Tour of the Brègues d'Or via the Bompart valley

A short family hike on wide, passable paths. Walk on the plateau and in the valley. Beautiful unobstructed views of Sainte-Victoire Mountain, the city of Aix-en-Provence, the Roquefavour Aqueduct and the TGV viaduct.

Details

525177
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.02 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 225 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 222 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 310 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 193 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Gardanne (13120)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 43.47178° / E 5.453636°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3143ET, 3244ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

From the D7, between Luynes and Gardanne, at the Ecomuseum, take the Ecomuseum road on the left.
Park in the car park 200 metres after the crossroads, on the right, at the bus stop.

(S/E) Leave the car park via the path that runs alongside the road on the right. Walk uphill for about 300 metres and take the first road on the left, which then becomes a path.
The path is paved for a few metres; at the end of this paved section, you will come to a hunters' car park on the right.

(1) Cross it and take the path on the right that runs along the field on the right. Pass under the first high-voltage line and, at the end of the field, turn right near a ruin.
At the second high-voltage power line, take the path on the right that goes up under it.

(2) When you reach the pylon at the top of the hill, turn left at the crossroads. At the Y-junction, turn left again. When you reach a paved section with an underground cistern, take the left-hand path up the hill to a crossroads with four paths.

(3) Take the road on the right, ignoring the one that descends to the left into the valley. At the next crossroads, turn right and continue on another paved section with a buried cistern. Continue straight ahead.
The road then descends to a barrier and arrives at a residential area where it becomes paved.
Continue until you reach the road, at the car park with the 14 Guiramand bus stop.

(4) Follow the road to the left, signposted "Chemin de la Reine Jeanne". This road is the Chemin de la Plaine des Dés. Continue along this road for about 300 metres.

(5) After the bus stop for 14 Bompart, take the Chemin de Bompart on the left, signposted DFCI at elevation 196.
Stay on this small road until you reach a fire brigade barrier.

(6) Go through the barrier. You are now on a road that climbs up the valley. Stay on this road until you reach the top of the hill, where you will rejoin the road you took on the way there. Turn right.

(3) At the crossroads, take the road on the right and drive along the right-hand side of a property. Continue straight ahead on this road, which passes under some power lines

(7) When you reach the crossroads, take the left-hand path down to the hunters' car park on the way there.

(1) Continue on the same road as on the way there until you reach the eco-museum car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 195 m - Car park near the bus stop
  2. 1 : km 0.87 - alt. 263 m - Hunting car park
  3. 2 : km 1.59 - alt. 297 m - Pylon
  4. 3 : km 2.27 - alt. 298 m - Crossroads
  5. 4 : km 4.49 - alt. 195 m - Bus stop 14 Guiramand, on the left
  6. 5 : km 4.86 - alt. 197 m - Bus stop 14 Bompart, on the left
  7. 6 : km 5.79 - alt. 223 m - Fire brigade barrier
  8. 7 : km 7.96 - alt. 282 m - Turn left at the crossroads of the four paths
  9. S/E : km 9.02 - alt. 193 m - Car park near the bus stop

Notes

There are no water points or shelters. The route is exposed to the sun with no shade: bring plenty of water.
In mistral winds, the section on the plateau can be unpleasant.

Worth a visit

You can reach the Gardanne Ecomuseum from the car park (S/E) via a small marked path.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 43 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
SAUNIERMARTINE
SAUNIERMARTINE

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 27, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant, well-described hike. Just at point 2, there was a flooded section, so we had to detour through a very muddy field due to heavy rainfall. At point 7, be careful not to take the smaller path directly to the right in the same direction as the one you just climbed, but take the main path instead. No problem with GPS. Beautiful view of Sainte-Victoire.

Machine-translated

Boya
Boya

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant and easy walk. Many runners and mountain bikers on Sundays.
No picnic area.

Machine-translated

EMCI13
EMCI13

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk in the sunshine, done with a child and dog. Wide, easy paths. Beautiful views.

Machine-translated

User 7333173

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice, easy walk

Machine-translated

Vedubois
Vedubois

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pretty hike on a very wide and easily accessible path

Machine-translated

barbbu
barbbu

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice, nothing special, easy to follow without using GPS (Google Maps, in my case).

Machine-translated

JCBaldi
JCBaldi

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Easy hike, no difficulty whatsoever. Apart from a few panoramic views, the walk isn't particularly interesting, except for the pleasure of being in the peaceful countryside. The trail is not very busy.

Machine-translated

Gépa
Gépa

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful country walk close to the city

Machine-translated

phildaix
phildaix

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice little walk, beautiful scenery and rocks. Easy. The description could have been a little more precise in some places (e.g. at wp7: take the path that goes down to the left – there are three of them).

Machine-translated

LIONEL13118
LIONEL13118

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you very much for sharing, the view is truly magnificent! Thanks to you, we had a wonderful half day.

Machine-translated

JMSausset
JMSausset

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

very pleasant hike near Gardanne, thank you

Machine-translated

carrossierutan
carrossierutan

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 21, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

average attendance but good for average walkers

Machine-translated

Lalex
Lalex

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, fairly flat and easy hike, mainly on fairly clear trails, very pleasant in sunny weather with no wind. Hardly anyone around. It's a bit of a shame to have to walk along the road, but it's only for a short stretch. Not really any nice places to picnic. Thank you very much!

Machine-translated

Maguy
Maguy

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 01, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant, easy hike with beautiful views.
Please note that during hunting season, it is best to check that the trail is not closed due to hunting parties. Signs at each exit of the trail indicate the hunting days in advance.

Machine-translated

Visorando55
Visorando55

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little walk, unpretentious and easy, to whet your appetite.

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.