Apt / Manosque

Explore the old pedestrian streets of historic Apt, plus, on Saturday mornings, the major Provençal market. Then head back onto the heights of Le Calavon Greenway. Also note that thanks to the Circuit des Ocres à Vélo, Apt is a great starting point for discovering the colourful little ‘Colorado Provençal’ area. Note how the mountains get larger leaving the county of Vaucluse for the Alpes de Haute-Provence, Lure Mountain standing out. Around each turn in the road, surprising discoveries await: Céreste Roman bridge, Carluc Priory, the perched villages of Reillanne and Lincel, and the cités de caractère of Mane and Dauphin… Carry on through lavender fields, past old-stone farms, up to Manosque.

The route

This stretch of greenway is very well laid out, although in the parish of Saignon the signposting for the Méditerranée à Vélo  was not completed at time of writing. 

Leaving the greenway in the parish of Le Castellet, signposting has recently been put in place. From here on, the way is hilly up to Manosque, some slopes over 10 %. 

There’s another short section of greenway at Céreste. Take a left-hand turn here to reach the ravine for Carluc and Reillanne. Take care, the descent after Reillanne presents many difficulties, being narrow, with an uneven surface and being prone to significant pitting (with stones and branches) after storms.
After the descent from Reillanne, from the crossroads on the D4100 road, there’s a 5km-long provisional route up to Forcalquier.

There’s a short stretch on cobbles at the level of St-Maime, after the D513 road.

Smooth surfaces: along most of this stage.
Rough surfaces: in the Reillanne descent via the Chemin du Largue road. There is a very short stretch along a cobbled track at the level of St-Maime after the D513 road.

Links

Routes signposted for Le Luberon à vélo, all very well indicated.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Tourist Offices

Office de tourisme Pays d’Apt Luberon - Bureau d’Apt
33 (0)4 90 74 03 18
 
Maison Du Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon
33 (0)4 90 04 42 00
 
Office de tourisme Pays d’Apt Luberon - Bureau de Céreste
33 (0)4 92 79 09 84

Office de tourisme Intercommunal Pays de Forcalquier - Lure
33 (0)4 92 75 10 02

SNCF train stations

Cavaillon station
Manosque station
 
Consult the timetables