Discover Le Beaucet: Château, Nature and Hiking Trails

Le Beaucet is located on the southern edge of the Monts de Vaucluse and at the edge of the Luberon Regional Nature Park. A cave, island, spring and summit are located at varying geographical distances in the surrounding area. As a result, historical local heritage, natural sites and regional landscapes exist side by side within the same destination.

Nature

Around the Barbarenque washhouse, Epipactis parviflora forms a pink carpet of flowers. In the area around Le Beaucet are the Grotte de Thouzon as a cave, L'ile aux castors as an island and Fontaine de Vaucluse as a spring. Pié Rascas is a summit in the wider regional surroundings of Le Beaucet. The named natural destinations thus range from a specific site at the washhouse to landscape features with a broader regional connection.

Culture

The Château du Beaucet already existed in 1160 under the name “castrum de Balcio”. Its esplanade is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in winter and until 7 p.m. in summer; admission is free. The Château can be reached on foot from the Jean Robert car park; alternatively, the Chemin de l’Alouette leads there from the upper village. In the area around Le Beaucet, the Musée-bibliothèque François-Pétrarque serves as a museum. Also located in the surrounding area are the Hôtel-Dieu as a historic site, the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Bon Secours as an abbey and the Abbaye de Sénanque as an abbey. Thus, in addition to the Château with its traditional designation, the cultural surroundings include a museum, a historic site and two abbeys.

Other local pages: Gignac, Travaillan, Villelaure, Castellet, Morières-Lès-Avignon, Murs, Lagarde-Pareol, Villedieu

Hiking and Trails

The long-distance GR de pays-Tour des Monts de Vaucluse hiking trail passes through Le Beaucet, making it possible to discover the village. The GR 91 provides access to Saint Gens. The circular hiking route “Circuit pédestre - Pierre sèche et source miraculeuse” is a three-hour, level walk through a landscape of greenery and dry-stone walls. This identifies a long-distance hiking trail through the village, a route leading to Saint Gens and a clearly defined circular route with a level course and dry-stone walls.

Cuisine

Cherries are Le Beaucet’s most important agricultural product. Various varieties, including Burlat, Summit, Van and Belge, ripen from mid-May to mid-July; their quality is recognised by the designation “Cerise des Monts de Venasque”. In Le Beaucet, the climate and calcareous soils favour the presence of Tuber melanosporum, which can still be found growing spontaneously at the foot of oak trees today. The village’s agriculture thus includes both a seasonal product with several named cherry varieties and a fungus whose presence is linked to the local soils, climate and oak trees.

For the higher-level travel overview: Vaucluse.