Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
With all the trendy charm of Santa Fe on a hilltop, photogenic Roussillon requires serious
camera and café time. An enormous deposit of ochre gives the earth and its buildings that
distinctive red color. Climb a few minutes from any parking lot—passing the Hollywood
set-like square under the bell tower and the church—and find the orientation plaque and
the dramatic
viewpoint
at the top of the village. Roussillon sits atop Mont Rouge (“Red
Mountain”) at about 1,000 feet above sea level. During the Middle Ages, a castle stood
whereyouare.Onyourwaydown,duckintothepretty11th-centuryChurchofSt.Michel,
then linger over
un café,
or—if it's later in the day—
un pastis,
in what must be the most
picturesquevillagesquareinProvence
(Place de la Mairie)
.WhileRoussillonreceivesits
share of day-trippers, mornings and evenings are romantically peaceful on this square.
Roussillon was Europe's capital for ochre production until World War II. A stroll to
thesouthendoftown,beyondtheupperparkinglot,showsyouwhy:Roussillonsitsonthe
world's largest known ochre deposit. A radiant orange path—the
Ochre Trail
(Le Sentier
