Saint-Just-Et-Vacquières: Hiking, wine and heritage

For a trip to Saint-Just-et-Vacquières, there are several different themes to choose from: a marked hike through lavender fields, vineyards and oak woodlands; a mountain biking loop with elevation gain; and visits focused on wine production and distillation. Historic buildings and the village’s history add to these activities. You can plan your trip around the routes and themes that interest you most.

Hiking and mountain biking compared

The “Randonnée Entre garrigues et lavande” hike is a 5.5-kilometre loop starting in Saint-Just-et-Vacquières. It is marked throughout with yellow PR trail markers and passes through lavender fields, vineyards and oak woodlands. You can also plan a stop at Distillerie Bel Air along the route, where visitors can watch traditional skills in action.

The “VTT – De la Plaine aux falaises du Mont Bouquet” mountain biking route also starts in Saint-Just-et-Vacquières. The loop is 26.6 kilometres long and has 571 metres of elevation gain. It combines wide tracks with some technically challenging singletrack sections. Part of the route climbs Mont Bouquet, offering views of the Cévennes and the area around Uzès. The two loop routes differ considerably in scale: the 5.5-kilometre hike contrasts with the longer mountain biking route and its elevation gain.

Wine production, ecology and distillation

Le Mas des Justes is an IGP Cévennes winery covering 22 hectares, of which 11.5 hectares are planted with vines. It follows organic and biodynamic practices. Visitor experiences include a wine tourism tour and an educational vineyard trail. The tour explains biodynamics and the practices used there; it also includes an introduction using a virtual reality headset and a wine tasting. The experience therefore ranges from growing methods to tasting.

The Sentier d’Interprétation autour de la vigne explores wine production from an ecological perspective: it explains the links between organic farming and the ecosystem around Le Mas des Justes. The easy-to-access, interactive trail is suitable for family outings. Visitors may see hawfinches and yellow-bellied toads there. While the wine tour focuses on biodynamics and tasting, the interpretation trail turns attention to farming and the ecosystem.

Distillerie Bel Air also offers a different way to discover local products. Distillations are open to the public, and visitors can join a guided tour or explore independently. The distillery produces and sells organic essential oils. It works with farmers who grow organic aromatic and medicinal plants. Together with the possible stop on the hiking route, this offers insight into distillation and the plants involved.

Local history and landscape

In the 15th century, the communities of “Locus de Sancto Justo” and “Mansus de Vaqueris” joined to form a single parish. Saint-Just-et-Vacquières later grew out of it. The preserved and restored historic buildings include the Temple de Saint-Just, built in 1861, and the Château de Vacquières. There are also two imposing vaulted masonry viaducts from the former railway. These structures point to different chapters in the village’s history, from the communities’ union to religious and seigneurial architecture and the former railway.

Land use also shapes the character of the village: more than 500 hectares are used for agriculture, while forests and garrigue cover 70 percent of the area. Together, these figures give an impression of how agricultural land and forested or garrigue-covered areas define Saint-Just-et-Vacquières.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Roman-De-Codières, Bagnols-Sur-Cèze, Carsan, Cornillon, Saint-Julien-de-la-Nef, Bourdic, Aumessas, Notre-Dame-De-La-Rouvière.

View the broader travel guide: Gard.