Beaurecueil, the village below the mountain

A village, not a set

You come to Beaurecueil for the landscape more than for monuments. The village gathers around the church of Sainte-Marguerite and the town hall and school; the seventeenth-century château at its entrance is now a private residence. All around are pines, olives, vines, and the mountain filling the whole northern sky.

You often meet amateur painters with their easels set up by the lanes. It is no accident: Beaurecueil has one of the clearest views of the south face of Sainte-Victoire, the one Cézanne painted from the Tholonet road.

The village is also home to the Grand Site Concors Sainte-Victoire, the body that manages the massif, based at La Ferme. Check its website before a hike: trail closures, works and summer rules are posted there.

The red earth of Roques-Hautes

Just above the village lies the Roques-Hautes departmental park: about 800 hectares of hills, pinewoods and red clay shared between Aix, Beaurecueil, Le Tholonet, Saint-Antonin-sur-Bayon and Saint-Marc-Jaumegarde. Its marked trails are many and easy, with the mountain ahead at every turn.

That red earth hides a treasure. The Sainte-Victoire national nature reserve, created in 1994 in Beaurecueil, protects one of Europe’s largest deposits of dinosaur eggs, from the end of the Cretaceous. The core of the reserve is closed to the public, but guided walks regularly leave from the Aurigon car park, booked through the Aix tourist office. The Maison Sainte-Victoire displays fossil eggs.

People come here first of all to watch the mountain change colour.

The Route Cézanne

The D17, known as the Route Cézanne, leaves Aix, crosses Le Tholonet and runs along the foot of the mountain to Saint-Antonin-sur-Bayon and Puyloubier. The painter walked it to reach his subjects. Today it is the best way home from Aix, especially late in the day, when the rock face turns pink.

In Saint-Antonin, five minutes away, the Maison Sainte-Victoire is the gateway to the massif: trail information, a small museum, a garden devoted to the mountain’s plants and wildlife, and a restaurant with a terrace. Several walks start there.

Where to eat around the village

La Table de Beaurecueil occupies a former sheepfold at the end of an avenue of mulberry trees, facing the mountain. Traditional Provençal cooking, a good list of wines by the glass, and a house that has hosted the area’s celebrations for decades. It closes on some days of the week: call ahead.

For a special dinner, Le Saint-Estève, at Les Lodges Sainte-Victoire in Le Tholonet, holds a Michelin star. Its terrace looks at the mountain over the olive trees. The estate’s brasserie, L’Atelier des Lodges, has the same view for less.

Towards Puyloubier, the Relais de Saint-Ser, a seventeenth-century country house against the massif, serves Provençal food on a panoramic terrace facing the Arc valley and the Sainte-Baume. More addresses in Dining.

Walking from Beaurecueil

The Roques-Hautes loops start from the Aurigon car park, a few minutes’ drive away. They are wide, gently sloping and good for children. To climb to the Croix de Provence, the nearest start is the Pas du Moine trail at Saint-Antonin: allow half a day.

From 1 June to 30 September, access to the hills depends on the fire risk announced the evening before. The rules are explained in our Sainte-Victoire guide.