Join Run the Alps for a springtime trip to Provence, France!

We’ll run through olive groves, pine forests and along herb-lined trails, spending our nights in historic villages as we take in the local culture and cuisine, amid cool temps and without the summer crowds and heat.

Provence, France, is famous for its picturesque landscape, scent-filled lavender fields, vineyards and ancient hilltop villages. It’s also packed with stunning trails and some of Europe’s tastiest cuisine! Olives, honey, apricots, truffles, goat cheese and wine are just some of the world-famous produce found here. On this Level 2 tour, our daily run distances and climbs are designed to allow plenty of time to discover and enjoy Provence’s wonderful culture and cuisine.

What's Included

• Daily guided trail runs with a licensed International Mountain Leader
  
• Six nights of accommodation – all in 3* star hotels
  
• All breakfasts, packed/light lunches and trail nutrition, plus six multi-course dinners
• Avignon TGV Train Station to Buis-les-Baronnies group taxi on arrival
• Gigondas to Avignon TGV Train Station group taxi on departure
  
• Transfers to and from trailheads as per the itinerary
  
• Luggage transfers (luggage available every night)
  
• Run the Alps’ Guide to Trail Running in the Alps, which contains 80+ pages of information about where you’ll be running, what to pack, how to train, and plenty of other insider information from Run the Alps staff and guides
• An in-country welcome pack – includes trail nutrition and a Run the Alps T-shirt (Note: You can choose to opt out of the T-shirt during registration; if you do, we’ll automatically donate the equivalent to one of our 1% for the Planet partners instead.)
• A day of professional photography on the trails, with images provided to you license-free
  
• 20% discount in the Run the Alps store
  
• Contribution to our Net Positive initiatives
  

Cost

$4890 per person
$800 single supplement

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Buis-Les-Baronnies
Arrive in Buis-les-Baronnies, in the “Baronnies Provençales Natural Park”. We’ll meet before dinner to get to know each other and chat through the week ahead.

Day 2: Buis-les-Baronnies
Today, we’ll enjoy a loop to the north of Buis-les-Baronnies over the Montagnes des Plates. A mix of dirt roads and single track take us on the climb out of town, past vineyards and olive orchards. We’ll reach the Col de Malpertuis and take in the view of Mont Ventoux, popular with cyclists around the world as one of the most famous climbs in the Tour de France.

Day 3: Buis-les-Baronnies
The famous landmark of Rocher Saint-Julien is popular with climbers, but our ascent will take a trail up through forest to reach the rocky ridgeline. We’ll enjoy great views before descending to the Menon valley. Here, gentle country roads and trails take us alongside the river, to a lunch stop at the outstanding family-run restaurant La Grangette de Biquette, featuring local and sustainable produce. This evening, we’ll enjoy a tasting of local products, then dinner in the village.

Day 4: Montbrun-les-Bains
We’ll take a private transfer to the ancient village of Montbrun-les-Bains for our run past the 12th Century Château d’Aulan, followed by some short climbs over the le Col des Arles et Col du Puits.

Day 5: Malaucène
Today, we’ll get a private transfer to the village of Malaucène, where gravel trails, then narrow single track lead us up above treeline to a ridge and the summit of Arfuyen mountain, A section of more technical downhill leads to Col de la Chaine, and then the last few miles of rolling smooth single track bring us back to Malaucène.

Day 6: Gigondas
The last trail run of our tour is a varied traverse from Malaucène to our final destination, Gigondas. We’ll climb to the summit of Crête de St-Amand with wonderful panoramic views. From here, rolling trails lead past the impressive rocky fin of the Dentelles de Montmirail, and down to our last stop, Gigondas. This evening, we’ll enjoy a tasting of the outstanding local wines.

Day 7: Depart from Gigondas
After a delicious breakfast in our hotel, today it’s time to bid adieu to the Provence region and head home, or off to our next destination.

For more details, visit our website.
Prefer to run on your own schedule, without a guide? Go self-guided and let us take care of all the logistics.



Photo credits: Sam Lhermillier and Sam Hill

Event's current local time: 3:03 PM WET