Roussillon, the corner of France that resembles Australia

In Provence, Roussillon owes its fame to the ocher color of its buildings, and the extraordinary cliffs in its surroundings

Source: 123rf

In the heart of Provence, Roussillon it is one of the most beautiful villages in France. And what makes it unique is its colour: aocher which covers the rocks and houses, and which comes from the earth of the nearby quarries. It almost feels like being in Australia, in certain of its corners. Especially when the rays of a sun high in the sky illuminate its streets and shops, making those reddish shades shine.

Walking through the streets of Roussillon has something poetic about it: the shops where time seems to have stopped, the nature all around, the small squares, the main street with its flowers and its restaurants, the orange houses with colored shutters and the gardens flowered. To discover all the secrets about that particular color, you can visit the Conservatory of Ochers and Applied Pigments, where you can learn all about colored pigments.

After wandering through the streets of the center of the village, it is possible to reach the area not far from Roussillon which really seems like an Australian corner. It is the area of ​​the ocher cliffs: the spiers of the Val des Fées, the Chaussée des Géants and The Ocher Trail.

É, The Ocher Trail (The path of the Ocres), a super fascinating place. Legend has it that the red color of this land derives from the blood shed in the suicide of Sirmonde, wife of Raymonde d'Avignone (following the killing of her lover by her husband, the girl threw herself from the cliffs). Today, walking along the path, you pass through infinite shades of red, yellow and orange, next to the rocks that form the Valley of the Fairies and next to the Cliffs of the Giants, sculpted by the erosion of atmospheric agents.

There are two paths (one lasting 30 and one 60 minutes), very well signposted and full of signs surrounded by vegetation, to explore every corner of this area. Here, thanks to the extraordinary colours, photography lovers have something to indulge themselves: just go early in the morning to avoid overcrowding. To walk them, you need to keep a few rules in mind: equip yourself with comfortable and washable shoes, do not wear light-colored clothes (which could be ruined by the colored dust resulting from the erosion still in progress), do not touch or remove any piece of these rocks, part of a unique place in the world.