Fontaine-de-Vaucluse to Robion

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Unknown

V2 difficulty.

The Great Plague of Marseille was the last of the significant European outbreaks of bubonic plague. Arriving in Marseille, France in 1720, the disease killed a total of 100,000 people: 50,000 in the city during the next two years (out of a total population of 90,000) and another 50,000 to the north in surrounding provinces and towns. An Act of the Parlement of Aix levied the death penalty for any communication between Marseille and the rest of Provence. To enforce this separation, a plague wall with set-back guard towers, the Mur de la Peste, was erected across the countryside.

EuroVelo is a network of 15 long distance cycle routes connecting and uniting the whole European continent. The routes can be used by cycle tourists as well as by local people making daily journeys. EuroVelo incorporates existing and planned national and regional cycle routes. It is envisaged that the network will be substantially complete by 2020.

This short segment of the CCW finish to the Grande Traversée de Vaucluse provides a link to the western half of the Luberon massif (the Petit Luberon). The ride is mellow but not without interest. Keep your eyes peeled for endangered raptors as you pedal out of the hills and through farmlands toward the next mountains.

Cross the Sorgue River to head for Lagnes, then climb the limestone relief of this western end of the Vaucluse Mountains. Along the way, you pass grim, dry stone walls built to keep out the plague in the Middle Ages. A descent on a playful singletrack takes you down to the plain, towards Coustellet, passing the Lavender Museum. You then take the Euro-Velo route No.8: The Mediterranean (or Calavon Greenway - EV8 sign) towards Robion, through countryside and pockets of woods.