The Montagnac bee-hives from Montfrin

A picturesque walk that allows you to discover two villages (Montfrin and Théziers) as well as the largest bee wall in France.

Technical sheet

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.37 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 124 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 116 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 67 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 10 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Start : Park in the Montfrin Tennis Club car park, Place de la Liberté.

(S/E) Leave the car park, turn left, take the covered passageway that joins the Cours Jean Jaurès. Turn right. Reach the crossroads on the Avenue du Docteur Félix Clément where you will find the Fontaine des Rameaux signpost.

(1) Follow the road in front, continue along the Chemin des Moulins. Turn left onto the castle rise. Reach the Château de Montfrin. From there, you have a very beautiful view.

(2) Go back down to the Fontaine des Rameaux sign.

(1) Turn left onto Avenue du Docteur Félix Clément and go past the school.
At the roundabout, continue on the D500, pass in front of the police station and arrive at the le Pesquier signpost.

(3) Turn right onto the chemin du Rhône, pass under the TGV railway bridge and arrive at the le Limas sign.

(4) Continue on this road, pass over the Briançon stream and reach a new intersection.

(5) Turn left, direction Théziers. Cross the D126, continue straight on, passing by the Mas du Soleil. Pass again under the TGV tracks and continue until you reach the D500.

(6) Follow it to the right, cross the level crossing and take the Avenue de la Gare as far as the l'Escalier bus stop.

(7) Just in front of this bus stop, take the path on the right, which joins the GR® 42. Take it by turning left at the T junction and follow it until you reach the Ecide signpost.
Turn right to reach the Chapelle Saint-Amand, nestled in its pine grove.

(8) Go around the chapel, go down to the road D19, turn right, direction Théziers to reach the wash-house.

(9) Turn left onto Avenue de la Gare (or D500). Shortly after, turn right onto the Grand Rue and follow it to the Saint-Grégoire Church, passing the Post Office and the Town Hall.

(10) Turn left into the Chemin de Coste which goes down to the bottom of the village. Turn left into the Chemin du Queyron, then take the first road on the right and leave it a few metres further on to the right to pass under the railway.

(11) After the passing the railway bridge, turn right, follow the track until the first path on the left.

(12) Follow this path until the next crossroads, go straight on, on a stony path. Arrive on the plateau of vineyards. Continue to the Massay signpost, which is near a large cypress hedge.
Stay on the GR® 42 in the direction of Montagnac.

(13) Leave the GR® by turning to the right onto the road to the site of the Baume and arrive at the Montagnac bee-hives.
''The Montagnac bee-hives are the largest bee wall in France; they have 76 niches dug in the rock where the hives were placed."

(14) After the visit, rejoin the road, turn left and continue down towards Montfrin. Continue until reaching the D351, turn left, pass in front of the cemetery. Pass through the village with its picturesque streets, pass in front of the Commanderie and the church. Return to the Fontaine des Rameaux signpost.

(1) Turn right again to reach the Tennis Club car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 15 m - Tennis Club car park, Place de la Liberté - Le Gardon
  2. 1 : km 0.17 - alt. 18 m - Jalon Fontaine des Rameaux
  3. 2 : km 0.57 - alt. 47 m - Château de Monfrin
  4. 3 : km 1.78 - alt. 13 m - Pesquier milestone
  5. 4 : km 2.59 - alt. 11 m - Jalon Le Limas
  6. 5 : km 3.42 - alt. 12 m - Left towards Théziers
  7. 6 : km 6.66 - alt. 12 m - Junction with the D500
  8. 7 : km 7.11 - alt. 14 m - Path on the right opposite the bus stop
  9. 8 : km 8.44 - alt. 32 m - Saint-Amand chapel
  10. 9 : km 8.92 - alt. 26 m - Lavoir de Théziers
  11. 10 : km 9.66 - alt. 45 m - Saint-Grégoire Church
  12. 11 : km 10.23 - alt. 14 m - Passage under the railway line
  13. 12 : km 10.54 - alt. 15 m - First path on the left
  14. 13 : km 12.6 - alt. 62 m - Chemin de la Baume
  15. 14 : km 12.82 - alt. 52 m - The Montagnac apiaries
  16. S/E : km 14.37 - alt. 15 m - Tennis Club car park, Place de la Liberté

Practical information

Start : Park in the Montfrin Tennis Club car park, Place de la Liberté.

Parking : Park in the Montfrin Tennis Club car park, Place de la Liberté.

Facilities : No water point on the route.
Picnic area at the Montagnac bee-hives.

In the nearby area

To see: the Castle of Montfrin, the Chapel Saint-Amand, the church of Théziers and the bee-hives of Montagnac.
Nearby: the cooperative of the wine growers of Montfrin where you can see a whole mammoth skeleton.

 Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

3.8 / 5
Based on 16 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.1 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.3 / 5
Route interest
3.1 / 5
Mimigm
Mimigm

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Dec 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : No

Despite the villages of Theziers and Montfrin and the beehives at Montagnac, which are well worth seeing, the walk is far too tarmac and of little interest.

Too bad

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CACAHOUÈTE
CACAHOUÈTE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

The beehives in the cliffs are surprising. Picnic area on the same level + water fountain, much appreciated.
Avoid hot weather, as there is a lot of tarmac.

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cornud
cornud

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

hello, at point number 5 the direction to thézier is missing.

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elway22
elway22

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

In the light of previous comments, we decided to revisit this route, avoiding the road section. So, based on the crossing points, we did 1-2-13-12-11-7-8-10-11-12-13-14 then back to Montfrin.
The walk turned out to be quite interesting, the weather was 22 degrees, Montfin (the biggest) and Théziers are 2 nice villages as well as the chapel and the apiaries where it's easy to have a picnic. It just so happened that we were just in time for a refreshment on the terrace next to the Théziers church and its annex , so we ate our salad on the edge of the fountain.
Note that before arriving at number 13 from Montfrin, there is an orientation table showing the old mills.
The route is without difficulty, apart from the start of the GR on leaving Théziers, where the climb is over very round pebbles.

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cathy86
cathy86

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 01, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Busy trail : No

Good description with no particular difficulties.
Very disappointed by this hike, which was not very interesting and had far too much tarmac.

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Guyrandos
Guyrandos

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Easy walk. To be repeated a little later when the trees have grown a little more. Don't miss La Chapelle a Theziers. One regret: too many sections on the road

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pasbil01
pasbil01

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Hi, We didn't follow the route exactly because there were a lot of roads and we wanted to avoid them. However, we did manage to get to the beehives. It's quite simply magnificent. We then headed off in the direction of the Gardon, and here again it's magnificent. Our walk lasted just over 3 hours.

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FABRE SYLVETTE
FABRE SYLVETTE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 04, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

a lot of road on the first part but from THEZIERS more interesting. The apiaries are worth seeing.

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Jacques 84
Jacques 84

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

90% of the route is on a small tarmac road with a lot of passing vehicles. You have to keep to the side of the road all the time. Good for a short winter outing. Mixed opinion. 2 beautiful villages and apiaries. Trouble finding parking at Montfrin, there are easier alternatives.

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jmtreille
jmtreille

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 04, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing

Uninteresting walk, always on the road. The apiaries, the only points of interest, are 1 km from the finish...

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danielle pique
danielle pique

I haven't yet done the Montagnac apiaries, but we have done the one at the Tour Philippe, Valbigonce. we had a bit of trouble after the tower and taking the little path that leads to the Bertet house! in fact, once you leave the path, you don't know where to go. the house isn't visible, so we looked around for a while and arrived at the house by "chance". otherwise, the rest of the walk was great!

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Frimouss
Frimouss

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 27, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

Disappointing ride, 80% to 90% of the route on tarmac to be shared with cars !!!!!!
Positive point THEZIERS JOLIE VILLAGE.

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bouillouse
bouillouse

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 26, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

We got off to a bad start with a visit to the château (private property, bitter dog!), then we started the walk on tarmac, which we didn't leave until we reached Théziers (7.11 km). We had a pleasant snack in a children's garden, then resumed our asphalted journey to point 12. Finally, a first path will take us through the vineyards to the famous Montagnac apiary, a place not to be missed. Then we return to tarmac and arrive at Montfrin with its beautiful monuments. As for the rest of the comments, I completely agree with "henridelozere" about the rubbish along the route and the sharing of the road with the many cars!
You should also be aware that the area is very popular and not at all shaded.

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henridelozere
henridelozere

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 24, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

As others have said, we were disappointed by the first part of the tour (more than half of it). The gardens of the Château de Montfrin are not accessible (private property signs, watch out for the "bitter" dog), then there's the unpleasant tarmac road between the TGV line and the high-voltage line and, above all, a lot of rubbish on the side of the road (hundreds of cans, plastic bottles, wine boxes, but also an iron, a motorbike helmet, a kettle... enough to distract you between the cars).
Fortunately, things got better from the chapel of St Amans onwards, then the village of Théziers, and above all the apiary at Montagnac and the narrow streets of Montfrin reached by a path running between the Costières vines.

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l'hermine
l'hermine

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 23, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

We regretted that most of the walk is on a road, frequented by cars, which makes it more suitable for mountain biking than walking.
From Théziers onwards, it follows a more pleasant "GR" path where you can discover the plain as far as the Rhône. The highlight of the walk is the beehives at Montagnac. The Château de Montfrin is surrounded by numerous signs indicating "private property".

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