Visit the ochre landscapes of the Luberon

Begin with a stroll in Roussillon’s natural surroundings, immersing yourself in these orange landscapes

A morning warm-up that guarantees an introduction to ochre at its most colourful. The Ochre Trail boasts a panorama of reliefs whose colours collide with the green of the trees, offering an amazing contrast.
All the secrets of this former open-air quarry will be revealed to you through the explanatory signs dotted throughout this multi-coloured maze.
Let the sun reach its peak and enjoy seeing how the colours vary depending on the light. There’s nothing quite like it!

Take note

• Two routes to choose from allowing a 30 to 60 minute visit
• Price: €3 per person (free for under 10’s)

After a bite to eat in the charming village of Roussillon, it’s full steam ahead for a tour of the former Mathieu ochre factory which has now become an ochre conservatory – ‘Conservatoire des Ocres’.

Here you will learn how ochre, which has taken several million years to form, was mined in the 20th century.
Extraction, washing, shipment… the tour retraces the path of this mineral, used for its pigmentary properties in sectors as varied as art, masonry, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Workshops are offered on a regular basis to learn how to master the combination of pigments with material: why not sign up?

Take note

• Included in the Vaucluse Provence Pass

Learn all there is to learn about the history of the mining of ochre by visiting Apt Museum, which explores the industrial past of the region.

Go and have a look around this museum to better understand how ochre played such an important role in the economy of the whole of the Luberon region.
In addition to your tour of Okhra, it displays an exhibition on 3 leading industries which marked 20th-century economic life in the area: of course this included ochre, but also candied fruits and the production of earthenware and ceramic.

Did you know: Apt is the capital of candied fruit!

• Price: €5 per person
• Included in the Vaucluse Provence Pass

We’ll begin this new day with another walk: in the direction of Rustrel and its Provençal Colorado in a Western setting

Easily identified by its orange hoodoos rising up against the blue of the sky, the Provençal Colorado is one of those places where you won’t be able to put your camera down.
With the contrasting effects of the blazing colours and distinctive geology of this site, which reminds us of another famous site (hence the name), strolling down the different routes is a real feast for the eyes.
Enjoy the views to the max and stop for a breather and bite to eat at the picnic area.

Take note

• Avoid light-coloured shoes and clothes – ochre stains easily
• Walking boots required
• Two routes: 40 minutes or 1.5 hours

For this final stage of your visit to the ochre sites of the Luberon, go and wander through the Bruoux mines, where ochre used to be extracted

Equipped with a hard hat, step into the shoes of a miner from the beginning of the 20th century as you visit the mines.
Find out how the workers carried out the extraction of this ore.
Accompanied by your guide, head off on an underground journey through a maze of tunnels, and observe the traces left by tools and techniques used to mine ochre.

Take note

• Don’t forget to bring a jacket – it’s 10°C in the tunnels.
• The mines consist of nearly 40 km of tunnels! The tour will only cover a few hundred metres