A circular south of La Cadière-d'Azur

This is a very easy walk that follows part of the circular "Boucle au-dessus du Plan du Castellet" route, allowing you to visit the north-western slope of the Pibarnon hill and enjoy the beautiful views it offers over the bay of La Ciotat. Please note that two-thirds of the route is on paved roads, although they are very quiet. Therefore, it is not suitable for those who dislike tarmac.

Details

19778151
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.20 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 221 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 219 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 289 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 85 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Go to junction 11 of the A50 motorway, coming either from Bandol via Le Plan du Castellet, Saint-Cyr or Le Beausset.
At the large roundabout, follow signs for La Cadière d'Azur and head up towards the village on the D66. At the first large right-hand bend, continue along the road towards the village. At the next junction, turn left onto Avenue de la Libération, towards the village centre, and stop at the panoramic car park on the left, at the end of which is a war memorial.

(S/E) Return to Avenue de la Libération and take a pedestrian lane just off the car park that descends steeply towards the south. This lane joins a small street; follow it down to the stop sign. You are now on the D66. Follow it to the crossroads opposite and join Chemin de l'Argile, then continue straight on to Chemin de Saint-Jean.

(1) In the hamlet you pass through, take a look at the Fontaine de Saint-Jean fountain, then turn left onto Chemin de Pibarnon and follow it south. Leave the hamlet of Le Moutin on your left and walk past a large house painted dark pink, where the paved road turns into a track. Continue climbing south, leaving a group of houses on your right. Take advantage of the increase in altitude to enjoy beautiful views of the village of La Cadière and the Beausset depression.
When you reach the woods, the path becomes very steep and very clayey. Be careful of slipping in wet weather.
You will then arrive in the middle of terraced vineyards, overlooking the village of Le Plan du Castellet. Continue southwards, following a terraced wall. The path soon curves to the right and passes under a blue-shuttered shed.

(2) With your back to the front of the shed, take a narrow, dirt path heading south.

(3) You will come out onto a plateau where you will join theGR® 51, which climbs up from the left and overlooks the Domaine de Pibarnon. Take theGR® on the right, climbing a rocky embankment. You will soon arrive at another plateau, which offers an even better view of the Domaine de Pibarnon and its château, at the top of a veritable amphitheatre of terraces.
Continue on theGR® trail towards the north-west. While still in a pine forest, you will overlook a hamlet and vineyards on your right.

(4) TheGR® trail leads to a paved road at the corner of a property where several dogs are barking insistently. Follow this road southwards, which is taken by the GR® trail.

(5) In a hairpin bend to the right, you will find the entrance to the Domaine de Pibarnon on your left. Continue along the road heading west. Soon the road turns north towards La Cadière, offering numerous viewpoints.

(6) After passing a hamlet, leave the main road and turn left (GR® change of direction sign) onto Chemin de la Roquette, a smaller, poorly surfaced road. After crossing a hamlet, you will come out in the middle of terraced fields, with a superb view of La Ciotat Bay.

(7) When you reach the crossroads, turn left and then immediately right towards the first house you see. Just as you reach it, leave the road and turn right onto a path between the vineyard on the right and the house on the left. After about 250 metres, this path rejoins the road (Chemin de la Roquette). Continue north-east, parallel to a larger road. At a right-angle bend where the road turns to join this main road, continue straight ahead on a grassy path. This joins a small road in the hamlet of La Goude, before meeting the main road (Chemin de Saint-Côme). Follow this to the village of La Cadière.

(8) When you reach the La Cadière sign, turn right (Chemin de la Cambuse) and walk along the Domaine de la Garenne, then turn left up Avenue des Oliviers, then right onto Traverse des Cerisiers and continue along Passage du Chilet, which leads to Avenue de la Libération. Turn right to reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 127 m - Small car park before the entrance to the village.
  2. 1 : km 0.67 - alt. 90 m - Start of the Pibarnon trail. Near the - Fontaine Saint-Jean
  3. 2 : km 2.24 - alt. 249 m - Cabanon
  4. 3 : km 2.37 - alt. 256 m - Terre plein (GR junction)
  5. 4 : km 2.77 - alt. 273 m - Arrival on a road
  6. 5 : km 3.58 - alt. 254 m - Access to the Domaine de Pibarnon
  7. 6 : km 4.84 - alt. 183 m - On the left, Chemin de la Roquette
  8. 7 : km 5.39 - alt. 147 m - Crossroads at the foot of the terraces
  9. 8 : km 7.63 - alt. 105 m - Chemin de la Cambuse
  10. S/E : km 8.2 - alt. 128 m - Return to car park

Notes

We did this walk at the end of February 2022.

In dry weather, this route can be covered with just a good pair of trainers - but be careful on the section ofthe GR® at the top of the hill, which is very rocky in places. If it has rained recently, it is better to bring walking shoes and a pair of poles, otherwise you may not be able to climb the very clayey section 300 m before the point (2)!

Although we used tracks, paths or trails whenever possible, I would remind you that around 60% of the route is on paved roads. TheGR® itself had to make do with this given the density of private estates. So avoid choosing this hike if you can't stand tarmac. That said, these roads are not very busy, and the landscapes you pass through make you forget the tarmac.

Worth a visit

This route overlaps with part of the circular hike above Plan du Castellet.

Don't forget to take a closer look at the Fontaine de Saint-Jean fountain.

Don't hesitate to turn around from time to time to enjoy the views of the villages of La Cadière and Le Castellet, the Pibarnon estate, and the bays of Saint-Cyr and La Ciotat.

At the point (5), you can visit the Pibarnon estate, and perhaps even enjoy a wine tasting and purchase some wine.

Finally, why not end the day with a stroll through the narrow streets of the beautiful village of La Cadière d'Azur?

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

4.6 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
danielbouvier
danielbouvier

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

When the scholar points to the moon, the fool looks at the tar.
We almost missed out on this superb route with its varied views punctuated by flowers and the scents of May when we read the comments.

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stjo
stjo

@LesDeuxLoulous when you say "mainly concrete", I assume you mean "tarmac"?
Indeed, this walk does not hide its partially "road-based" nature, but this is clear as soon as you look at the map.
In this area, I couldn't find any more sections on trails.
I'm glad you enjoyed it anyway.

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LesDeuxLoulous
LesDeuxLoulous
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I have done this hike several times. Very good. No difficulty. Beautiful views. Mainly concrete but few cars (except for the very last part where there is a little more traffic, but it's not the motorway either), so perfect.
Did it with two dogs weighing 10 and 20 kg without any problems.

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FrenchFrancky
FrenchFrancky
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A nice, fairly varied short route. No particular difficulties. Very beautiful views of both the vineyards and the coast.

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stjo
stjo

@1328241045 Very well, but we have to get back to the starting point, and I haven't found anything else except this section. Unless there is a path parallel to the road, which I will check on my next visit – or unless we take a detour through a circular route through the housing estates north of the road (Azur district).
That said, there were two of us on the route and, with the usual minimum of caution, we weren't bothered by the traffic. Obviously, a group of walkers could pose more safety issues. But reading your comments, you'd think we were in real danger on our little country roads!

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1328241045
1328241045

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Route taken on 19/01/24 early in the morning... I do not recommend the section of the route between the St Come intersection and point 8... The speed and volume of traffic on this very narrow road can be dangerous for a group of walkers...
Today, it is important to bear in mind that many electric vehicles are on the road and do not make any noise, unlike combustion engine vehicles, which are easier to hear coming....

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memededu83
memededu83

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

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HELIco83
HELIco83

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

Point 1, perhaps worth clarifying:
from:... continue climbing south until you reach a closed, concrete shelter; from there, take the small path to the left of this shelter
which continues south, leaving a group of houses on your right...

The rest remains unchanged. "A very beautiful walk".

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gégérando
gégérando

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike thanks to its views of La Ciotat Bay. However, remain cautious, as the GR trail runs alongside a fairly busy road.

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MOC
MOC

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

Beautiful, very peaceful hike with lovely trails, sometimes a little steep, with stunning views of the villages and the Gulf of St Cyr-La Ciotat
but to avoid walking on the road in La Cadière, start at the beginning of Chemin de l'Argile
you can leave a few cars at the corner of Chemin de l'Argile

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