The ancient Roman road of Pélissane between vineyards and heath

A peaceful hike near Pélissane, which partly follows the route of an ancient Roman road.

Details

n°267059

Creation:
22 May 2016

Last update:
27 Feb 2017

Last review:
15 Jan 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 5.05 km
Average duration: 1h 35
Difficulty: Easy
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 36 m
Descent: - 36 m
Highest point: 111 m
Lowest point: 75 m

Country: France
District: Pélissanne (13330)
Start/End: N 43.611187° / E 5.158659°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3143OT
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Description of the walk

Access: From Pélissane, take the road to Eguilles. From the roundabout with the D572, follow the D17 for 700 metres, then turn right and take a tarmac road with a 30km/h speed limit. Follow it for about 1 km (the road turns left after about 250 metres). The road finally comes to a crossroads: the road opposite and the one on the left are unpaved, while the one on the right is paved and lined with a hedge of trees, and there is a sign saying "Domaine de Gigery". Park here.

(S/E) Head east, i.e. follow the path opposite the one leading to Gigery. First pass between a vineyard and an olive grove, then through a pine forest. After about 1 km, the path crosses another path of equal width: continue straight ahead. A hundred metres further on, note the old Bidoussanne milestone on the left.

(1) Continue east-southeast on the path for about 400 metres.

(2) Take the path on the right. About a hundred metres further on, at the three-way junction, take the path on the left. This path becomes narrow and is not always well marked, but it follows a wire fence and runs along the bottom of a slope. It then comes to a T-junction with another path.

(3) Turn right. Shortly afterwards, you will leave the pine forest and find yourself in a heath landscape, very different from the valley you passed on the way there. After about 500 metres, first turn right then left. About a hundred metres further on, cross a wider path and continue straight ahead. At the next fork, follow the path straight ahead, which goes around the left side of the Colline des Toirs.

(4) After passing a vineyard on the left (from here you can see the Lançon-Provence motorway toll booth), take a slightly downhill path on the left that enters a pine forest. Turn left and walk along a field on your left. When you reach a small ruined house, enter the pine forest again.

(5) A little further on, at a three-way junction, turn right (west-southwest) onto a rocky path that climbs uphill.

(6) At the end of this path, at an intersection, turn right onto a narrow path. Follow it to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 75 m - Crossroads - Parking point
1 : km 1.3 - alt. 92 m - Mile marker
2 : km 1.7 - alt. 96 m - Crossroads
3 : km 2.12 - alt. 109 m - T-junction
4 : km 3.37 - alt. 92 m - Fork after a vineyard
5 : km 3.73 - alt. 87 m - Three-way junction
6 : km 4.05 - alt. 81 m - Crossroads
S/E : km 5.05 - alt. 75 m - Crossroads - Parking point

Worth a visit

The path taken on the way there, between (S/E) and (2), follows the route of the Via Aurelia, a Roman road that linked Rome to Arelate (Arles). Milestones such as the one seen in (1) were used to mark distances, all Roman miles, i.e. 1460 metres.

Reviews and comments

3.6 / 5

Based on 15 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.3 / 5

Ease of following the route
3.6 / 5

Route interest
4 / 5

Rouletabille

15 Jan 2025 at 19:54 3600

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

There were 36 of us hikers and everything went well. At point 1, the military marker was there on our left between the cypress trees. There were no obstacles on the route and it was a peaceful hike enjoyed by all.

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Laufred

01 Aug 2022 at 11:00 7200

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The advice given in the information sheet about this hike is difficult to follow. There is no car park at the starting point unless you have a 4x4 or a tractor and can park in the middle of the heath! . . .
In general, your starting points for hikes are always difficult to find. Why not just say "first right" rather than a whole paragraph that confuses hikers?

On this hike, the Roman military markers are nowhere to be found. The route is poorly described in the corresponding information sheet. What's more, you have to cross a construction site.

These comments apply to many of the hikes on the site that we have tried. It's a shame because the region is beautiful. Another general point: there is no guidance on Waze or other apps to get to the starting point. This help is available on other sites and is very useful in a region that is little known to hikers.
Conclusion: We are abandoning this site after several similar disappointments.
Frédérique and Laurent.

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laurentgaillard

11 Jan 2022 at 16:22 3600

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant little walk through Provence, charming little farmhouses with horses along the way. In short, this unpretentious little hike is well worth the effort. It takes about an hour; I did it while walking my little dog, who loved it.
Be careful at point 2 not to take the wrong path and make sure you turn left.

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micheljan

10 Dec 2019 at 08:11 3600

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 10, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The starting point is difficult to find as there is no real car park, just along the road at the edge of the vineyards.
No signposts, but lots of horse riders who can give you directions.
Good weather, lovely, easy walk.

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carrie

30 Nov 2019 at 17:57 3600

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing

No attractions. Not much to see.

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henri57

08 May 2019 at 16:38 7200

Hello,

Thank you for the information you have provided us about this hike.
We hope that the author will take this into account and update it.

See you soon!

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Anne-Corinne

08 May 2019 at 09:22 7200

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

An easy and pleasant walk. Its main appeal lies in its ease. However, there are a few uncertainties between points 3 and 4, and also between points 5 and 6.
At point 5, it should be specified: at the end of the uphill path, turn right and then right again at the next junction.
Between points 3 and 4, I need to do the walk again to remember exactly where the problem is.
At point 6, specify: continue straight ahead until you reach the starting junction.

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randogibbes

25 Mar 2019 at 18:52 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 25, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Nice little hike (health hike), good weather

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aixois

03 Dec 2018 at 18:09 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 03, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A short walk for a winter afternoon. No difficulty. Detailed description. The children enjoyed it.

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henri57

08 Oct 2018 at 11:59 7200

Hello,

I'm having some difficulty with the description.

What should be added to the description?

With the map route, it's easy to find the right path...

Yes, it's important to know how to connect the map route with the actual terrain.

See you soon.

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Thierry0371

08 Oct 2018 at 10:42 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 06, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

An easy and enjoyable hike. A few difficulties with the description, but with the map you can easily find your way...

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philou13300

03 Jul 2018 at 11:46 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2018
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful, easy hike.
We did it backwards, so that we could follow the Way of St James towards Santiago de Compostela.
Tracing it on the map was enough to find our way; we didn't need a technical sheet.
Thank you for this short hike.

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clanryrando84

26 Mar 2018 at 23:04 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 26, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Up to point 4, no problem.
Then we didn't understand, and suddenly we found ourselves back at the car!

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Franssouai

28 Jan 2018 at 18:45 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 23, 2018
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Thank you for putting this route online; I'm from St-Raphael, but thanks to you, I was able to show my friend from Pélissane a walk near her home . What's more, we were treated to a show by the Patrouille de France during our picnic, and thanks to the GPX file, it was impossible to get lost.

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ojeannot

12 Mar 2017 at 10:18 3600

Hello,

I haven't been on Visorando for the last few months, so I haven't been able to deal with these issues.

In order to correct the information, I would like to know where on the hike you encountered a problem.

Thank you, Bibi, for the correction in point 3. Did everyone manage to reach this point?

I am considering removing the circular 4-5-6, which was quite difficult to describe. What do you think?

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ojeannot
34 Walks

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