[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":815},["ShallowReactive",2],{"search-en":3},[4,11,17,22,27,32,36,40,44,49,53,57,61,66,70,74,78,83,87,91,95,100,104,108,112,117,121,125,129,134,138,142,146,151,155,159,163,168,172,175,179,184,188,192,196,201,205,209,213,218,222,226,230,235,239,243,247,253,258,263,268,273,278,283,288,293,297,302,307,311,316,321,325,330,335,340,345,350,355,360,365,370,375,380,385,389,394,399,404,409,414,419,424,429,434,438,444,449,454,459,464,469,474,479,484,489,494,500,504,509,514,518,523,527,532,536,541,546,551,556,561,565,570,574,579,583,589,594,599,604,609,614,619,624,629,634,639,645,650,655,660,665,671,676,681,686,691,696,701,706,711,716,721,726,731,736,741,746,750,755,760,765,770,775,780,785,790,795,800,805,810],{"id":5,"title":6,"titles":7,"content":8,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fascent-of-the-pic-de-bertagne","The ascent of the pic de Bertagne",[],"A sporty 10 km loop from Plan-d'Aups to the highest point of the Bouches-du-Rhône, at 1,042 m, by the col de Bertagne and the ridge, returning through the Betton valley. An emblematic hike of the Sainte-Baume, the ascent of the pic de Bertagne combines the history of Plan-d'Aups, the ridge and the forest. The summit, at 1,042 m, is the highest point of the Bouches-du-Rhône department; it carries a civil aviation radar station, but above all a panorama that runs from the sea to the Alps on a clear day.",1,"hikes",{"id":12,"title":13,"titles":14,"content":15,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fascent-of-the-pic-de-bertagne#the-route","The route",[6],"The beginning is shared with the col de Bertagne loop: from the \"le Village\" car park you cross Plan-d'Aups, follow the chemin de la Brasque to the sensitive natural area, pass the ruin of the old farm and climb, by a rutted then stony path, to the col de Bertagne and the monument of the Excursionnistes marseillais. At the crossroads of the pass, a steep path climbs hard towards the ridge through rocky sections, then joins the tarmac track serving the radar. The out-and-back to the peak takes about twenty minutes on the yellow-marked path. You then set off towards the col du Saint-Pilon on the GR 98, across the limestone pavement, passing the radio relay. After the tarmac track, a steep path drops into the Betton valley; the track of the same name and then a woodland path lead back, via the Ubac forest track, to the first houses of the village.",2,{"id":18,"title":19,"titles":20,"content":21,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fascent-of-the-pic-de-bertagne#getting-there","Getting there",[6],"\"Le Village\" car park, near the Maison du Pays, in the centre of Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume. 14 km from Nans-les-Pins via the D80, 20 km from Gémenos via the D2, 12 km from Saint-Zacharie via the D480.",{"id":23,"title":24,"titles":25,"content":26,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fascent-of-the-pic-de-bertagne#advice","Advice",[6],"A mountain route exposed to the weather, with two areas of slippery rock, between the pass and the ridge and then in the Betton valley: avoid in rain, wind or fog. Flock and guard dogs possible. In summer, access to the massif is regulated according to the fire risk: check the daily map of the Var prefecture and, for the south side, that of the Bouches-du-Rhône.",{"id":28,"title":29,"titles":30,"content":31,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fcol-de-bertagne","The col de Bertagne",[],"An easy 6.9 km loop from the village of Plan-d'Aups, through the Brasque natural area, up to the \"Marseillais pass\" beneath the baou de Bertagne. The col de Bertagne is the most accessible balcony of the western ridge of the Sainte-Baume. The loop starts in the centre of Plan-d'Aups, crosses the Brasque valley, a former mining and farming site turned sensitive natural area, and reaches the pass that hikers from Marseille have made their own for more than a century. The return is in the shade of the Betton track.",{"id":33,"title":13,"titles":34,"content":35,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fcol-de-bertagne#the-route",[29],"From the \"le Village\" car park, near the Maison du Pays, you cross the D2 to follow the rue du Pic-de-Bertagne to the square and the town hall, then the chemin de la Brasque, tarmacked as far as the entrance to the departmental sensitive natural area. The woodland path follows the GR de Pays Marseille-Provence 2013, marked red and yellow, passes the ruin of the old Brasque farm and continues on the track to a clearing. A rutted then stony path then climbs, gently at first and then more steeply, to the col de Bertagne and the monument of the Excursionnistes marseillais. The view opens over the Gémenos valleys, the Marseille conurbation and the Mediterranean, beneath the baou de Bertagne. You come down by the tarmac track then the Betton forest track, marked in yellow, for nearly two kilometres, before a woodland path leads back to the first houses of the village.",{"id":37,"title":19,"titles":38,"content":39,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fcol-de-bertagne#getting-there",[29],"\"Le Village\" car park in the centre of Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume, 14 km from Nans-les-Pins via the D80, 20 km from Gémenos via the D2 and 12 km from Saint-Zacharie via the D480.",{"id":41,"title":24,"titles":42,"content":43,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fcol-de-bertagne#advice",[29],"Flock and guard dogs possible: give the flock a wide berth, stop if a dog approaches, talk to it calmly without waving your poles. From 21 June to 20 September, access to the massif is regulated according to the fire risk; check the daily map of the Var prefecture.",{"id":45,"title":46,"titles":47,"content":48,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fescaillon-and-the-ice-road","The Escaillon and the ice road",[],"A 10 km loop in the footsteps of the old ice carriers, with the Aurélien and Olympe hills on one side and the Sainte-Baume cliff on the other. Before electricity, the Sainte-Baume supplied Marseille and Toulon with ice. Water froze in basins in winter, was stored in great stone ice houses and carried down to the towns by night. This loop follows one of the roads the carters used, climbs the Escaillon woods and comes back through the Nans plain.",{"id":50,"title":13,"titles":51,"content":52,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fescaillon-and-the-ice-road#the-route",[46],"From the parking de la Ferrage, you follow the Plan-d'Aups road for a moment towards the edge of the village, then take on the left the \"Circulaire de l'Escaillon et chemin de la glace\" circuit, marked in green. The path enters the woods, joins the Foux track and zigzags up the Escaillon woods to the plateau. The climb gradually opens the view over the Aurélien and Olympe hills, with the Sainte-Victoire in the distance. On the plateau you pass a cistern, then follow the waymarks for a kilometre and a half before turning onto a track that descends for nearly three kilometres, facing the great rock wall of the Sainte-Baume. The \"Barnum\" forest track comes out on a small road that crosses the farmland of Nans to the route du Cauron, then to the media library and the car park.",{"id":54,"title":19,"titles":55,"content":56,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fescaillon-and-the-ice-road#getting-there",[46],"Start from the parking de la Ferrage. From Saint-Maximin, 12.5 km via the D560 and the D80; from Aubagne, 26 km via the D96 and the D560. La Ferrage bus stop, Zou network.",{"id":58,"title":24,"titles":59,"content":60,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fescaillon-and-the-ice-road#advice",[46],"A flock and its guard dogs may be on the route: give the flock a wide berth, stop if a dog approaches, do not stare at it and talk to it calmly without waving your poles. From 21 June to 20 September, access to the massif is regulated according to the fire risk; check the daily map of the Var prefecture.",{"id":62,"title":63,"titles":64,"content":65,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fgreat-huveaune-loop","The great Huveaune loop",[],"A 17.5 km day walk on the north slope of the Sainte-Baume, between the banks of the Huveaune, the Taurelle, the Peyruis sheepfold and the views over the Nans plain. The long version of the Huveaune walks: a loop demanding for its distance rather than its gradient, which follows the river at length, climbs the tracks of the north slope of the Sainte-Baume and returns by the pas de Peyruis. This is the hike for anyone who wants to understand the coastal river as a whole, from its legendary reputation to its landscapes of scrubland and forest.",{"id":67,"title":13,"titles":68,"content":69,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fgreat-huveaune-loop#the-route",[63],"From the parking de la Ferrage, you cross the village to the Miséricorde chapel, then take the chemin du Bouaou, marked in yellow, which climbs leaving the \"Vieux Nans\" sign on the left. At the olive grove, a path leaves the track and climbs for two kilometres to a ford, at the entrance to the Taurelle forest-pasture site in the state forest. The main track then follows the Huveaune for two and a half kilometres, with three sets of waymarks: yellow, the red and white of the GR, the yellow and red of the GR de Pays. A path then climbs to a wide track and branches off towards the Peyruis sheepfold via Chambeyron, in yellow and blue, up to the departmental road. You follow the road to the pas de Peyruis, where panels present the site, then descend by the yellow-marked tracks towards Nans-les-Pins and the Miséricorde chapel. A start from the pas de Peyruis is also possible.",{"id":71,"title":19,"titles":72,"content":73,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fgreat-huveaune-loop#getting-there",[63],"Start from the parking de la Ferrage in the village centre. From Saint-Maximin, 12.5 km via the D560 and the D80; from Mazaugues, 19 km via the D1 and the D64. La Ferrage bus stop, line 92 Aubagne–Brignoles of the Zou network.",{"id":75,"title":24,"titles":76,"content":77,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fgreat-huveaune-loop#advice",[63],"Several fords can become tricky after heavy rain. Carry water for the day, there is no supply point. From 21 June to 20 September, access to the forested massifs is regulated according to the fire risk: check the daily map of the Var prefecture.",{"id":79,"title":80,"titles":81,"content":82,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fgrotto-and-saint-pilon-chapel","The grotto and the Saint-Pilon chapel",[],"The must-do of the Sainte-Baume. From the Hostellerie to the grotto of Mary Magdalene through the forest, then along the ridge to the Saint-Pilon chapel and its panorama from the sea to the Alps. Entering the Sainte-Baume forest is like changing worlds: coolness, shade, beeches and yews in a land of scrubland. This 6.5 km loop, short but steep, leads through the forest to the grotto where tradition places Mary Magdalene's retreat, then climbs onto the ridge to the Saint-Pilon chapel. On a clear day the view stretches from the Mediterranean to the Alps.",{"id":84,"title":13,"titles":85,"content":86,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fgrotto-and-saint-pilon-chapel#the-route",[80],"With your back to the Espace Tourisme et Découverte de la Sainte-Baume, you reach the parking de l'Hostellerie Est and enter the forest on the GR 9, due south, as far as a wooden bridge. After the crossroads at the obelisk of the Compagnons du Devoir, the chemin du Canapé begins the climb. At the chemin de Giniez you turn towards the grotto; the carrefour de l'Oratoire marks the foot of the stairs, 150 steps up to the sanctuary carved into the cliff. Back at the carrefour de l'Oratoire, the GR 9 continues the climb past the chapelle des Parisiens and an oratory up to the col du Saint-Pilon, at 952 m. From there a path through the limestone pavement leads in a few minutes to the Saint-Pilon chapel, perched at 994 m on the ridge. You come back down the same way to the carrefour de l'Oratoire, then by the chemin des Roys, marked in yellow, which passes the source de Nans and joins the placette des Trois Chênes and the allée Royale. The route is listed in the Var departmental hiking plan. A shorter variant goes straight down the chemin des Roys after the grotto, without climbing to the Saint-Pilon.",{"id":88,"title":19,"titles":89,"content":90,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fgrotto-and-saint-pilon-chapel#getting-there",[80],"Parking de l'Hostellerie Est, 5 km east of the village of Plan-d'Aups via the D80 and 8.5 km south of Nans-les-Pins on the same road. The grotto is open from 8.30 am to 5 pm in winter time and from 7.30 am to 6.30 pm in summer time.",{"id":92,"title":24,"titles":93,"content":94,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fgrotto-and-saint-pilon-chapel#advice",[80],"A mountain route: avoid the ridge in rain, wind or fog. You cross the Sainte-Baume biological reserve, dogs must be kept on a lead. The sanctuary asks for silence. From 21 June to 20 September, access to the massif is regulated according to the fire risk; check the daily map of the Var prefecture.",{"id":96,"title":97,"titles":98,"content":99,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fhuveaune-springs-loop","Huveaune springs loop",[],"From the village to the travertine pools where the Huveaune rises, along a stretch of the chemin des Roys. A family loop of 9 km in the heart of the Sainte-Baume biological reserve. This is the emblematic hike of Nans-les-Pins. It starts in the village centre, follows for a while the old pilgrimage route to the Sainte-Baume, then climbs the valley where the Huveaune rises in a string of clear travertine basins. The site is a biological reserve: one of the most fragile places in the massif, and one of the most beautiful.",{"id":101,"title":13,"titles":102,"content":103,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fhuveaune-springs-loop#the-route",[97],"The walk is signposted \"Sources de l'Huveaune\" from the car park to the entrance of the reserve. You first cross the village along the cours Général-de-Gaulle and the Grand-Rue, past the Saint-Laurent church, up to the Miséricorde chapel. There begins the chemin de l'Orge, shared by the GR 9A and the yellow waymarks: it passes an oratory, runs alongside the old sanatorium buildings, then joins the chemin rural des Rois, heir to the chemin des Roys that pilgrims followed to the grotto. After a stretch of forest track, a path plunges into the woods and reaches the sign marking the entrance to the biological reserve. The path then follows the river from above, over the travertine pools, with two interpretation panels on the Castelette valley and the formation of the tufa, then a viewpoint. A footbridge crosses the stream: a few metres upstream you can see the resurgence, the point where the Huveaune comes out of the ground. The return follows the other bank and then the tracks back to the village.",{"id":105,"title":19,"titles":106,"content":107,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fhuveaune-springs-loop#getting-there",[97],"Start from the parking de la Ferrage, in the centre of Nans-les-Pins, or from the parking des Sources de l'Huveaune. The village is served by line 92 of the Zou network (Aubagne–Brignoles), La Ferrage stop.",{"id":109,"title":24,"titles":110,"content":111,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fhuveaune-springs-loop#advice",[97],"The bed of the Huveaune is fragile even when dry: swimming, mountain biking and dogs, even on a lead, are forbidden. Stay on the paths and the boardwalks. The pools are often dry in summer; spring and autumn, after rain, are the best seasons. From 21 June to 20 September, access to the massif is regulated according to the fire risk: check the daily access map of the Var prefecture before setting off.",{"id":113,"title":114,"titles":115,"content":116,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fhuveaune-to-mantelette","From the Huveaune to Mantelette",[],"An easy 8.6 km loop through village lanes, along the banks of the Huveaune and between olive groves, on the traces of the chemin des Roys. Shorter and gentler than the springs loop, this walk circles the Mantelette district and runs for a while along the Huveaune. It suits a first family outing or a late afternoon: two and a quarter hours of walking, without difficulty, between forest, olive groves and riverbank.",{"id":118,"title":13,"titles":119,"content":120,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fhuveaune-to-mantelette#the-route",[114],"From the parking de la Ferrage, you reach the cours Général-de-Gaulle then the Grand-Rue, which you follow past the Saint-Laurent church up to the Miséricorde chapel. The chemin de l'Orge, shared by the GR 9A and the yellow waymarks, then leaves the village, passes the former respiratory rehabilitation centre and skirts some stables. At the Sermax works, you leave the chemin des Roys for the main track, used by the GR 9, which meets and then follows the Huveaune for two and a half kilometres. After the bridge, the \"L'Huveaune\" track leads to a ford. You then leave the GR for a yellow-marked path that crosses forest and olive groves, among rock roses and holm oaks, and returns in three kilometres to the Miséricorde chapel.",{"id":122,"title":19,"titles":123,"content":124,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fhuveaune-to-mantelette#getting-there",[114],"Start from the parking de la Ferrage, in the centre of Nans-les-Pins. From Saint-Maximin, 12 km via the D560 then the D80; from Aubagne, 25 km via the D96 and the D560. La Ferrage bus stop, Zou network.",{"id":126,"title":24,"titles":127,"content":128,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fhuveaune-to-mantelette#advice",[114],"The ford can become tricky after heavy rain: adapt the outing to the conditions. From 21 June to 20 September, access to the forested massifs is regulated according to the fire risk; check the daily map published by the Var prefecture.",{"id":130,"title":131,"titles":132,"content":133,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fpivaut-ice-house-and-the-gaudin","The Pivaut ice house and the Gaudin",[],"From Mazaugues, a 17.4 km loop through the state forest to the Pivaut ice house, a monument of the ice industry, returning through the Gaudin plain. Mazaugues was the ice capital of Provence. Its ice houses, huge stone wells where the ice from the freezing basins was piled up in winter, supplied Toulon and Marseille until artificial ice arrived. The Pivaut ice house, the most imposing, has been restored by the Var department and can be visited along an interpretation trail. This loop climbs to it through the forest and returns through the Gaudin plain.",{"id":135,"title":13,"titles":136,"content":137,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fpivaut-ice-house-and-the-gaudin#the-route",[131],"From the school car park, you cross Mazaugues along the avenue de la République, the place Gabriel-Péri and the place de la Mairie, then follow the D64 towards Plan-d'Aups for a kilometre, with care. At the Grand Jas post, the chemin Saint-Victor then the \"La Venelle\" track climb for more than four kilometres through the state forest, in red waymarks. After the MZS19 cistern and the Clos de l'Héritière crossroads, a path descends to the D95. At the Gaudin post you follow the road for 140 m then the themed trail of the Pivaut ice house, which you visit before returning to the post. A wide stony track then descends towards the road and the Escaillon sud car park, then a track, the solar farm and the crossing of the Caramy lead back to the GR 99 and Mazaugues.",{"id":139,"title":19,"titles":140,"content":141,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fpivaut-ice-house-and-the-gaudin#getting-there",[131],"School car park, in the centre of Mazaugues, 15.4 km from Brignoles via the DN7, the D5 and the D95.",{"id":143,"title":24,"titles":144,"content":145,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fpivaut-ice-house-and-the-gaudin#advice",[131],"Two stretches run along the road: take care. A ford over the Caramy may be in water depending on the season. Flock and guard dogs possible. From 21 June to 20 September, access to the massif is regulated according to the fire risk; check the daily map of the Var prefecture.",{"id":147,"title":148,"titles":149,"content":150,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsainte-baume-ridge-and-grand-vallon","Sainte-Baume ridge and Grand Vallon",[],"From Cuges-les-Pins, a sporty ascent of 23.8 km and 1,150 m of climbing by the south slope to the pic de Bertagne, then the ridge line, returning by the jas de Sylvain. The great southern traverse of the mountain. From the centre of Cuges-les-Pins, the climb is long through the scrubland of the south slope, pauses at the jas de Sylvain, a restored sheepfold, then steepens among the rocks up to the pic de Bertagne. The 360-degree view, from the Calanques to the Sainte-Victoire and the Alps, justifies the day.",{"id":152,"title":13,"titles":153,"content":154,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsainte-baume-ridge-and-grand-vallon#the-route",[148],"Facing the église Saint-Antoine, you go down the boulevard du Chanoine-Bonifay then the rue du Docteur-Gastinel, and a track joins the chemin de Sainte-Madeleine. The climb is by an unsurfaced track through the Sainte-Madeleine and Dausserand valleys, then by a yellow-marked path in the woods. After post SB82, the ascent continues towards the pic de Bertagne; at post SB83, a wide stony path leads to the jas de Sylvain sheepfold, then a balcony path reaches a rock slab and a steep pitch. At the col de l'Aigle, post SB84, you follow the GR 98 to an open valley, then the 2.2 km out-and-back to the pic de Bertagne, skirting the radar by the viewpoint path. Back on the GR 98, you follow the ridge line for 2.4 km towards the col du Saint-Pilon. At post SB88, the yellow path descends steep and slippery towards Cuges-les-Pins; at post SB87, you rejoin the jas de Sylvain and then the outward path.",{"id":156,"title":19,"titles":157,"content":158,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsainte-baume-ridge-and-grand-vallon#getting-there",[148],"Car park on the boulevard du Chanoine-Bonifay in Cuges-les-Pins, 10 km south-east of Gémenos via the D8N.",{"id":160,"title":24,"titles":161,"content":162,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsainte-baume-ridge-and-grand-vallon#advice",[148],"The descent towards Cuges from the ridge is steep and slippery, especially in wet weather: good shoes are essential. The route crosses the Var and the Bouches-du-Rhône; in summer, check the access conditions to the massifs published daily by both prefectures. Fires are forbidden in the forest in every season.",{"id":164,"title":165,"titles":166,"content":167,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsainte-baume-ridge-and-jas-de-frederic","Sainte-Baume ridge and jas de Frédéric",[],"A sporty 20.7 km loop from Cuges-les-Pins, by the jas de Sylvain, the pic de Bertagne and the ridge, returning by the juniper kiln and the jas de Frédéric. A variant of the southern traverse, this loop shares its climb with the Grand Vallon loop but comes back down another slope, that of the old hill trades: an abandoned sheepfold, an old cistern, resin pots still nailed to the pines, a juniper kiln. Seven hours of walking for lovers of great panoramas and the landscapes of Pagnol's Provence.",{"id":169,"title":13,"titles":170,"content":171,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsainte-baume-ridge-and-jas-de-frederic#the-route",[165],"From the église Saint-Antoine in Cuges-les-Pins, you reach the chemin de Sainte-Madeleine then the track that crosses the Sainte-Madeleine and Dausserand valleys. The yellow-marked path climbs through the woods to post SB82, then to post SB83 where the stony path leads to the jas de Sylvain sheepfold. A balcony path, a rock slab and a steep pitch lead to the col de l'Aigle. On the GR 98 you reach the open valley, then the 2.2 km out-and-back to the pic de Bertagne viewpoint. The ridge continues for 2.4 km to post SB88, where the yellow path descends, steep and slippery, towards Cuges. At post SB87, this time you take the blue path towards the juniper kiln, then the jas de Frédéric track, before finding post SB82 again and the outward path.",{"id":173,"title":19,"titles":174,"content":158,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsainte-baume-ridge-and-jas-de-frederic#getting-there",[165],{"id":176,"title":24,"titles":177,"content":178,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsainte-baume-ridge-and-jas-de-frederic#advice",[165],"Steep and slippery descent after the ridge, to be taken carefully in wet weather. A route straddling the Var and the Bouches-du-Rhône: in summer, check the access conditions to the massifs of both prefectures before setting off.",{"id":180,"title":181,"titles":182,"content":183,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsentier-merveilleux","The sentier Merveilleux",[],"An easy 8.6 km loop at the foot of the cliff, in the best-preserved part of the Sainte-Baume forest, to walk in every season. The sentier Merveilleux, the \"marvellous path\", lives up to its name. It runs at the foot of the mountain, in the cool, damp atmosphere of one of the best-preserved forests in France: beech, yew, holly, lime and maple, mid-mountain species that survive here, in the middle of Provence, thanks to the microclimate of the north slope. It is a loop without difficulty, walkable all year round whenever the massif is open.",{"id":185,"title":13,"titles":186,"content":187,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsentier-merveilleux#the-route",[181],"Start from the parking des Trois Chênes, at the junction of the Mazaugues, Nans-les-Pins and Plan-d'Aups roads. You pass the fire-service barrier at the back of the car park and follow the yellow waymarks: after a few hundred metres a path climbs to the right, crosses a track and joins, at the Ravel spring, the sentier Merveilleux itself. It runs along the rock wall for three kilometres, under the trees. At the Saint-Cassien track you leave the yellow waymarks for the track, then a steep pitch joins the Béguines track. It remains to follow it for two and a half kilometres, to skirt the forester's house by a narrow path and to return to the car park by the outward stretch.",{"id":189,"title":19,"titles":190,"content":191,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsentier-merveilleux#getting-there",[181],"Parking des Trois Chênes, 8 km from Nans-les-Pins via the D80 and 5 km from the village of Plan-d'Aups.",{"id":193,"title":24,"titles":194,"content":195,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsentier-merveilleux#advice",[181],"A flock and its guard dogs may be present: give it a wide berth and stay calm if a dog comes to meet you. From 21 June to 20 September, access to the massif is regulated according to the fire risk; check the daily map of the Var prefecture.",{"id":197,"title":198,"titles":199,"content":200,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsentier-merveilleux-and-miette-oratory","From the sentier Merveilleux to the Miette oratory",[],"A 10.8 km loop combining the legendary Sainte-Baume forest, the limestone landscapes of the plateau and the Miette oratory on the chemin des Roys. This loop extends the sentier Merveilleux towards the plateau. After the dense forest of the north slope, it crosses more open limestone country that opens the view over the whole mountain, then joins the GR 9 and the Miette oratory, one of the oratories that mark the old chemin des Roys between Nans-les-Pins and the sanctuary.",{"id":202,"title":13,"titles":203,"content":204,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsentier-merveilleux-and-miette-oratory#the-route",[198],"From the Espace Tourisme et Découverte, you reach the parking des Trois Chênes and pass the fire-service barrier to take the track on the left. A path then climbs to the right to the Ravel spring and the sentier Merveilleux, which you follow along the rock wall for three kilometres. At the Saint-Cassien track you leave the yellow waymarks, then a steep pitch leads to the Béguines track. A path then descends to the road, which you cross to pass a fire-service barrier and follow the \"Le Plateau\" track. A stony track climbs to the Miette oratory, on the GR 9. You then return by the GR, marked red and white, which overlooks the road and then skirts a building to reach the Hostellerie.",{"id":206,"title":19,"titles":207,"content":208,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsentier-merveilleux-and-miette-oratory#getting-there",[198],"Car parks of the Hostellerie de la Sainte-Baume, 8 km from Nans-les-Pins via the D80 and 12 km from Saint-Zacharie via the D480.",{"id":210,"title":24,"titles":211,"content":212,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Fsentier-merveilleux-and-miette-oratory#advice",[198],"Flock and guard dogs possible on the route: give the flock a wide berth, stop if a dog approaches and talk to it calmly. From 21 June to 20 September, access to the massif is regulated according to the fire risk; check the daily map of the Var prefecture.",{"id":214,"title":215,"titles":216,"content":217,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Ftour-de-la-lare","The tour de la Lare",[],"A great 22.8 km loop from the Encanaux, in Auriol, by the ice house, the Nayes springs and the Lare ridge, facing the Sainte-Baume and the Sainte-Victoire. On the north-western flank of the massif, between Auriol and Saint-Zacharie, the Lare ridge faces the Sainte-Baume and the Sainte-Victoire. This demanding loop begins at the Encanaux ice house, follows the river, climbs through olive trees and terraces, visits the Nayes springs and ends along the long ridge, above the Coutronne, Infernets and Encanaux ravines.",{"id":219,"title":13,"titles":220,"content":221,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Ftour-de-la-lare#the-route",[215],"From the car park, you go down to the barrier then climb to the ice house by the blue-marked path, before reaching the Encanaux bridge. The blue path \"Les Lagets par les Hélianthes\" climbs for a kilometre, then a succession of tracks and paths, in blue then yellow waymarks towards Saint-Zacharie, crosses the Gastaude stream and climbs the little Grand Vallon path. A second stage leads to the Nayes springs: a track towards the springs, a stony path, a concrete lane then a canal to follow to the springs. You set off again towards the pont d'Orgnon by the Sources track, then the Adret and Lare tracks, still in blue waymarks, climb the ridge. At the buried cistern, a yellow-marked track begins the long descent to the Encanaux.",{"id":223,"title":19,"titles":224,"content":225,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Ftour-de-la-lare#getting-there",[215],"Parking des Encanaux, 4.3 km south-east of Auriol via the D560 and the D45A, 14 km from Aubagne. A start is also possible from the Nayes springs car park, in Saint-Zacharie.",{"id":227,"title":24,"titles":228,"content":229,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Ftour-de-la-lare#advice",[215],"Allow a full day and plenty of water: the loop exceeds 22 km and 1,000 m of climbing. Fires are forbidden in the forest in every season. In summer, check the access conditions to the forested massifs published daily by the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture.",{"id":231,"title":232,"titles":233,"content":234,"level":9,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Ftwo-chapels-trail","The two chapels trail",[],"From Riboux, one of the smallest villages in the Var, to the col du Saint-Pilon and then along the ridge on the GR 98: a demanding 14.8 km loop between religious heritage and panoramas. Riboux has some forty inhabitants and a setting of untouched Provence at the foot of the south slope of the Sainte-Baume. This loop follows in the footsteps of the pilgrims of the southern massif, from the Sainte-Agathe chapel towards the Saint-Pilon chapel, with a long ridge traverse as the reward for the climb.",{"id":236,"title":13,"titles":237,"content":238,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Ftwo-chapels-trail#the-route",[232],"From the village car park, the yellow waymarks lead in 700 m to the parking du Puits, then a small tarmac road reaches the Pé de la Colle in two kilometres, where it becomes a dirt track. After the houses, a yellow-marked path leaves the track and climbs, ever more steeply, to the col du Saint-Pilon. You then take the GR 98 on the left, red and white, and follow the ridge line for 3.8 km, with the Saint-Pilon chapel and the limestone pavement on the horizon. At the crossroads of paths you leave the GR for the yellow path towards Cuges-les-Pins, then the blue path towards the jas de Frédéric for 1.3 km. The \"Brancaille\" track, marked in yellow, then brings you back to the village in 3.3 km.",{"id":240,"title":19,"titles":241,"content":242,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Ftwo-chapels-trail#getting-there",[232],"Car park in the centre of Riboux, 10 km from Cuges-les-Pins via the D8N, the D1 and the D602, 20 km from Gémenos or Signes.",{"id":244,"title":24,"titles":245,"content":246,"level":16,"section":10},"\u002Fen\u002Fhikes\u002Ftwo-chapels-trail#advice",[232],"A mountain route: avoid the ridge in rain, wind or fog. The route crosses the Var and the Bouches-du-Rhône; in summer, check the access conditions to the massifs published daily by both prefectures.",{"id":248,"title":249,"titles":250,"content":251,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fbeguines-oratory","The Béguines oratory",[],"Beside the Sainte-Baume road, on the Béguines estate, a stone oratory of 1516 reminds travellers that they are following the old pilgrims' way. It has been listed as a historic monument since 1938. Oratories punctuate the paths of Provence: small stone constructions sheltering a niche and a statue, they marked the stages of processions and reassured travellers. The Béguines oratory, built in 1516, stands south of the village on the estate of the same name, beside the road that climbs to the Plan-d'Aups plateau and the Sainte-Baume sanctuary.","heritage",{"id":254,"title":255,"titles":256,"content":257,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fbeguines-oratory#the-pilgrims-way","The pilgrims' way",[249],"The oratory marks the chemin des Roys, the route pilgrims followed from Saint-Maximin to the grotto of Mary Magdalene through Nans-les-Pins. It announced the climb towards the holy mountain, halfway between the village and the forest. Its historic value earned it a listing as a historic monument on 3 June 1938.",{"id":259,"title":260,"titles":261,"content":262,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fbeguines-oratory#seeing-it","Seeing it",[249],"The oratory is visible from the D80 departmental road, a few kilometres south of the village towards Plan-d'Aups. It stands on a private estate: view it from the roadside without entering the property. Parking is limited, take care.",{"id":264,"title":265,"titles":266,"content":267,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fchemin-des-roys","The chemin des Roys",[],"From Saint-Maximin to the Sainte-Baume through Nans-les-Pins, the chemin des Roys is the route that kings, popes and pilgrims followed for centuries to the grotto of Mary Magdalene. It can still be walked. The chemin des Roys, the \"kings' way\", links the basilica of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, where according to tradition the relics of Mary Magdalene rest, to the sanctuary of the grotto in Plan-d'Aups. It crosses Nans-les-Pins, climbs through the hills and the forest to the foot of the cliff, and owes its name to the sovereigns who walked it.",{"id":269,"title":270,"titles":271,"content":272,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fchemin-des-roys#kings-and-popes","Kings and popes",[265],"Saint Louis climbed to the grotto on 22 July 1254, on his return from the crusade; Louis XIV was the last royal pilgrim, on 5 February 1660. In between, counts of Provence, kings of France and popes took the same road, on foot for the last kilometres. The oratories that mark it, like the Béguines oratory raised in 1516 south of Nans or the Miette oratory on the plateau, served as stages for prayer and as landmarks.",{"id":274,"title":275,"titles":276,"content":277,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fchemin-des-roys#walking-it-today","Walking it today",[265],"The route is taken up by several waymarked paths. From Nans-les-Pins, the chemin rural des Rois and the GR 9A leave the Miséricorde chapel towards the Huveaune springs. On the plateau, the GR 9 passes the Miette oratory, then the chemin des Roys proper climbs from the Hostellerie de la Sainte-Baume to the carrefour de l'Oratoire and the 150 steps of the grotto. The Huveaune springs loop and the climb to the Saint-Pilon each cover a stretch of it.",{"id":279,"title":280,"titles":281,"content":282,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fhuveaune-springs","The Huveaune springs",[],"At the northern foot of the Sainte-Baume, the Huveaune comes out of the ground in the Castelette valley and builds, over its first metres, a string of clear travertine basins. A site in a biological reserve, as fragile as it is beautiful. The Huveaune is a coastal river 48.4 kilometres long. It rises in the commune of Nans-les-Pins, in the cirque of the Castelette valley on the north slope of the Sainte-Baume, and reaches the Mediterranean at the Prado beaches in Marseille after crossing Saint-Zacharie, Auriol, Roquevaire, Aubagne and La Penne-sur-Huveaune.",{"id":284,"title":285,"titles":286,"content":287,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fhuveaune-springs#the-pools","The pools",[280],"Over its first kilometres, the lime-laden water deposits travertine and builds natural dams: the pools, or \"gours\", a string of clear basins separated by small waterfalls, under oaks and beeches. The whole took several thousand years to form and is damaged in a few steps: the bed is fragile even when dry, and trampling the travertine destroys it for good. Swimming, mountain biking and dogs are forbidden, even on a lead. The flow varies greatly with the seasons. The pools are often dry in summer and fill again after the autumn and spring rains, the best times to discover them. In flood the river can become powerful: 56 cubic metres per second were measured on 14 December 2008.",{"id":289,"title":290,"titles":291,"content":292,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fhuveaune-springs#the-castelette-cave","The Castelette cave",[280],"A little upstream of the pools, the Castelette cave opens in the hillside at about 590 metres; this is where the birth of the river is placed, and its resurgence can be seen from the footbridge on the path. The valley is part of the managed biological reserve of the Sainte-Baume state forest, which protects this environment and its species.",{"id":294,"title":19,"titles":295,"content":296,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fhuveaune-springs#getting-there",[280],"The Huveaune springs loop starts from the centre of Nans-les-Pins and reaches the site in an hour and a quarter of walking, by a signposted path and then along the pools from above, with interpretation panels. In summer, access depends on the day's prefectoral order.",{"id":298,"title":299,"titles":300,"content":301,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fnotre-dame-de-misericorde-chapel","The Notre-Dame-de-Miséricorde chapel",[],"Built in 1623 for the brotherhood of the White Penitents, the Miséricorde chapel closes the Grand-Rue and serves as the starting point of the paths that climb towards the Huveaune and the Sainte-Baume. At the end of the Grand-Rue, after the Saint-Laurent church, the Notre-Dame-de-Miséricorde chapel marks the way out of the village towards the mountain. It was built in 1623 for the brotherhood of the White Penitents, one of those lay associations which, in Provence, took charge of processions, help for the poor and funerals.",{"id":303,"title":304,"titles":305,"content":306,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fnotre-dame-de-misericorde-chapel#a-crossroads-of-paths","A crossroads of paths",[299],"Opposite the chapel start the paths that made the history of the village: the chemin de l'Orge, used by the GR 9A towards the chemin des Roys and the Huveaune springs, and the chemin du Bouaou towards Old Nans. Every hike starting from Nans passes its porch, which makes it the most convenient landmark for meeting up.",{"id":308,"title":260,"titles":309,"content":310,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fnotre-dame-de-misericorde-chapel#seeing-it",[299],"The chapel is seen from the outside during a stroll through the old village, walking up the Grand-Rue from the cours Général-de-Gaulle. Openings to the public depend on the parish and local associations.",{"id":312,"title":313,"titles":314,"content":315,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fold-nans","Old Nans",[],"Before moving down to the plain, Nans was a fortified village perched above today's town. Its ramparts and the remains of its 12th-century castle can still be read in the scrubland. On the hill overlooking the south of the village, the ruins of Old Nans recall that today's town is a late creation. A fortified village existed here as early as 780. The \"castrum Nantis\" is mentioned in 1001, and a feudal castle rose in the 12th century at the top of the spur. The inhabitants then gradually left the heights for the plain, where the Nans we know developed around the Saint-Laurent church and the cours.",{"id":317,"title":318,"titles":319,"content":320,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fold-nans#what-remains","What remains",[313],"Stretches of rampart survive on three sides of the hill, with the levelled walls of the houses and the remains of the castle. The site is not laid out for visitors: you read it in the scrubland rather than visit it, and it calls for care near the walls. The panorama, on the other hand, is complete: the Nans plain, the Aurélien and Olympe hills to the north, the great wall of the Sainte-Baume to the south.",{"id":322,"title":19,"titles":323,"content":324,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fold-nans#getting-there",[313],"The chemin du Bouaou, which leaves the Miséricorde chapel at the top of the Grand-Rue, climbs towards the hill; a sign points to Old Nans on the great Huveaune loop. Allow a short hour there and back from the village.",{"id":326,"title":327,"titles":328,"content":329,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fpic-de-bertagne","The pic de Bertagne",[],"At the western end of the Sainte-Baume ridge, the pic de Bertagne culminates at 1,042 metres, the highest point of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, recognisable from afar by its radar station. The Sainte-Baume massif stretches 35 kilometres from east to west, and its ridge 13. Its highest point, the Joug de l'Aigle, reaches 1,148 metres in the Var; at the other end of the ridge, in the commune of Gémenos, the pic de Bertagne rises to 1,042 metres and is the summit of the Bouches-du-Rhône department.",{"id":331,"title":332,"titles":333,"content":334,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fpic-de-bertagne#the-radar","The radar",[327],"At the summit, a radar and radio station of the air navigation service, run from the Aix-en-Provence centre, watches over the sky of the south-east. A tarmac road climbs onto the ridge to about 1,020 metres, which explains the cyclists one sometimes meets so high up. The silhouette of the peak and its radar is visible from much of the south of the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Var.",{"id":336,"title":337,"titles":338,"content":339,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fpic-de-bertagne#the-panorama","The panorama",[327],"From the viewpoint, the view takes in the Calanques, Marseille, the Sainte-Victoire, the massifs of the Var and, on a clear day, the Alps. The classic ascent starts from Plan-d'Aups by the col de Bertagne and the monument of the Excursionnistes marseillais, returning through the Betton valley; hikers on the south side climb from Cuges-les-Pins by the jas de Sylvain. The ridge is exposed to the wind and to slippery rocky passages: avoid it in bad weather.",{"id":341,"title":342,"titles":343,"content":344,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fpivaut-ice-house","The Pivaut ice house",[],"In Mazaugues, on the eastern side of the massif, the Pivaut ice house is a sandstone tower 23 metres high that could store 3,100 cubic metres of ice. Built in 1880, restored and open to visitors, it tells the story of a forgotten industry. From the 17th century to the end of the 19th, the Sainte-Baume supplied Marseille and Toulon with ice. The principle was simple: in winter, shallow basins were flooded and the frost turned them into sheets of ice; these were broken up, piled into huge covered stone wells, the ice houses, and the ice was carried down to the towns by night, by cart. Several dozen ice houses survive in the massif.",{"id":346,"title":347,"titles":348,"content":349,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fpivaut-ice-house#a-sandstone-tower","A sandstone tower",[342],"The Pivaut ice house, also called the Gaudin ice house, is the most imposing. Built in 1880 in sandstone, it is 23 metres high and 17.6 metres in diameter and could hold 3,100 cubic metres of ice. Three adjoining freezing basins, with a total surface of 5,000 square metres and filled with 15 centimetres of water, fed it; two to four frosts were enough to fill it. A slight slope and oak trees planted on purpose limited the sunshine. Arriving too late in the face of artificial ice, it was used for only a few years. It has been listed as a historic monument since 1993.",{"id":351,"title":352,"titles":353,"content":354,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fpivaut-ice-house#visiting","Visiting",[342],"The ice house has been fully restored by the Var department. A themed trail leads to it from the D95 road, with panels on the fauna, the flora, the history of the site and the working of ice houses. The Pivaut ice house and Gaudin loop, from Mazaugues, passes it halfway; from Nans-les-Pins, the Escaillon ice road follows one of the routes the carters used.",{"id":356,"title":357,"titles":358,"content":359,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsaint-laurent-church","The Saint-Laurent church",[],"In the heart of the village, the church of Saint-Sébastien-Saint-Laurent houses a bronze bell cast in 1670, listed as a historic monument. Its bell tower overlooks the Grand-Rue. The parish church of Nans-les-Pins, dedicated to Saint Sebastian and Saint Lawrence, occupies the centre of the town that grew in the plain after the hilltop village was abandoned. The Grand-Rue passes its porch on the way up to the Miséricorde chapel; the cours Général-de-Gaulle, where the market is held, stretches just below.",{"id":361,"title":362,"titles":363,"content":364,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsaint-laurent-church#the-bell","The bell",[357],"Its most precious possession is a bronze bell cast in 1670, tuned to D sharp, listed as a historic monument in 1992. It rings from a wrought-iron bell cage, a familiar silhouette in Provençal villages, which lets the wind through rather than resisting it.",{"id":366,"title":367,"titles":368,"content":369,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsaint-laurent-church#saint-lawrence-patron-of-the-village","Saint Lawrence, patron of the village",[357],"The votive festival of Nans bears the name of the patron saint, together with Saint Eligius: every year in early August, processions, the blessing of the Saint-Laurent fire on the church square and dances liven up the village for nearly a week.",{"id":371,"title":372,"titles":373,"content":374,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsaint-pilon-chapel","The Saint-Pilon chapel",[],"Perched on the Sainte-Baume ridge, the Saint-Pilon chapel marks the high point of the pilgrimage and one of the widest panoramas in Provence, from the sea to the Alps. Five hundred metres west of the col du Saint-Pilon, at 994 metres, a small cubic building topped with a lantern stands on the ridge. Tradition places here the spot where angels carried Mary Magdalene seven times a day to pray, up from the grotto below.",{"id":376,"title":377,"titles":378,"content":379,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsaint-pilon-chapel#the-name","The name",[372],"\"Pilon\" comes from the Provençal pieloun, the summit, from the Latin podium. Another explanation refers to the column, pillar or \"pilon\", said to have been raised here, topped with a statue of the saint.",{"id":381,"title":382,"titles":383,"content":384,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsaint-pilon-chapel#a-chapel-rebuilt-several-times","A chapel rebuilt several times",[372],"A first chapel was built in 1493, leaning against the pilon. Destroyed at the Revolution, it was rebuilt in the simple form we know today. A major restoration was carried out from 2015 to 2017, with the rubble removed by helicopter.",{"id":386,"title":337,"titles":387,"content":388,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsaint-pilon-chapel#the-panorama",[372],"The chapel stands on the GR 98, at the busiest point of the ridge. An orientation table helps to read the landscape: on a clear day the view stretches from the Sainte-Victoire to the Calanques and the Alps. The climb from the grotto is short but steep, through the limestone pavement, and the wind is almost always present.",{"id":390,"title":391,"titles":392,"content":393,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsainte-baume-forest","The Sainte-Baume forest",[],"On the north slope of the mountain, a forest of beech, yew, lime and maple survives a few kilometres from the Mediterranean, protected for fifteen centuries and now a biological reserve. At the foot of the north cliff of the Sainte-Baume, between 320 and 1,147 metres, the state forest covers 2,076 hectares. Its central part is a pure beech wood that climbs to the col du Saint-Pilon, at 952 metres, accompanied by yew, holly, maple, lime and rowan: a mid-mountain flora, a world away from the surrounding scrubland.",{"id":395,"title":396,"titles":397,"content":398,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsainte-baume-forest#a-microclimate","A microclimate",[391],"The forest survives thanks to the climate it maintains itself. The northern exposure, the shade of the cliff and the dense vegetation retain moisture; rainfall reaches 1,000 to 1,200 millimetres a year, nearly twice that of Marseille. This is what allows the beech to survive here, a few dozen kilometres from the sea.",{"id":400,"title":401,"titles":402,"content":403,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsainte-baume-forest#fifteen-centuries-of-protection","Fifteen centuries of protection",[391],"The forest owes its survival to the religious communities that keep the sanctuary: from the 5th century, then with the Dominicans from 1295 and again after their return in 1859, the sacred forest was spared the felling and grazing that deforested the rest of Provence. Today hunting is forbidden there, two biological reserves protect the old-growth stand of the Sainte-Baume and the Castelette valley, and the whole is part of the Natura 2000 network.",{"id":405,"title":406,"titles":407,"content":408,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsainte-baume-forest#walking-through-it","Walking through it",[391],"The sentier Merveilleux, at the foot of the rock wall, is the best introduction: two and a half hours without difficulty in the best-preserved part of the forest. The chemin des Roys and the chemin du Canapé cross it on the way up to the grotto. Dogs must be kept on a lead, and access is regulated in summer according to the fire risk.",{"id":410,"title":411,"titles":412,"content":413,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsainte-baume-grotto","The Sainte-Baume grotto",[],"Hollowed into the limestone of the cliff, the grotto where Provençal tradition places the last thirty years of Mary Magdalene has been a place of pilgrimage for fifteen centuries, kept by the Dominicans since 1295. Halfway up the north cliff of the Sainte-Baume, at 894 metres, a cavity of twenty-five by twenty metres opens in the Urgonian limestone. Provençal tradition holds that Mary Magdalene arrived here in the year 47 and spent thirty years in prayer and solitude before dying near Saint-Maximin. \"Baume\" is the Provençal word for a cave: it gave its name to the whole mountain.",{"id":415,"title":416,"titles":417,"content":418,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsainte-baume-grotto#fifteen-centuries-of-pilgrimage","Fifteen centuries of pilgrimage",[411],"As early as 415, John Cassian, founder of the Saint-Victor abbey in Marseille, set up a priory in the grotto. Popes came in 816 and 878, a Benedictine monastery was established in 1070. On 22 July 1254, Saint Louis climbed to the grotto on his return from the crusade. In 1295, Count Charles II of Anjou obtained from Pope Boniface VIII that the care of the holy places be entrusted to the Dominican friars, who still hold it today. The last royal pilgrim was Louis XIV, on 5 February 1660. The Revolution looted and destroyed the sanctuary; the statues were beheaded. Louis XVIII restored the grotto's status as a chapel in 1821, but it was Father Henri Lacordaire who, between 1848 and 1859, restored the site and had the Hostellerie built at the foot of the mountain. A community of Dominican friars lives there again.",{"id":420,"title":421,"titles":422,"content":423,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsainte-baume-grotto#the-visit","The visit",[411],"From the Hostellerie, the chemin des Roys and then the chemin du Canapé climb through the forest in about three quarters of an hour to the foot of the cliff. A staircase of 150 steps, as many as the Hail Marys of the rosary, leads to the esplanade and the grotto. The interior, cool and dark, houses an altar and statues; silence is requested. The chapelle des Parisiens and three oratories along the staircase are listed historic monuments. The grotto is open from 8.30 am to 5 pm in winter time and from 7.30 am to 6.30 pm in summer time. The sanctuary receives some 500,000 pilgrims and visitors a year. Above, a steeper path reaches the ridge and the Saint-Pilon chapel.",{"id":425,"title":426,"titles":427,"content":428,"level":9,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsainte-croix-oppidum","The Sainte-Croix oppidum",[],"On the Sainte-Croix hill, south of the village, Iron Age ramparts bear witness to a fortified settlement occupied for two centuries, around 200 BC. Long before the medieval village, the Sainte-Croix hill, at 640 metres, carried an oppidum: a fortified Iron Age settlement, protected by ramparts raised around 200 BC and occupied for about two centuries. The place takes its name from the cross that stands on the summit today.",{"id":430,"title":431,"titles":432,"content":433,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsainte-croix-oppidum#what-you-see","What you see",[426],"The site is not visibly excavated for the walker: the ramparts can be made out in the vegetation and the relief, and it is above all the position that speaks, between the Nans plain and the first slopes of the Sainte-Baume. It complements the neighbouring Old Nans in a single story of hilltop villages gradually abandoned for the plain.",{"id":435,"title":19,"titles":436,"content":437,"level":16,"section":252},"\u002Fen\u002Fheritage\u002Fsainte-croix-oppidum#getting-there",[426],"The hill is reached from the village by the paths climbing south of the Miséricorde chapel. The ground is that of the scrubland: stay on the paths and avoid the hot hours in summer.",{"id":439,"title":440,"titles":441,"content":442,"level":9,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Fcamping-domaine-de-la-sainte-baume","Camping Domaine de la Sainte-Baume",[],"The Nans-les-Pins campsite, north-east of the village, in the district of the holiday village and the riding centre, a quarter of an hour's walk from the cours and its shops. The campsite occupies a wooded estate north-east of the town, in the area that also gathers the Village Club de la Sainte-Baume and the Équinans riding centre. The village centre, its Sunday market and the parking de la Ferrage, starting point of the Huveaune loops, are a quarter of an hour's walk away. Rated four stars and run by Tohapi, the campsite opens from early April to late September. It has swimming pools, a restaurant, a grocery, tennis courts and a mini-golf. Bookings on +33 4 30 05 15 19 or through the chain's website.","lodging",{"id":445,"title":446,"titles":447,"content":448,"level":9,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Fgite-de-la-sainte-baume","Gîte de la Sainte-Baume",[],"A gîte at the foot of the mountain, next to the Hostellerie, on the Plan-d'Aups plateau, a few minutes from the trailheads to the grotto and the Saint-Pilon. The gîte stands at the entrance to the sanctuary site, next to the Hostellerie de la Sainte-Baume and the Park's Espace Tourisme et Découverte. It is the closest accommodation to the trails: the chemin des Roys to the grotto, the sentier Merveilleux and the climb to the Saint-Pilon start from the neighbouring car parks. The conditions of welcome and booking have not yet been checked with the manager; ask on site or at the Espace Tourisme et Découverte de la Sainte-Baume.",{"id":450,"title":451,"titles":452,"content":453,"level":9,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Fhostellerie-de-la-sainte-baume","Hostellerie de la Sainte-Baume",[],"At the foot of the cliff, the sanctuary's guesthouse run by the Dominicans welcomes pilgrims, hikers and families in 180 beds, with a 200-seat restaurant. The historic starting point of the climb to the grotto. On the Plan-d'Aups plateau, facing the forest and the cliff, the Hostellerie de la Sainte-Baume is the sanctuary's house of welcome. Father Lacordaire had it built in the middle of the 19th century from an old farm, at the same time as he brought the Dominican friars back to the foot of the grotto, on 22 July 1859. The Dominicans of the Toulouse province now run it entirely.",{"id":455,"title":456,"titles":457,"content":458,"level":16,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Fhostellerie-de-la-sainte-baume#staying","Staying",[451],"The house has 180 beds in single rooms, doubles and dormitories, including 63 rooms and 49 beds in the Saint-Joseph hostel, four rooms accessible to people with reduced mobility and a restaurant of about 200 seats. The rhythm is that of a religious house, with meals at set times; the welcome is for passing pilgrims as much as for families, hikers and groups on retreat or attending a course.",{"id":460,"title":461,"titles":462,"content":463,"level":16,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Fhostellerie-de-la-sainte-baume#what-to-see-on-site","What to see on site",[451],"The so-called François Ier gateway has been a listed historic monument since 1979. The Latin-cross chapel is decorated with five large canvases by Frédéric Montenard painted between 1911 and 1913, and the Saint-Dominique oratory, from 1970, is the work of the architect Thomas Gleb. From the Hostellerie car parks start the chemin des Roys to the grotto, the sentier Merveilleux and the climb to the Saint-Pilon.",{"id":465,"title":466,"titles":467,"content":468,"level":16,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Fhostellerie-de-la-sainte-baume#booking","Booking",[451],"Individual, group or meal bookings on the sanctuary website or by telephone. In summer, access to the massif and the grotto depends on the day's prefectoral order.",{"id":470,"title":471,"titles":472,"content":473,"level":9,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Fhotel-restaurant-les-cedres","Hôtel-restaurant Les Cèdres",[],"A hotel-restaurant in the village of Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume, on the plateau at nearly 700 metres, a few kilometres from the Hostellerie and the trailheads to the grotto. Les Cèdres stands in the centre of the village of Plan-d'Aups, on the plateau overlooking the Huveaune valley, less than ten minutes by car from the Hostellerie de la Sainte-Baume. The col and pic de Bertagne loops start from the village itself, from the Maison du Pays car park. The hotel is at 1022 avenue de la Libération, in the centre of Plan-d'Aups, with four rooms, a bar and a restaurant. The phone number has not yet been checked with the establishment.",{"id":475,"title":476,"titles":477,"content":478,"level":9,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Fhotel-restaurant-lou-pebre-d-ai","Hôtel-restaurant Lou Pebre d'Aï",[],"A hotel-restaurant in the heart of the village of Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume, whose Provençal name means savory, the herb of the hills. \"Pèbre d'aï\", donkey's pepper in Provençal, is the local name for savory, which scents the hills of the massif. The hotel of that name occupies the centre of Plan-d'Aups, near the town hall, with its restaurant. From the village start the col and pic de Bertagne loops, and the Hostellerie de la Sainte-Baume is five kilometres away on the D80. The hotel is rated three stars and has thirteen rooms, eleven of them air-conditioned and sleeping up to four. Open from 13 February to 31 December, closed Tuesday evening and Wednesday. Bookings on +33 4 42 04 50 42.",{"id":480,"title":481,"titles":482,"content":483,"level":9,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Fle-chateau-de-nans","Le Château de Nans",[],"A hotel in a country house north of the village of Nans-les-Pins, on the edge of the farmland, a few minutes from the Sainte-Baume golf course. Le Château de Nans stands at the northern exit of the village, on the Saint-Maximin road, in the plain overlooked to the south by the Old Nans hill and the wall of the Sainte-Baume. The golf course of the Châteauneuf estate is next door, the village centre five minutes away by car. Information and booking by telephone or on the establishment's website.",{"id":485,"title":486,"titles":487,"content":488,"level":9,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Flinaye","Linaye",[],"A bed and breakfast north-east of the village of Nans-les-Pins, in the district of the campsite and the riding centre, with wifi. Linaye is a bed and breakfast located north-east of the town, in the quiet district that gathers the campsite, the holiday village and the riding centre, some ten minutes' walk from the cours and its shops. Wifi is available. Conditions of stay are requested directly by telephone.",{"id":490,"title":491,"titles":492,"content":493,"level":9,"section":443},"\u002Fen\u002Flodging\u002Fvillage-club-de-la-sainte-baume","Village Club de la Sainte-Baume",[],"A holiday village with a restaurant north-east of Nans-les-Pins, next to the campsite and the riding centre, for family or group stays at the foot of the massif. The holiday village spreads over the wooded district north-east of the village, between the campsite and the Équinans riding centre, a quarter of an hour's walk from the cours Général-de-Gaulle. It has its own restaurant. Packages, opening periods and rates are available from the establishment.",{"id":495,"title":496,"titles":497,"content":498,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fau-cours-du-temps","Au Cours du Temps",[],"A traditional Provençal table at 13 cours Général-de-Gaulle, open all year from Wednesday to Sunday, at lunch and dinner. Au Cours du Temps serves traditional Provençal cooking halfway along the cours Général-de-Gaulle, with seventy seats inside and about a hundred on the terrace when the season allows.","restaurants",{"id":501,"title":19,"titles":502,"content":503,"level":16,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fau-cours-du-temps#getting-there",[496],"At 13 cours Général-de-Gaulle. Open all year from Wednesday to Sunday, at lunch and dinner. Bookings on +33 6 22 95 11 63.",{"id":505,"title":506,"titles":507,"content":508,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fchocola-the","Chocola'Thé",[],"A tea room with a terrace in the centre of Nans-les-Pins, on the cours, for a sweet break after the market or the walk. Chocola'Thé is a tea room on the cours Général-de-Gaulle, with a terrace overlooking the bustle of the village centre. An address for an afternoon treat on the way back from the Huveaune springs or on Sundays after the market. Opening hours and menu not checked on site.",{"id":510,"title":511,"titles":512,"content":513,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fla-brasserie-des-sources","La Brasserie des Sources",[],"A brasserie on the cours Général-de-Gaulle, in the centre of Nans-les-Pins, named after the nearby springs of the Huveaune. La Brasserie des Sources is named after the site that made the village's reputation, an hour and a quarter's walk away. It stands on the cours Général-de-Gaulle, the shaded avenue that crosses the centre.",{"id":515,"title":19,"titles":516,"content":517,"level":16,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fla-brasserie-des-sources#getting-there",[511],"On the cours Général-de-Gaulle. Phone: +33 4 94 69 28 85. The opening hours have not yet been checked with the establishment.",{"id":519,"title":520,"titles":521,"content":522,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fla-pizza-du-baou","La Pizza du Baou",[],"An artisan pizzeria at the bottom of the Grand-Rue, open every evening except Tuesday, with pizzas, burgers, turnovers and homemade desserts. In the village since 2015, La Pizza du Baou holds the bottom of the Grand-Rue, the street that climbs towards the church of Saint-Laurent and the Miséricorde chapel. Pizzas, burgers, turnovers and homemade desserts, to take away or eat in.",{"id":524,"title":19,"titles":525,"content":526,"level":16,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fla-pizza-du-baou#getting-there",[520],"At 1 Grand-Rue. Open every evening except Tuesday: orders are taken from 5.30 pm and service starts at 7 pm, on +33 4 94 59 97 84. The menu is published on the pizzeria's own site.",{"id":528,"title":529,"titles":530,"content":531,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fla-table-du-9","La Table du 9",[],"Seasonal cooking at 9 cours Général-de-Gaulle in Nans-les-Pins, served at lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday. The village's best-rated table. At number 9 on the cours Général-de-Gaulle, La Table du 9 serves a seasonal à la carte menu that changes regularly, in a room that is as much a wine bar as a bistro.",{"id":533,"title":19,"titles":534,"content":535,"level":16,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fla-table-du-9#getting-there",[529],"Lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, lunch only on Sunday; closed on Monday. Booking is advisable at weekends, on +33 6 67 00 90 52. The restaurant is in the village centre, a few steps from the Ferrage car park where the Huveaune loops start.",{"id":537,"title":538,"titles":539,"content":540,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fla-terrasse","La Terrasse",[],"The café-restaurant at the foot of the mountain, next to the Hostellerie de la Sainte-Baume and the Park's tourist information point, open in the daytime every day from 9.30 am to 6 pm. La Terrasse is the hikers' address on the way back from the grotto or the Saint-Pilon: set on the sanctuary site, next to the Hostellerie and the Espace Tourisme et Découverte de la Sainte-Baume, it opens in the daytime, every day from 9.30 am to 6 pm, facing the forest and the cliff. The opening hours come from the Provence Verte & Verdon tourist office and may vary with the season; the café seats thirty inside and eighty on the terrace. Phone: +33 4 42 04 88 53.",{"id":542,"title":543,"titles":544,"content":545,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fle-cafe-de-fany","Le Café de Fany",[],"A café on the cours Général-de-Gaulle, in the centre of Nans-les-Pins, next to the tourist office and the Sunday market. Le Café de Fany is one of the terraces of the cours Général-de-Gaulle, the great avenue that crosses the centre of Nans-les-Pins between the place Dedieu and the Grand-Rue. It is the natural meeting point before a hike, a few metres from the tourist office. Opening hours not checked on site.",{"id":547,"title":548,"titles":549,"content":550,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fle-cercle-et-son-assiette-provencale","Le Cercle et son Assiette Provençale",[],"A restaurant in the centre of Nans-les-Pins, on the cours Général-de-Gaulle, in the tradition of the village \"cercles\" of Provence. The \"cercles\" are an institution of Provençal villages: societies of residents that ran a café and a meeting room, many of which have kept a table. That of Nans-les-Pins stands on the cours Général-de-Gaulle, where the Sunday morning market is held. Opening hours and menu have not yet been checked on site.",{"id":552,"title":553,"titles":554,"content":555,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fle-pebre-d-ail","Le Pèbre d'ail",[],"The restaurant in the centre of Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume, adjoining the Lou Pebre d'Aï hotel, near the town hall, on the plateau of the massif. In the centre of the village of Plan-d'Aups, the restaurant shares its Provençal name, that of savory, with the neighbouring hotel. It is the natural stop after the col or pic de Bertagne loops, which start and finish at the Maison du Pays car park, a stone's throw away. The dining room seats seventy and the terrace fifty; the chef serves country cooking with a Provençal accent, at lunch and dinner. Open from 13 February to 31 December, closed Tuesday evening and Wednesday. Bookings on +33 4 42 04 50 42.",{"id":557,"title":558,"titles":559,"content":560,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fle-petit-nans","Le Petit Nans",[],"A Provençal brasserie at 21 cours Général-de-Gaulle in Nans-les-Pins, with about fifty seats on the terrace and service at lunch and dinner. Le Petit Nans sits at the top of the cours Général-de-Gaulle, with about fifty seats inside and as many on the terrace, in the shade of the plane trees. The menu is that of a Provençal brasserie, served at lunch and dinner, and also to take away.",{"id":562,"title":19,"titles":563,"content":564,"level":16,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fle-petit-nans#getting-there",[558],"At 21 cours Général-de-Gaulle, facing the Sunday morning market. Information and bookings on +33 6 61 29 18 07.",{"id":566,"title":567,"titles":568,"content":569,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fle-rendez-vous","Le Rendez-Vous",[],"Pizza and quick meals on place Victor-Dedieu, at the entrance to the cours Général-de-Gaulle in Nans-les-Pins. On place Victor-Dedieu, at the entrance to the cours, Le Rendez-Vous serves pizza and quick meals: the practical answer to an unfussy meal before or after a day in the massif.",{"id":571,"title":19,"titles":572,"content":573,"level":16,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fle-rendez-vous#getting-there",[567],"Place Victor-Dedieu, next to the greengrocer and two minutes from the Ferrage car park. Orders on +33 4 94 78 69 81; the opening hours have not yet been checked with the establishment.",{"id":575,"title":576,"titles":577,"content":578,"level":9,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fpizza-olive","Pizza Olive",[],"A pizzeria at the top of the Grand-Rue in Nans-les-Pins, halfway between the cours and the church of Saint-Laurent. Pizza Olive is the second pizza address on the Grand-Rue, higher up than La Pizza du Baou, in the stretch that climbs towards the church.",{"id":580,"title":19,"titles":581,"content":582,"level":16,"section":499},"\u002Fen\u002Frestaurants\u002Fpizza-olive#getting-there",[576],"At 30 Grand-Rue. Orders on +33 4 94 72 09 32; the opening hours have not yet been checked with the establishment.",{"id":584,"title":585,"titles":586,"content":587,"level":9,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Fabeilles-et-miel-de-la-sainte-baume","Abeilles et miel de la Sainte-Baume",[],"A beekeeper at Plan-d'Aups, a hundred and fifty hives moved between Hyères and the Calanques, and four honeys carrying the regional park's own mark. Mathieu Ghis took up beekeeping in 2016, after a first career in the food industry. He now runs a hundred and fifty hives, moved from one flowering to the next between Hyères and the Calanques national park, with the Plan-d'Aups plateau as their base.","activities",{"id":590,"title":591,"titles":592,"content":593,"level":16,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Fabeilles-et-miel-de-la-sainte-baume#the-honeys","The honeys",[585],"Four of his honeys carry the Valeurs Parc naturel régional de la Sainte-Baume mark: rosemary, garrigue, wildflower and Plan-d'Aups honeydew. They also fall under the IGP Miel de Provence and the Label Rouge.",{"id":595,"title":596,"titles":597,"content":598,"level":16,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Fabeilles-et-miel-de-la-sainte-baume#buying","Buying",[585],"Sales are at the farm, 388 boulevard de la Quille in Plan-d'Aups, at the local markets and in a few fine grocers. Call +33 7 89 03 33 66 before going: the opening hours have not yet been checked with the producer.",{"id":600,"title":601,"titles":602,"content":603,"level":9,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Fdomaine-de-triennes","Domaine de Triennes",[],"The wine estate of Nans-les-Pins, on the RD 560, with a cellar door open from Monday to Saturday. IGP Méditerranée wines have been made here since 1990. Vines have long been part of the Nans plain: the Vignerons de Nans cooperative cellar dates from 1913. Today the Domaine de Triennes carries that trade, at the place called le Logis de Nans, beside the RD 560 between the village and Saint-Maximin. It has been making white, red and rosé wines under the IGP Méditerranée since 1990.",{"id":605,"title":606,"titles":607,"content":608,"level":16,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Fdomaine-de-triennes#the-cellar-door","The cellar door",[601],"Wine is sold directly at the estate, Monday to Friday from 9 am to noon and 1 pm to 6 pm, and Saturday from 10 am to noon and 2 pm to 6 pm, until 7 pm from June to August. Information on +33 4 94 78 91 46 or on the estate's website. The estate sits on the road linking Nans-les-Pins to the Saint-Maximin motorway exit: a convenient stop on the way to or back from a day in the massif.",{"id":610,"title":611,"titles":612,"content":613,"level":9,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Fequinans-riding-centre","Équinans riding centre",[],"The riding centre of Nans-les-Pins, north-east of the village, near the campsite and the holiday village, to discover the plain and the hills on horseback. Équinans is set in the district of the campsite and the holiday village, north-east of the town, on the edge of the farmland. The centre offers riding in its usual forms, lessons and rides, in a country of forest tracks and olive-grove lanes. The centre opens on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1 March to 30 June, then every day by appointment in July and August; closed on Sunday. Information on +33 6 76 12 22 25 or on the centre's website.",{"id":615,"title":616,"titles":617,"content":618,"level":9,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Flou-cabrier","Lou Cabrier",[],"A herd of Rove goats grazing the Sainte-Baume at Plan-d'Aups, and raw-milk cheeses sold at the farm from May to November. The Rove goat is a Provençal breed with long lyre-shaped horns, raised outdoors and long under threat. Lou Cabrier grazes a herd of them on the heights of Plan-d'Aups, in the Carpane quarter, on the slope facing the Lare ridge.",{"id":620,"title":621,"titles":622,"content":623,"level":16,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Flou-cabrier#at-the-farm","At the farm",[616],"You will find raw-milk cheeses, brousses to order, and soaps made with goat's milk and honey. Sales are every day from 4 pm to 7 pm from May to November, and by appointment the rest of the year, on +33 6 31 70 65 06. The farm is at 69 chemin de la Lare, about twenty minutes by car from Nans-les-Pins via the D80 then the D480.",{"id":625,"title":626,"titles":627,"content":628,"level":9,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Fnans-les-pins-tennis-and-padel-club","Nans-les-Pins Tennis & Padel Club",[],"The village's tennis and padel courts, west of the centre, near the municipal sports facilities. The tennis and padel club stands west of the village centre, in the area of the sports facilities. The courts are open to members and, depending on the club's terms, to passing visitors. The club is at 100 allée Paulette-et-Jacques-Tomeï, chemin de Pierrefeu, with two indoor padel courts alongside the tennis courts. Access and rates on +33 4 94 78 64 22 or on the club's website.",{"id":630,"title":631,"titles":632,"content":633,"level":9,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Fsainte-baume-golf","Sainte-Baume golf course",[],"An eighteen-hole course on the Châteauneuf estate, north of Nans-les-Pins, between oaks and vines, with the wall of the Sainte-Baume on the horizon. Nans-les-Pins has been a tourist resort since 1932, and the golf course is one of its assets: eighteen holes laid out on the Châteauneuf estate, at the northern exit of the village, in a landscape of oaks and vines overlooked by the mountain.",{"id":635,"title":636,"titles":637,"content":638,"level":16,"section":588},"\u002Fen\u002Factivities\u002Fsainte-baume-golf#playing","Playing",[631],"The course welcomes experienced players and beginners and stays open all year. The Châteauneuf estate around it is now a seminar house and no longer takes individual bookings; the golf restaurant, separately run, was closed in early September 2026. Opening hours, green fees and lessons on +33 4 94 78 60 12 or on the club's website.",{"id":640,"title":641,"titles":642,"content":643,"level":9,"section":644},"\u002Fen\u002Fevents\u002Fassociations-fair-2026","Associations fair",[],"The back-to-school gathering of the Nans-les-Pins associations, on Sunday 6 September 2026 from 9 am to 1 pm at La Ferrage, to discover the year's activities and sign up. Sport, culture, leisure, solidarity: the village associations present their activities and take registrations for the season. The fair is held at La Ferrage, at the same time as the Sunday market on the neighbouring cours.","events",{"id":646,"title":647,"titles":648,"content":649,"level":9,"section":644},"\u002Fen\u002Fevents\u002Fautumn-flea-market-2026","Autumn flea market",[],"The flea market organised by the Comité des fêtes, on Saturday 26 September 2026 from 9 am to 5 pm in the village. A day of bargain hunting in the streets of the village, organised by the Comité officiel des fêtes. Registration details for stallholders are published by the committee.",{"id":651,"title":652,"titles":653,"content":654,"level":9,"section":644},"\u002Fen\u002Fevents\u002Fsaint-laurent-and-saint-eloi-festival","Saint-Laurent and Saint-Éloi festival",[],"The votive festival of Nans-les-Pins, every year in early August: processions, blessing of the Saint-Laurent fire on the church square, farandole and grand dances on the cours. The 102nd edition took place from 30 July to 4 August 2026. The great traditional Provençal festival of Nans-les-Pins honours Saint Lawrence, patron of the parish, and Saint Eligius, patron of carters and farriers. It takes over the village for nearly a week at the turn of July and August.",{"id":656,"title":657,"titles":658,"content":659,"level":16,"section":644},"\u002Fen\u002Fevents\u002Fsaint-laurent-and-saint-eloi-festival#the-programme","The programme",[652],"The 2026 edition, the one hundred and second, opened on Thursday 30 July with a cabaret evening. On the Friday, a gathering on the place du 18-Juin-1940, a procession to the cemetery and a wreath-laying at the war memorial. On the Saturday evening, the blessing of the Saint-Laurent fire on the church square is followed by a farandole and then a grand dance on the cours. The following days alternate masses, processions, meals and dances until the Tuesday. The festivities take place mainly on the cours Général-de-Gaulle and at the parking de la Ferrage; admission is free. The detailed programme and meal bookings are published by the Comité officiel des fêtes, on 04 94 78 95 91.",{"id":661,"title":662,"titles":663,"content":664,"level":9,"section":644},"\u002Fen\u002Fevents\u002Fsunday-market","The Sunday market",[],"Every Sunday morning, the big market of Nans-les-Pins sets up on the cours Général-de-Gaulle, with some thirty stallholders. Smaller markets are held on Wednesday and Friday mornings. On Sunday mornings the cours Général-de-Gaulle becomes the village market: some thirty stallholders, fruit and vegetables, butcher's meat, textiles, food and local produce. It is where the locals meet, and the best way to fill your rucksack before a day in the massif. The town also lists a market on Wednesday and Friday mornings, subject to availability, on the same cours. On market days, park at the parking de la Ferrage or the town hall car park.",{"id":666,"title":667,"titles":668,"content":669,"level":9,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fabout","About the guide",[],"nanslespins.fr is an independent guide to Nans-les-Pins and the Sainte-Baume massif. How it is written, where its information comes from and how to correct it. nanslespins.fr is neither the website of the town nor that of the tourist office. It is an independent guide, written to make you want to discover the village and the mountain on foot, with the concern of stating nothing that cannot be verified.","pages",{"id":672,"title":673,"titles":674,"content":675,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fabout#where-the-information-comes-from","Where the information comes from",[667],"The hiking routes are those of the Sainte-Baume regional nature park, published on Chemins des Parcs and as open data under the Licence Ouverte 2.0; their tracks have been enriched with IGN elevations. The place pages start from OpenStreetMap data, completed and checked progressively. The heritage articles draw on Wikipédia, the official websites of the sanctuary and the Park, and local publications. Every page cites its sources at the bottom and says whether its information has already been checked on site.",{"id":677,"title":678,"titles":679,"content":680,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fabout#the-photographs","The photographs",[667],"The photographs come from Wikimedia Commons and from authors who have released them under free licences. Each is credited, with its licence, on the credits page. The base maps are provided by OpenFreeMap from OpenStreetMap data.",{"id":682,"title":683,"titles":684,"content":685,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fabout#correcting-and-completing","Correcting and completing",[667],"A closed business, a changed opening time, a historical mistake, a forgotten place: write to us from the contact page. Shopkeepers and hosts who wish to appear or update their page can do so in the same way.",{"id":687,"title":688,"titles":689,"content":690,"level":9,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fdiscover","Discover Nans-les-Pins",[],"A village in the Var of 5,200 inhabitants at the northern foot of the Sainte-Baume, three quarters covered in forest, where the Huveaune rises. A tourist resort since 1932, in the Sainte-Baume regional nature park. Nans-les-Pins occupies the plain that stretches at the northern foot of the Sainte-Baume massif, in the Var, between the mountain to the south and the Mont Aurélien to the north. The commune had 5,215 inhabitants in 2023, up more than 12% since 2017, over nearly 48 square kilometres, three quarters of them wooded. It belongs to the Provence Verte agglomeration and, since 20 December 2017, to the Sainte-Baume regional nature park.",{"id":692,"title":693,"titles":694,"content":695,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fdiscover#the-village","The village",[688],"Today's town developed in the plain, at about 400 metres, after the gradual abandonment of the hilltop village whose ruins still overlook the rooftops. The shaded cours Général-de-Gaulle is its centre: the tourist office, the cafés and the Sunday market are there. The Grand-Rue climbs from it to the Saint-Laurent church and the Miséricorde chapel, where the mountain paths begin.",{"id":697,"title":698,"titles":699,"content":700,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fdiscover#a-long-history","A long history",[688],"An Iron Age oppidum occupied the Sainte-Croix hill around 200 BC. Old Nans, a fortified village recorded in 780, received a castle in the 12th century. The chemin des Roys, which kings and pilgrims followed from Saint-Maximin to the grotto of Mary Magdalene, crosses the territory and left the Béguines oratory, of 1516. The Miséricorde chapel dates from 1623, the church bell from 1670. Closer to us, the cooperative winery of the Vignerons de Nans, built in 1913, recalls that wine remains an activity of the plain, carried on today by the Domaine de Triennes.",{"id":702,"title":703,"titles":704,"content":705,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fdiscover#the-mountain","The mountain",[688],"To the south, the Sainte-Baume raises its limestone cliff and its 2,076-hectare state forest, a mountain beech wood unique in Provence, protected for fifteen centuries by the religious communities of the sanctuary. The grotto of Mary Magdalene, kept by the Dominicans since 1295, and the Saint-Pilon chapel, at 994 metres, can be reached on foot from Nans through the hills or from the Hostellerie, on the Plan-d'Aups plateau. The Huveaune rises in the commune, in the Castelette valley, and builds over its first metres the travertine pools that made the place famous.",{"id":707,"title":708,"titles":709,"content":710,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fdiscover#today","Today",[688],"Classified as a tourist resort since 1932, Nans-les-Pins lives from its visitors, its eighteen-hole golf course on the Châteauneuf estate, the vine and the forest. The village is about forty minutes from Marseille and Aix-en-Provence by the A8 motorway and the Saint-Maximin exit, and less than an hour from Toulon. Access, transport and forest safety information is gathered on the Practical information page.",{"id":712,"title":713,"titles":714,"content":715,"level":9,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Flegal-notice","Legal notice",[],"Publisher, hosting, intellectual property and sources of nanslespins.fr.",{"id":717,"title":718,"titles":719,"content":720,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Flegal-notice#publisher","Publisher",[713],"nanslespins.fr is published on a non-professional basis by a private\nindividual, Dorian Ham, who is also the publication director. Article 6 III 2 of the French law on confidence in the digital economy allows a\nnon-professional publisher to make only their host's details public, provided\nthe host knows their identity. That is the case here. For any question, correction or to exercise your rights, use the\ncontact form. Messages are read and answered at the address you\nprovide.",{"id":722,"title":723,"titles":724,"content":725,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Flegal-notice#hosting","Hosting",[713],"The site is hosted by OVH SAS, 2 rue Kellermann, 59100 Roubaix, France\n(RCS Lille Métropole 424 761 419), on a server located in the European Union.\nWebsite: ovhcloud.com.",{"id":727,"title":728,"titles":729,"content":730,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Flegal-notice#intellectual-property","Intellectual property",[713],"The texts are written for this guide and remain the property of the publisher.\nReproducing them in full without permission is not allowed; a short quotation\nwith a link back to the source page is. The photographs come from Wikimedia Commons and from authors who released them\nunder a free licence: each one is credited, with its author and licence, on the\ncredits page. Map tiles are provided by OpenFreeMap from\nOpenStreetMap data under the ODbL licence. The hiking routes come from the open\ndata of the Sainte-Baume Regional Nature Park, published under Licence Ouverte\n2.0, enriched with elevations from the IGN. If you are the author of content used here and the attribution looks wrong,\ntell us through the contact form: it is corrected or removed straight away.",{"id":732,"title":733,"titles":734,"content":735,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Flegal-notice#what-this-site-is","What this site is",[713],"nanslespins.fr is an independent guide. It is not the official website of the\nmunicipality of Nans-les-Pins, of the tourist office, or of the Sainte-Baume\nRegional Nature Park, and it has no commercial relationship with the businesses\nit describes. Field information (opening hours, prices, difficulty and trail conditions) is\ngiven for guidance and can change. Mountain walking is done at your own\nresponsibility: check the weather, the massif access rules and your fitness\nbefore setting out.",{"id":737,"title":738,"titles":739,"content":740,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Flegal-notice#personal-data","Personal data",[713],"How the data submitted through the forms is processed is described in the\nprivacy policy.",{"id":742,"title":743,"titles":744,"content":745,"level":9,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fpractical-information","Practical information",[],"Getting to Nans-les-Pins and the massif, parking, taking the bus, finding the tourist office, knowing the market days and checking access to the forests in summer.",{"id":747,"title":19,"titles":748,"content":749,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fpractical-information#getting-there",[743],"Nans-les-Pins is in the Var, at the northern foot of the Sainte-Baume. By car, the Saint-Maximin exit of the A8 motorway then the D560 and the D80 lead to the village in a dozen kilometres; from Aubagne, allow 25 km via the D96 and the D560, from Brignoles 28 km via the DN7, the D1 and the D80. Marseille and Aix-en-Provence are about forty minutes away, Toulon less than an hour. By public transport, line 92 of the regional Zou network links Aubagne to Brignoles with a La Ferrage stop in the centre of Nans-les-Pins, at the start of the Huveaune hikes. Another line links Plan-d'Aups to Saint-Maximin. Timetables and routes on the Zou network website.",{"id":751,"title":752,"titles":753,"content":754,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fpractical-information#parking","Parking",[743],"The parking de la Ferrage and the town hall car park are the two car parks in the centre, recommended by the town on market days. The parking des Sources de l'Huveaune, on the way out of the village, also serves as a start. On the plateau, the car parks of the Hostellerie de la Sainte-Baume (east and west), the parking des Trois Chênes at the junction of the Nans and Mazaugues roads, and the \"le Village\" car park in the centre of Plan-d'Aups serve the trails of the massif.",{"id":756,"title":757,"titles":758,"content":759,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fpractical-information#finding-out-more","Finding out more",[743],"The Nans-les-Pins tourist office, a branch of Provence Verte & Verdon Tourisme, is at 2 cours Général-de-Gaulle, Nans-les-Pins (83860). Telephone: +33 4 94 78 95 91. E-mail: nanslespins@provenceverteverdon.fr. On the plateau, the Espace Tourisme et Découverte de la Sainte-Baume, run by the regional nature park, welcomes visitors next to the Hostellerie.",{"id":761,"title":762,"titles":763,"content":764,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fpractical-information#the-market-and-the-shops","The market and the shops",[743],"The big market is held on Sunday mornings on the cours Général-de-Gaulle; smaller markets take place on Wednesday and Friday mornings, subject to availability. On those days the town hall recommends the Ferrage car park or the one at the town hall. Outside market days the village can still fill a rucksack: two small supermarkets, bakeries, a butcher and a greengrocer are spread between the cours Général-de-Gaulle and place Victor-Dedieu. Wine is bought at the cellar door of the Domaine de Triennes, on the RD 560 towards Saint-Maximin. Up on the plateau, the shops are in the centre of Plan-d'Aups.",{"id":766,"title":767,"titles":768,"content":769,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fpractical-information#the-forest-in-summer","The forest in summer",[743],"From 21 June to 20 September, access to the forested massifs of the Var is regulated by prefectoral order according to the fire risk, with a map updated every day: check it the day before and on the morning of your outing on the risque-prevention-incendie.fr website, Var section. The routes on the south slope also concern the Bouches-du-Rhône. Fires and smoking are forbidden in the forest in every season. In the Sainte-Baume biological reserve, dogs must be kept on a lead; in the bed of the Huveaune they are forbidden, as are swimming and mountain biking.",{"id":771,"title":772,"titles":773,"content":774,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fpractical-information#the-grotto","The grotto",[743],"The Sainte-Baume sanctuary is open from 8.30 am to 5 pm in winter time and from 7.30 am to 6.30 pm in summer time. It is reached on foot from the Hostellerie in about three quarters of an hour. Silence is requested inside.",{"id":776,"title":777,"titles":778,"content":779,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fpractical-information#emergencies","Emergencies",[743],"European emergency number: 112. Fire brigade: 18. Mobile coverage is patchy on the massif: tell someone your route and carry plenty of water.",{"id":781,"title":782,"titles":783,"content":784,"level":9,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fprivacy","Privacy policy",[],"What the site collects, why, who it is shared with and how to exercise your rights. This site is built to know as little about you as possible. It sets no cookie,\nshows no advertising and sells nothing.",{"id":786,"title":787,"titles":788,"content":789,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fprivacy#no-cookie-no-banner","No cookie, no banner",[782],"Audience measurement uses PostHog in a cookieless configuration with no\npersistent identifier: nothing is written to your browser, neither cookie nor\nlocal storage. Page views are counted, but a visitor cannot be recognised from\none visit to the next, nor followed from one site to another. That is why you\nare never shown a consent banner: there is nothing to consent to. The traffic data is hosted by PostHog on its European infrastructure. If your\nbrowser sends the \"Do Not Track\" header, nothing is measured at all.",{"id":791,"title":792,"titles":793,"content":794,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fprivacy#forms","Forms",[782],"Two forms collect information, and only what you type into them: the contact form: first name, last name, e-mail address, phone, company,\nwebsite, subject and message. They are used to answer you.the newsletter sign-up: first name and e-mail address. They are used to\nsend you the newsletter. This data is passed to the Mon Agence platform, run by a French company, which\nhosts it on behalf of the site's publisher and notifies them of new messages.\nIt is not sold, not shared and not used for anything else. It is kept for as\nlong as your request needs, and for the newsletter until you unsubscribe. You can unsubscribe at any time through the link in every issue.",{"id":796,"title":797,"titles":798,"content":799,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fprivacy#third-party-services-the-pages-call","Third-party services the pages call",[782],"Showing a map or a page means a few requests to third parties, which then see\nyour IP address: ServiceRoleWhenOpenFreeMapmap tilesmap page and pages with a mapPostHog (EU)cookieless audience measurementevery pageMon Agencenews articles and their imagesNews pages Fonts are served from this site, with no call to Google Fonts. No social\nnetwork button and no advertising pixel is loaded.",{"id":801,"title":802,"titles":803,"content":804,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fprivacy#server-logs","Server logs",[782],"The host keeps technical connection logs (IP address, page requested, date),\nneeded to run and secure the service. They are not used to profile you.",{"id":806,"title":807,"titles":808,"content":809,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fprivacy#your-rights","Your rights",[782],"Under the General Data Protection Regulation you have a right of access,\nrectification, erasure, restriction and objection regarding your data. Write\nthrough the contact form choosing the subject \"Something else\":\nrequests are handled within a month. You may also lodge a complaint with the CNIL, the French data protection\nauthority, 3 place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris, cnil.fr.",{"id":811,"title":812,"titles":813,"content":814,"level":16,"section":670},"\u002Fen\u002Fprivacy#data-controller","Data controller",[782],"Dorian Ham, publisher of the site on a non-professional basis. See the\nlegal notice for how to get in touch.",1788743560472]