Montagne Sainte-Victoire

About this place

Montagne Sainte-Victoire is a limestone mountain ridge in southern France, stretching more than 18 km between the Bouches-du-Rhône and Var departments, about 13 km east of Aix-en-Provence in a straight line. Its highest point is the Pic des Mouches at 1,011 metres. The mountain is famous for its many appearances in a series of paintings by Paul Cézanne, who could see it from near his home in Aix-en-Provence. It was originally called the mountain of Victory, and its name shifted over the centuries before settling in its current form in the 17th century. In 1989 a fire swept more than 50 square kilometres of its south face, and much work has gone into reforestation. The mountain rises in a towering white-grey escarpment above the green plains, vineyards and pine forests of Provence, its colour changing with the light from bright white to pink and orange at sunset. At its northern foot lies the blue lake of the Bimont dam among forests and rocks. Many walking trails run on and around the mountain within a nature reserve, some easy on the plains and some climbing steeply to the ridge. Lovely country roads between villages look up at it. In summer some trails may close because of fire risk, so check before you go.