67
alma67

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
This hike is very pleasant on the section from Vaugines to the Cucuron pond. After that, the walk through the town is relatively stressful because you go up, down, turn off and go back through the same streets several times, although it is very informative. We visited the church and the keep, had a drink in the shade of the plane trees by the lake, and headed back. The Visorando app is very useful. It's best to visit Cucuron outside of the hike. Thank you to the author, who I hope won't hold it against me.

Machine-translated

Cfrachon
Cfrachon

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A route for a beautiful, cloudy day. A relaxing and interesting short hike. Don't forget your hats in the height of summer. Including the village visit, the route is around 9 km long. At the start, be careful to turn right at the fork. Otherwise, for the visit to Cucuron, pay close attention to the street names to follow the route.

Machine-translated

claire poggio
claire poggio

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely half-day walk. You can stop for a picnic at Vaugine Church.
Suggestion: visit Cucuron at your leisure (without following the route) then rejoin the route at point 6.

Machine-translated

Marcoprov
Marcoprov

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
A lovely walk through the vineyards on the paths of the beautiful countryside between Vausines and Cucuron!
The real interest lies in visiting these villages. Two villages still marked by their history, pleasantly maintained in the local Luberon style. A very pleasant walk for a Sunday afternoon
in the sunshine, sheltered from the mistral wind.
Happy hiking, everyone!

Machine-translated

canadas marie
canadas marie

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

At the top of the list, following in the footsteps of Manon des Sources, this hike is easy and pleasant, with unique vegetation.
A peaceful walk through a magnificent village.
I did this walk in November, so I imagine it must be packed with people in summer... I recommend it.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.