The Abbey of Aiguebelle in Réauville

This is a pleasant family walk, the first part of which takes place in the forest and leads to the Monastery of Aiguebelle, located on the loop. The second part leads through heathland and lavender fields to a plateau where the view gradually opens up to Mont Ventoux, the Dentelles de Montmirail, La Lance, the Baronnies and, closer by, the Château de Grignan and the Donjon de Chamaret.

Details

165107
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.95 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 328 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 327 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 374 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 143 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) From the car park at the foot of the monumental statue of the Virgin Mary in Réauville, follow Rue du Rocher and turn left down Rue de la Cure. At the end of this street, turn left and follow Rue de la Croix for about 100 metres. At the calvary, take the road on the right. After a few minutes, the road turns into a track: Chemin de Roussas. At the two successive junctions, continue straight ahead.

(1) At the next fork (direction sign), leave this track and follow a grassy path straight ahead towards Abbaye d'Aiguebelle.
At the next two forks, turn right and descend into the woods.
At the next fork, continue straight ahead until you reach the small road, then follow it to the left until you reach the RD203

(2) Turn left and follow the road for about 200 metres.

(3) Turn right and follow a path through the woods heading north for about 700 metres.

(4) Join theGR®429and follow it to the right until you reach the RD56, ignoring the small paths on either side of the GR®. Cross the road and continue straight ahead. You will reach another bend in the RD56. Follow the road for about 50 metres and turn left at a 90° angle onto theGR®429trail, heading north towards Combe des Bœufs.
At the hairpin bend, take the directional sign to the right and follow theGR®429towards Abbaye d'Aiguebelle.
Continue on theGR®429until you reach the RD550, ignoring the small paths on either side of the GR®.
Cross the RD550, continue on theGR® opposite and reach the small road to Aiguebelle and the monastery and abbey site.

(5) Pass the shop, continue towards the Tibérine Memorial on your left, pass the Garden of Gethsemane, and follow the stream back up to the RD550.

(6) Follow this road to the right for about 50 metres; at the crossroads, turn right onto the path leading down into the woods (GR®429) and follow the stone walls and fences.

(7) At the next fork, take the hairpin bend to the left towards Le Fraysse, Pré Lacard (signpost). Continue on theGR®429, ignoring the small paths on either side of the GR®. The path winds upwards.

(8) At the Pré Lacard signpost, continue onthe GR®429 trailto the left towards Le Fraysse, on a hillside path. Cross several paths, staying on theGR®429 trailtowards Le Fraysse.

(9) At a hairpin bend, you will reach the Terron mast. Descend onto theGR®429on the left, across meadows towards the hamlet of Le Fraysse.
Join the RD4, leave theGR® and turn right. Follow this road for about 500m until you reach a wide ridge track.

(10) Take it on the right towards the south-west. Pay attention to the few directional signposts.
Stay on this track and follow its direction, ignoring the various paths that branch off to the right or left.
Numerous hunting hides lining this track serve as landmarks. Continue to the next crossroads.

(11) Take the right-hand track towards Réauville via Bois de la Clave.
Cross fields of lavender, oak groves and pine forests.

(12) Continue straight ahead. Gradually, the track becomes a paved road and leads straight to Réauville. Pass the school, turn right, pass the church and the wash house, turn left twice, and take Chemin de la Cure to return to the car park.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 259 m - Parking is available in the square at the foot of the statue
  2. 1 : km 1 - alt. 263 m - Follow the grassy path straight ahead towards the Abbey
  3. 2 : km 2.63 - alt. 148 m - RD 203, on the left for about 200 m
  4. 3 : km 2.86 - alt. 144 m - On the right, through the woods
  5. 4 : km 3.68 - alt. 190 m - GR 429 on the right
  6. 5 : km 7.23 - alt. 213 m - Monastery site, GR 429 on the left
  7. 6 : km 7.45 - alt. 247 m - RD 550 on the left
  8. 7 : km 7.93 - alt. 245 m - Hairpin bend to the left towards Pré Lacard
  9. 8 : km 8.54 - alt. 261 m - Pré Lacard pole, on the left, towards Le Freysse
  10. 9 : km 10.62 - alt. 368 m - Terron pole, on the left, the Freysse
  11. 10 : km 11.48 - alt. 373 m - Wide ridge track on the right
  12. 11 : km 12.72 - alt. 327 m - On the right, track
  13. 12 : km 14.82 - alt. 287 m - Go straight ahead, opposite, towards Réauville
  14. S/E : km 15.95 - alt. 259 m - Car park

Notes

- This fairly busy route is shared by mountain bikers, walkers, joggers and hunters. As a precaution, it is advisable to find out the days and locations of hunting.

- Outsidethe GR®429, there is little or no signposting. There are a few old signposts with small yellow triangles marked '115', remnants of the excellent signposting work once carried out by volunteers from the Drôme Departmental Hiking Committee. The poles that replaced this signposting system are not always reliable due to damage, displacement, vandalism, etc., which, unfortunately, they are regularly subjected to.

Worth a visit

Aiguebelle site and basilica
Hamlet of Fraysse
Vernacular heritage of Réauville, notably the church and wash house.
Observation tables at the top of the promontory with the monumental statue: beautiful view.

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

4.3 / 5
Based on 43 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
nom
nom

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 15, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike done in cold but fine weather.
No particular difficulties, but GPS application required.
Very interesting visit to Aiguebelle Abbey.
Be aware of "hunting in progress" at the end of the hike.

Machine-translated

User 5836662

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike, picnic possible at the abbey. Very quiet hike.

Machine-translated

Hachail
Hachail

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A small detour must be made at La Clave due to the recent fence surrounding a photovoltaic field (under construction).
The monastery of Aiguebelle is interesting, especially the memorial to the martyred monks of Tibhirine. The site alone is worth the trip. The following quote from the monk Christian struck me and made me think: his Muslim friend replied, "You Christians don't know how to pray," and that sparked the monk's vocation to Algeria.
The hike itself is not very interesting, as it is often on wide, almost flat tracks with no view due to the trees. I think it would be better to do it on a mountain bike.
The only interesting view is from the orientation table behind the statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking the car park at the start.
Many thanks to the trail marker.

Machine-translated

JeanMarc0731
JeanMarc0731

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

There are always people in Auguebelle, but there was no one else on the trail. It's also worth mentioning that we had heavy rain and hail for more than half of the hike

Machine-translated

GMGALD
GMGALD

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful route, I already know it because I did it in the opposite direction, starting from a different place.
aiguebelle Abbey is very pretty and attracts lots of visitors, which I enjoyed.
For lunch, there's a bench in the shade where you can eat.
I didn't see anyone else on the rest of the route.

Machine-translated

nono3084
nono3084

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike done in reverse to allow us to enjoy a picnic lunch in Aiguebelle.

Machine-translated

leontia
leontia

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Shaded hike, no difficulty, accessible to all

Machine-translated

randonnées2
randonnées2

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very beautiful hike, the landscapes are superb in spring with lavender, etc. Brigitte

Machine-translated

rodeo
rodeo

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike we did in February. We're going to do it again during lavender season

Machine-translated

Monveymont
Monveymont

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful, easy and comfortable hike!
Well worth discovering!
Even the return route is interesting, with beautiful panoramic views!

A hike worth discovering.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

Monveymont.

Machine-translated

montmichel43
montmichel43

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with paths and trails of varying difficulty.
Only the end is a bit boring on the plateau or in the Clave woods with temperatures reaching 35°C.
Thanks for this hike.
Best regards

Machine-translated

saint victor
saint victor

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A beautiful hike, very interesting until point 10, the hamlet of "Le Fraysse". The return from this hamlet to the village of Réauville is via the DFCI, which is very long (about 4.5 km) and of no particular interest. Perhaps it would be better to take the path on the right at point 8 to reach point 12 (but we didn't do this).
Thanks for this route.

Machine-translated

psoso
psoso

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 29, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Nice hike, only the return trip along a long trail (about 5 km) was a bit tedious...

Machine-translated

saint victor
saint victor

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A beautiful hike with no difficulty and well marked. Thank you for this route

Machine-translated

gene30290
gene30290

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 22, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very beautiful hike, but we reversed the direction to enjoy the shade in the afternoon.
We extended the hike by continuing on to the Rochefort wind farm and returning to the abbey via the village of Montjoyer.
24 km and 530 m of elevation gain.

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.