The Jean Giono road

The Jean Giono Route is a literary and tourist route around the Lure mountain. This mountain is indeed legendary in the life and work of one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. The writer traveled it many times, on foot or by bike, and organized numerous stays there. He also set some of his novels there as well as the setting of two films, including the famous Croesus with Fernandel.
For Giono, it is "the free and new mountain which has barely emerged from the flood", the Olympus of his Provence which has managed to preserve its "true riches".

Some literary sites to discover on the Jean Giono Route

This 152 km route follows small departmental roads away from the main traffic. It can be traveled by car, bicycle, or motorbike. Following it, you cross parts of the Alpes de Haute Provence, Vaucluse, and Drôme. Along this tourist and literary journey, you will discover picturesque, listed villages, often perched on their promontories. You will cross magnificent landscapes, the "Haut-Pays" described by the writer.

Banon, starting point of the initiatory journey

The route begins in Banon, a charming village famous for its goat cheese and its Le Bleuet bookstore. This is where young Jean Giono, at the age of 11, began his first trek around the Lure mountain range. From there, follow the D950 towards Montsalier, then continue towards Redortiers-Le Contadour.

The Contadour

This wild Contadour plateau leans to the north against the Lure ridge. Giono and his friends often crossed it during their memorable stays.
The writer set many passages from his novel there. Renewal. He makes it cross by the rider Angelo in The Hussard on the ToitHe also shot most of his film there. CroesusSince then, many filmmakers have immortalized this heart of Giono's Provence.

AD04-Adrien Noat

The village of Aurel

Aurel is at the heart of what Giono called "Le Haut-Pays," the Haute-Provence plateau straddling the Alpes de Haute Provence, Vaucluse, and Drôme. Discover its magnificent gates, its charming alleys leading up to the château, and its bell tower with its glazed tiles.

The Omergues and the Jabron Valley

It is in the small village of Omergues that Giono places the encounter of his hero Angelo with the first cholera patients in The Hussard on the ToitGoing up the Jabron valley, you can admire the medieval remains of old Noyers or some ruins of the old village of Bevons.

AD04-Thibaut Vergoz

Some literary strolls to explore

This route invites contemplation, reading and discovery. free 15 literary strolls to meet Jean Giono, written by Jean-Louis Carribou, invites you to take literary breaks in the places that inspired the writer and to "walk with a book in hand".

This book allows you to delve even deeper into the heart of the Lure mountain as well as into the writer's work.

• at the Ubac de Lure, at the foot of the Lure mountain, on the Jabron valley side. All along the walk, beautiful hamlets scattered between fields and pastures and ruins.
• Le Vieux Noyers, you will be moved by the nostalgic grandeur of Le Vieux Noyers, this ghost village and its landscapes.
• On the back of Lure, this walk on the back of Lure leads to Cairn 2000 and takes you on a circular tour. A view from the "Alps in glory" to the Provençal hills.
• Notre Dame de Lure, a short walk to discover the beautiful Benedictine abbey of Notre Dame de Lure. You enter "its forests of Brocéliande," to use Giono's expression.
• Vière d'Ongles, the ruined village of Vière d'Ongles and its dilapidated church overlook the plain from their promontory.

Route Jean Giono Itinerary

From the charming village of Well no, the Jean Giono Route begins its journey around the Lure mountainIt first heads towards Le Contadour, a high place of Gionian work. We then cross Revest-du-Bion, before crossing the border of Vaucluse towards Ferrassières then Aurel, two hilltop villages bathed in light.

The road descends towards Montbrun-les-Bains, a spa town listed among the most beautiful villages in France. It continues to wind its way to Séderon, via Barret-de-Lioure. We then enter the wild landscapes of the Jabron ValleyWe pass along Les Omergues, Montfroc, then Saint-Vincent-sur-Jabron, peaceful villages described by Giono in The Hussard on the Toit.

Further on, we discover Noyers-sur-Jabron, Valbelle, then Bevons before reaching the Durance valley via Peipin. The climb continues towards Châteauneuf-Val-Saint-Donat, Mallefougasse, Cruis, on country roads with discreet charmThe route comes to an end, passing through Saint-Étienne-les-Orgues, Ongles, and finally Saumane, the last village before closing the loop and returning to Banon.

Throughout this 152-kilometer route, you will drive on small departmental roads (notably the D950, D946 and D951). You will therefore be far from the main roads, totally immersed in the landscapes of the Haut-Pays Provençal so dear to Giono. The itinerary is ideal for a two- or three-day trip, with plenty of literary visits, gourmet stops and walks in the hills.

AD04-Adrien Noat

Variant: the Manosque – Banon slip road

A Manosque, you can visit several places that will allow you to better understand the life and work of the writer Jean Giono. These include the Giono Center and its house Le Paraïs.

To connect the Route Jean Giono to Manosque, the town where the writer was born and where he lived all his life, a 38-kilometer slip road leads to Banon. We follow the path of the "patache" in the novel as closely as possible. Renewal as well as the one that Giono traveled on foot in 1935 to lead his group of followers and admirers to his mountain of Lure.

Four literary stops

• at the exit of Manosque in view of Mont d'Or, the hill inspired by Giono,
• towards Villemus, the quest and discovery of Lure,
• at Saint-Michel l'Observatoire, The Weight of Heaven,
• in Vachères, the history of the famous “blue bell tower” of Renewal.

AD04-Thibaut Vergoz

Answers to your questions