Winegrowers’ Trail – ‘Venise Provençale’ Circular Loop

Set off from the Saint-Julien-les-Martigues wine cellar.

(S/E) From the winery, turn left onto the D5 (Route de Sausset).

(1) At the traffic lights, turn right onto Chemin des Jardins. After a wide bend to the right, the path first turns right then left and joins Chemin des Jourdans at a right-hand bend.

(2) At the street sign, take the stony track to the left between the vines. After the houses, head a few metres into the woods then turn right. Follow the path overlooking the vineyards until you reach a track and an old farmhouse on your left.

(3) Continue left along this wide track. Ignore the paths branching off to the right and left, pass to the right of the watchtower and stay on the plateau. Join the D49 at the Col de la Gatasse (power pylon).

(4) Cross the D49 with care! and head down to the right. At the right-hand bend, continue left along the old road. At the hairpin bend that follows (sign CB47), turn right. Pass La Gatasse on your left and reach the first path heading off to the right.

(5) Turn right and continue along this stony track. Pass a ruin on your right (a sheepfold) and, after a large wire-mesh gate (open), turn right. The track runs alongside the hamlet and joins the Chemin des Gides.

(6) At the junction, turn left onto Rue Abbé Villard, pass the car park on your right and reach a path starting on the left at number 10. Take this path and then climb the steps leading up to the church.

(7) Take the opportunity to see the Oppidum, then walk round the building and along the edge of the cemetery. At the junction, head down to the left along Rue des Tilleuls until you reach the roundabout. Follow the D49A straight ahead.

(8) Just as you come out of the wide right-hand bend in the road, turn left onto the track and carry on straight ahead at the junction immediately after. Follow this track, ignoring the turnings to the right and left, until you reach a four-way crossroads (elevation 64).
Turn right uphill and carry on straight ahead. Pass under a power line, walk along the left-hand side of some old mills and head downhill to the D5.

(9) Cross the road with care (signpost CB30) and take the track opposite, located behind the car park, which climbs up onto the plateau. After a few metres, turn right and rejoin the^GR® de Pays 2013, which comes in from the left. Continue straight ahead to the next junction.

(10) Follow a hairpin bend to the right and head down into the valley. Walk alongside the vineyards until you reach a road.

(11) Turn left, pass under a power line and continue for about 500 m until you reach the start of a track on the right (Berrière).

(12) Follow this track – a round trip – uphill to the ridge, then turn left and head for a watchtower at the Ancien Moulin de Saint-Julien.

(13) After taking in the view, return to the road.

(12) Back on the road, carry on to the right through vineyards and olive groves until you reach the residential area at a place called Les Tourels.

(14) Head down to the right along the Chemin de Beaumenière and leave^{the GR® route.} The road passes through a pine forest and a hamlet, then continues between vineyards and residential areas.

(15) In the copse, make a detour to and from Saint-Julien Church.
On your return, carry on to the left and join the D5. Continue to the right, pass through Saint-Julien-les-Martigues and head for the wine cellar (S/E).

Access conditions: Between¹ June and 30 September, access to woodland areas is regulated by prefectural order and may also be regulated by local council order, for your safety and to protect sensitive sites. Before setting off on your walk, please call 0811 20 13 13. Every day, you can find out whether the site where you wish to walk is open all day, open only in the morning, or completely closed. Depending on weather conditions, the ‘forest fire’ danger level (orange-red-black) is announced by 6.00 pm at the latest for the following day.